Chapter 103: To Be Consumed

Love. Again.

The word seared through her thoughts like a red-hot needle. 'I love him. I really do. I finally know what it means.'

The realization left her breathless, the words she had never dared to think now swirling in her mind with such intensity that she feared they might escape her mouth.

Lorelai pressed her lips tightly together, burying her face in the solid warmth of the king's chest. For a moment, she let herself listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, its distant thumping grounding her in the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to swallow her whole.

There could be no other explanation. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, her heart had known, even if her mind refused to accept it. She had fallen in love.