Estelle hooked her arms around his neck as he pushed her back against the wall. Mikael held her by her waist and neck, angling her head to one side as he kissed her again and again. His fingers buried themselves in her short curly hair.

    She threaded her fingers through the ends of his own, nudging his lips harder against hers. Mikael could scarcely draw a breath. His heart raced and instincts threatened to overwhelm him. Estelle tucked her leg around his hips.

    Mikael's hand left her waist and slipped beneath her thigh, holding her leg in place. His hips pressed hard against hers. Estelle pulled her lips from his with a soft moan and began pressing kisses to his jawline. Mikael buried his face in her hair, breathing her in.

    She slipped her hands beneath his shirt, digging her nails into his shoulder blades. Mikael loosed a shuddering breath. "Estelle," he murmured. He dropped a kiss to the spot beneath her ear and laid a line of them beneath it. Estelle tipped her head back as his lips grazed her neck.

    "You've been...thinking about this...for a while," she panted.

    "You have no idea." Mikael tilted her head back further and trailed kisses down the length of her throat. "Stars, Estelle, you have no idea." His lips met hers once more. "I feel like I've been suffocating and now I can finally breathe."

    "You've driven me mad. I can't go anywhere or do anything without seeing you." He kissed the corners of her mouth. "Scenting you." He kissed his way back towards her ear. "Hearing you. You have tormented me since the first day I laid eyes on you. You've owned my thoughts before we ever spoke a word to one another."

    "I wanted you when I thought I would grow to hate you. I wanted you when you did everything you could to stay away from me. I wanted you when I watched you fight and saw you bleed." Estelle's breaths were short gasps in his ear. "I want you, Estelle. By the fucking Cauldron, I want you."

    Mikael layered claiming kisses on her neck, her jaw, the corners of her mouth. "I'll do whatever you ask. Give you whatever you want." He buried his face against her neck, drinking in her smoke and snowdrop scent. "I'll do anything. Just say that you'll have me. Just tell me you care for me, as I care for you. Estelle. Estelle. Estelle." Her name was like a prayer on his lips, and one he couldn't whisper enough. "Please."

    "Yes," Estelle rasped. She kissed his hair. "I want you, Mikael. You can have me. I am yours. Angel of Dawn. Prince of Sunrises. Mikael." She tipped his chin up and kissed him gently, but claiming.

    She blinked, emotion flooding her amber eyes. "Words cannot describe what you are to me. I can't explain it. I can't explain any of it, but, Mikael, I'm not confused anymore. I meant it. I meant all of it. Every touch. Every look. Every word. I meant it all."

    "I know." He caressed her cheek, studying her gaze intently. "I know." Mikael pulled her close again, letting his kisses fall soft on her lips now.

    He broke off abruptly as the door knocked open. Mikael leaned his head back with a frustrated groan. "Am I interrupting something?" Celeste cooed.

    Estelle rested her chin against his shoulder, glowering at her friend. Mikael stifled a snort of laughter. They had to make an interesting sight, with Estelle's legs around his waist, her hands beneath his shirt, and him holding her against a wall while kneeling on the bed.

    "Devlon wants you, Estelle. He mentioned something about the exchange tomorrow." Celeste laughed, ducking out of the room. "You made it with one evening to spare!"

    "What is she talking about?" Mikael asked.

    "She and Sienna dared me to kiss you. I told them I wouldn't unless I meant it. They said that if I hadn't kissed you before we left Windhaven, they would publicly humiliate me somehow."

    "I see," Mikael chuckled, nuzzling her neck. "What would this public humiliation have looked like?"

    "I don't know and I don't care to find out." She unwound herself from him. "I'd better go see what Devlon wants."

    "All right. We'll finish this conversation later, Batsy."

    "Conversation?" Estelle raised an eyebrow. "There wasn't much conversing involved there."

    "I know." Mikael grinned as Umbra squeezed his arm.

    "Others will too." Estelle's gaze dipped low and Mikael's breath hitched once more. "You might want to stay in here for a little while."

    "What if I don't?" He grinned mischievously as her cheeks flushed.

    "Then you risk my brother and cousins' wrath." She swatted at a shadow that had curled around her ear. "Behave yourself, Feathers."

    "I'm trying." Mikael looked her up and down. "But you make it very difficult."

    She closed the door behind herself with a loud slam. Mikael rested his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. He measured his breaths, trying to quell the heat that raced through him. At last, he stood and left the room. He reached the bathroom without seeing anyone. Mikael ran the shower water as cold as he could bear and lingered there for a long while.

    Mikael didn't let himself acknowledge the strengthening Bond that was emerging in an empty space within his chest. He didn't let himself notice the familiar presence that he could almost sense at the other end of it. He pushed the feelings aside, refusing to consider anything regarding them.

    She had accepted him. That was enough. Whatever else was happening could wait. She accepted him. He was hers. She accepted him. She was his.

    Mikael stepped out of the shower and dressed rapidly. He spent only a few minutes in the bedroom, preening his feathers. Sienna and Celeste were waiting in the front room when he joined them, bright and cunning grins on their faces.

    "So, is Estelle a good kisser?" Celeste asked.

    "Better than you," Mikael replied as he sat down. "Much better than you."

◦═══✦═══◦

    Nyx, Corbin, and Lysander fell in place beside Estelle. The morning air was frigid and frost covered the ground, proof that autumn had officially arrived. Estelle glanced at Mikael, who stood with Calden, Celeste, and Sienna. He wore his Illyrian leathers. She let herself look over his tall frame appreciatively. Hers. He was hers.

    "Celeste tells me she discovered you and Mikael in an interesting situation last night," Lysander said under his breath. "When were you going to tell me about that?"

    "Soon enough. It just happened, after all."

    "Do Nyx and Corbin know?"

    "Do we know what?" Corbin asked. Nyx leaned closer as well.

    "I kissed Mikael," Estelle answered.

    "From Celeste's description, it sounds like you did a lot more than kiss him," Lysander scoffed.

    Corbin stared at her with raised eyebrows, but Nyx seemed unsurprised. "And you haven't kissed Celeste, Lys?"

    "She's not the Heir to the Dawn Court."

    "Does it matter if Mikael is?"

    "A little bit, yes. If Estelle chooses to be with him, then..."

    Estelle raised her hands, silencing them. "That's not for you to be concerned about. I'm not planning on marrying him or anything yet, but I do care about him. I'm allowed to express my feelings for him. We've chosen to be together. You can't change that."

    "I'm not going to try to change that," Lysander sighed. "I just don't want you to leave us yet."

    "I won't." Estelle hugged her brother briefly. "You don't have to worry about that."

    "Good," Nyx said. "You'd better make sure he knows what he's getting himself into. The Dawn Court will need a new heir if anything happens to you."

    Estelle rolled her eyes but smiled. They spread their wings and leaped into the air along with the other Illyrians and Peregryns. Lysander flew alongside her as Nyx and Corbin pulled ahead.

    "Have you told Mom and Dad yet?" He asked.

    Estelle shook her head. "I haven't had time, and I think it's something I should tell them in person. I'll tell them the next time we're here."

    "All right. You'd better hope Dad doesn't kill him."

    "He didn't kill any of the other males I've been with."

    Lysander flashed her a skeptical look. "Have you seen any of those males since they left you?"

    Estelle began to reply, then hesitated. "Good point." She rubbed her chin, thinking. "Has he actually done something to them?"

    Lysander shrugged. "I don't know, but that's a lot of coincidental disappearances." He laughed and joined Nyx and Corbin.

    Estelle flew by herself for a short while, falling behind the group. Soon enough, Mikael joined her. "We could continue our conversation now," he said. "It seems like there's a few things we need to actually discuss."

    "I'll say so," Estelle chuckled.

    "My first question is do you want me to tell my fathers before your parents know?"

    Estelle thought for a moment. "Tell them when you want to. I'm not so worried about them."

    Mikael inclined his head. "Likewise. I'm more worried about what your father will do to me."

    "He won't do anything, provided I ask him not to."

    "And you will ask him not to, right?" Estelle twisted until she was flying upside down beneath him. She grinned up at Mikael. "Right?" He repeated.

    "Of course. I don't want him to dismember you before I've experienced what you have to offer."

    "Is that all you want me for, Batsy?" He teased. "I'm wounded."

    "You did say you would do anything, give me anything, just so long as I was yours."

    "I did, didn't I?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and Estelle folded her wings in so that he was carrying her. Mikael pulled her close, brushing his lips across hers. "And I meant what I said. Tell me what you want, when you want it, and I will do my best to give it to you."

    Estelle hugged him tightly, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "Well, right now, I want to get to my warm cottage in the Dawn Court. It's freezing this morning."

    Mikael loosened his hold on her and she extended her wings. Estelle flipped upright and flew beside him. "I'll race you there," Mikael said.

    "Just try to beat me, Feathers," she laughed. Estelle gave a powerful thrust of her wings and shot ahead. Mikael hollered after her, but his words were carried away on the wind.