2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

I stared at Rhys.
He stared at me.
CHAPTER
54
His cheeks were tinged pink with cold, his dark hair ruffled, and he honestly looked
freezing as he stood there, wings tucked in tight.
And I knew that one word from me, and he’d go flying off into the crisp night. That if I
shut the door, he’d go and not push it.
His nostrils flared, scenting the paint behind me, but he didn’t break his stare. Waiting.
Mate.
My—mate.
This beautiful, strong, selfless male … Who had sacrificed and wrecked himself for his
family, his people, and didn’t feel it was enough, that he wasn’t enough for anyone …
Azriel thought he didn’t deserve someone like Mor. And I wondered if Rhys … if he
somehow felt the same about me. I stepped aside, holding the door open for him.
I could have sworn I felt a pulse of knee-wobbling relief through the bond.
But Rhys took in the painting I’d done, gobbling down the bright colors that now made
the cottage come alive, and said, “You painted us.”
“I hope you don’t mind.”
He studied the threshold to the bedroom hallway. “Azriel, Mor, Amren, and Cassian,”
he said, marking the eyes I’d painted. “You do know that one of them is going to paint a
moustache under the eyes of whoever pisses them off that day.”
I clamped my lips to keep the smile in. “Oh, Mor already promised to do that.”
“And what about my eyes?”
I swallowed. All right, then. No dancing around it.
My heart was pounding so wildly I knew he could hear it. “I was afraid to paint them.”
Rhys faced me fully. “Why?”
No more games, no more banter. “At first, because I was so mad at you for not telling
me. Then because I was worried I’d like them too much and find that you … didn’t feel
the same. Then because I was scared that if I painted them, I’d start wishing you were here
so much that I’d just stare at them all day. And it seemed like a pathetic way to spend my
time.”