Finally, Elias wraps his arms around me and Lorelai, and immediately Cane's house melts away and in an instant, we are standing in front of a grand staircase in a beautiful foyer, the exact opposite of where we'd just been. It's gorgeous—with a Gothic feel not unlike the house where I met Elias on Ile de Cachette. The floors are marble, and there's a golden chandelier hanging above my head.

This isn't a house. This is a palace. This must be Elias's home. I swallow and look at him and Lorelai, and before I can say anything, Lorelai gives me a hug and whispers, "I'm going to see myself to my room and go get some sleep. Thank you for saving me. I would've done the same for you."

I squeeze her and say, "I know. I couldn't have let him hurt you."

She releases me and with a quick smile in Elias's direction, she disappears up the stairs.

"Does she live with you?" I ask.

He chuckles as he places his hand on the small of my back and leads me up the stairs and in the opposite direction. "No. We'd kill each other. She's just been staying with me while you—" He clears his throat. "While we were looking for you."

My heart squeezes in my chest. I'm glad he wasn't alone, but I wish none of this had ever happened. "I see." I busy myself by looking at all the lamps and paintings on the walls. It could be beautiful in here, but it's dark and dusty. I imagine he hasn't had much time to clean.

"Where are we going?" I ask as he takes me down another winding hallway.

"To my wing of the palace. I have a room prepared for you. You can shower and rest." He opens the large mahogany door to a room and steps aside. "You will find everything you need here, but if for some reason you don't my room is that one," he says, pointing to the door at the end of the hallway.

I step inside and can't help but smile. Unlike the rest of the house this room is decorated with soft cream and dusty pink. The doors to the balcony are open and the sheer curtains sway in the gentle breeze. I have a feeling that everything from the fluffy blankets on the bed to the overstuffed chairs in front of the fireplace were picked to make this feel like a getaway and not a prison.

Because it is anything but a prison. If I told him I wanted to leave right now, he wouldn't stop me. He wouldn't even make me feel bad about it.

"Thank you," I say. "You didn't have to do all this."

He shakes his head and leans against the doorframe. "Of course I did. I wanted you to feel at home if you chose to come back with me. And before you ask, the palace has protective wards on it. Cane isn't getting in here."

I take a relieved breath. I was worried about that.

"Okay. That's good to know." I look longingly at the bathroom. "I think I will take a shower and then get in bed. But I want us to talk soon. About everything."

He nods and walks to me, pressing his lips to my forehead. Finally, I feel every cell in my body perk up. "We will, Cordelia." He offers me the smallest of smiles and walks down the hall, presumably to his room.

*****

After my shower, I'm lying in bed in my new satin pajama set, wishing like hell that I wasn't alone. These are the comfiest pillows, the softest blanket, and Elias even made sure I had a satin pillowcase to keep my hair from getting damaged. I swear, I mentioned one time that the pillowcase at Wicked Encounters sucked, and he remembered.

But all I want is him here next to me. But how can I possibly ask him to do that? Who knows if he'd even want to be near me after everything that happened? I don't know if I would want to if the situation were reversed.

I release a heavy sigh and throw back the blankets. After slipping my feet into the white fluffy slippers at the end of the bed and wrapping a robe around my body to ward off the chilly air, I step out into the hallway. I stare at Elias's door for a moment and debate knocking. My nerves get the better of me and I head off the way we came when we arrived. I take a couple wrong turns but eventually find the kitchen. I rummage through the cabinets until I find a teapot, mug, and a nighttime blend of tea. While the water heats, I snoop around taking in all the food. Something tells me that this isn't for Elias and whoever else lives here. Again, he went to all this trouble for me.

"Are you all right?"

I slowly close the cabinet door and peek over the top of the kitchen island. Elias leans against the other side with his hands folded on the granite top.

I give him a sheepish smile and point toward the teapot. "Yeah, I was just having trouble falling asleep. I'm not used to bei—" I stop short, not wanting to bring up sleeping with Cane. "I'm not used to the new place yet. And I kept thinking about you," I admit.

"Do you need help finding something else?"

"Um...no. I was just snooping around."

He walks around the counter and stands beside me. We watch the steam rise from the tea kettle. Our shoulders brush and I can't think of anything far beyond the feel of him.

I have to bite my lip to control my breathing, and then I remember he can sense every single reaction I have to him, and my cheeks flush with embarrassment. But I look at him anyway, because if we don't talk about this, I'm afraid I'm going to burst.

"Elias, can we talk? Please?"

"It's late, Cordelia. It can wa—"

I shake my head as the tea kettle whistles and I move it from the eye of the stove. I switch off the heat and look him square in the face. "No. It can't. I can't stand it. Unless this is some kind of punishment and that's why you're making me wait...in which case, I'll take it, because that's what I deserve."

"There is no punishment. I just want you to feel well and give your mind and body the break it deserves. I'm not going anywhere. You can have as much time as you need. There is no rush."

I want to shake him. "Elias..." I trail off. "Oh my god, I don't know your middle name. Do you even have one? If I knew it, this would be a full name moment right now." I take a deep breath and push it out hard through my nose. "You are not hearing me. I don't need time, I feel fine physically, and I will not be able to rest until you and I talk about this and I know whether you and I are going to..." My voice cracks and I grip the edge of the countertop for support. "Whether there even is a you and I anymore."

He folds his arms over his chest—his bare chest. How did I miss that when he entered the kitchen? It feels like ages since I've seen him like this. My dreams did little justice to how handsome he is. Every defined muscle covered by smooth skin...my fingers tingle at just the thought of touching him.

"I'm sorry. Having you close again has me on edge. I don't know if it is all right if I hold you or say the words I want to you. You keep acting like you owe me an apology, but I kept things from you. Things that you had every right to know about. I'm the one who put into motion the demise of our relationship by acting like some overprotective asshole."

My lips part and I shake my head, closing the distance between us. Placing my palms on his cheeks, I look up into his face and slide one hand into his hair, scratching his scalp gently. "Herra, we both made mistakes. I think we can call it even on that. You can say anything you want to me, and if you held me right now, it would make me the happiest woman in this realm or any other."

He wraps me in his arms and pulls me to his chest. I snuggle into him, taking deep breaths and filling my lungs with the scent of him. I missed a lot about him, but this is what I missed most. In his arms, I'm safe.

"What else do you need to talk about?" he asks into the top of my head.

I shrug and with a muffled voice, say, "Nothing pressing right now. I really just needed to know that you didn't hate me...that you still..." I swallow and tears spring to my eyes, wetting his bare skin. "That you still felt the same way."

He pulls back and hooks his finger under my chin. "Do you really think the way I feel about you is so fickle? You are not something I can dispel from my system or shut out of my heart. You are woven into every fiber of my being, Cordelia."

My heart soars and I feel like I'm finally breathing again.

"I don't think your feelings are fickle, but I really fucked up, Elias. So I wasn't sure if no matter how you feel about me, you wouldn't be able to get past it. But I do want you to know something. I want you to know I didn't sleep with him."

He shakes his head with a pained look. "It doesn't matter what you did with him. I'm not looking for the details, Cordelia. All I want to know is that this is where you want to be right now. The rest is trivial to me."

I feel a rush of relief and nod, snuggling back against him. "I am exactly where I want to be. Except...could you come back to my room with me? I love the way you set everything up, but it's lonely without you."

He empties the tea pot and puts everything away before leading me to my room. We don't say much as we practically crawl into bed with our limbs tangled. I can't let him go. Not now and never again. And whatever awaits us with his brother, I'll face it with him at my side.