if a seer had told cedrian he would have a mate, the high lord would have called it blasphemy. finding one was rare, and the fates had already granted the day fae with one great love. he wasn't greedy in some cases – and perhaps a masochist in other regards. but then he met the high lady of summer, a woman who for all intents and purposes he had expected to sleep with until they returned to their homes and not really speak to again. the pull to her had been magnetic from the start, enough to pull the day lord's attention more often than he cared to admit. the first time they kissed he knew it, he felt it. cedrian had no basis in which to compare what a mate felt like, but he knew that everything with alina was so unlike anything he'd felt before that it could only mean one thing. but she hardly seemed interested in such things, also seeking him for carnal desire far more than lasting affection. and so the high lord kept it to himself, buried the truth until it was so undeniable it pained him not to share it. he still remembered the fear in uttering those words, the worry of what their fellow rulers and even his children would feel – but somehow all worked well enough, and now he could walk up to the woman who held his heart with the comfort and confidence of a man who was mated. it might be because they officially were.
so when the high lord returns from his bathing chamber to find her sitting at the vanity in his rooms, he can't help but stroll over, a towel slung low on his hips and water droplets still sliding from his hair and skin. ced leans down slightly when he comes to stop behind her, pressing his lips to alina's shoulder before trailing up her neck and stopping beneath her ear. " good morning, my mate. " rumbles his low tone.