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“He’s dangerous, Luther. I’m not sure there’s any line he won’t cross. And he’s not afraid to die.” “Good. I’ll make sure he gets his wish.”
“I was so scared I’d lost you,” I whispered. “After the attack, I thought...” “Never.” He placed his palm over my heart in a mirror image of my gesture. “I’m with you until the very end.”
As long as he drew breath, Luther would fight the gods themselves to stay at my side.
I lifted my broadsword. “Ready, my Prince?” Luther shifted to my side. “Always, my Queen.”
“I could look at you forever, and it wouldn’t be nearly long enough.”
“Look at me.” I did. He nudged my knees. “Open.” I did. “Wider.” I did, and my mouth went dry. There was nowhere to hide. Everything was bared to him—everything. His other hand rose to my chin and tilted it up. “That’s my girl.”
“I am angry. But not at you.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Never at you, my Queen.”
“Normally, if someone’s magic is strong enough to sense, I can feel them when they enter the room. I could feel your magic when you entered the city.”
Every day, our beloveds age. The thought haunts us all. Sophos believes there may be a way to bind their short lives to ours. Whatever the cost is, I will pay it. An eternity with him is worth the highest price.
“The heart doesn’t care who it should love. Only who makes it sing.”
“We will have more time. You remember that vision of us on the battlefield? That’s our destiny.” I forced a smile. “Fate cannot be changed. That’s why it’s called fate.”
“All of it,” Luther murmured. “I knew it. You can wield all the Kindred’s magic.”
He believed in me, right down to his marrow, in a way I’d never believed in myself. He was my rock. My cove. My sword and my shield. My guiding light and my calming dark. My Prince. My love. He was my everything.
“You are the greatest gift,” he murmured in my ear. “To everyone you meet, and to this continent and all its people.” He placed a kiss on my shoulder. “But especially to me. I only wish...” His voice fractured, and I pulled back to look at him. He cupped my face between his rough, protective palms, his eyes gleaming. “I only wish I could be there to see all that you will become.”
not a desperate prayer, but a declaration of war. An echo of his vow to the gods at my Challenging: Take him from me, and I will come for you, too.
I knew it, he’d said. You can wield all the Kindred’s magic. He’d seen it in me before I’d seen it in myself. All the way back to Ignios, when he’d braved the flames engulfing me to get to my side, knowing they were mine—and knowing they would not hurt the man I loved.
I swiped my bloody thumb across the black metal disc of the bloodlock, sucking in a breath at the soft click that followed. Me. Luther had keyed his locks to me.
“Say it again,” he rumbled. “I love you.”
“It’s not just rock. It’s godstone.” I stopped. “Godstone? At my family’s home?” She nodded. “In its raw, unmolded form. I’ve only read about it in books. We were told only the Kindred could make it, and the supply they left was all used up. No one thought we’d ever see any more.” “Then where did this come from?” “From you. The rocks were only present in the places your magic touched.”
As we soared for the clouds, a ripple of movement drew my focus back to the ground. In the dirty, downtrodden square of my beloved Mortal City, one by one, the mortals lowered to their knees.
“I want there to be no part of you that you hide from me because you fear it’s a part I will not love. I treasure your darkness as much as your light.” He dropped his mouth a breath away from mine, his words a whisper on my lips. “Show me your worst, my darling, and I’ll show you how far my love can go.”
The King’s skin began to glow. The scarlet of his irises faded to a churning smoky grey. “Never before have I made this choice,” his voice boomed throughout the hall. “It was not an easy one for me. Nor will it be an easy one for you.”
“Guard my people well,” the King said.
Claim me, Daughter of the Forgotten. It was a calling my soul would not, could not, ignore.
Luther pushed to his feet, and we strode toward each other, pulled together by a soul-born, irresistible draw. “My love,” he whispered, “you are so much more than we ever dreamed.”
Luther tenderly cupped my face. “Your Majesty... you just became the Queen of Fortos.”
“You may not be the Queen anyone expected, but you are the Queen they need.”
“If something happens to you, I’ll suffocate this entire fucking realm in darkness.”
“Would you really do that for me? Leave everything behind?” “I would do anything for you. As long as I can do it with you.”
He crouched at my side. “How can I help?” he said softly.
god he is such a MANNNN i love him!!!
His gaze fell to my hand, and he stilled. “Where did you get that?” I stared down at the sword Stuart had brought me. I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t even looked at it until now. The broadsword bore a gilded, finely carved handle and a glittering onyx blade as wide as my thigh that had been inlaid with golden scrollwork. It was a true piece of art—and it wasn’t the first time I’d seen it. “By the Flames,” I breathed, “it’s the sword from our vision. The one I was holding on the battlefield.”
But she deserved better than a rough, greedy fuck. She deserved to be worshipped. I’d make sure she got both.
“If you have something wonderful, why not share it with everyone you can?” “I’ve found something wonderful.” He deftly unclasped my weapons belt and let it thump to the floor. “I don’t feel like sharing her, either.”
I bit back my smile at seeing him reduced to single syllables. I thrilled at this game we played in private—his insistence on taking control, even though we both knew he was always at my mercy. It was our game of cat and mouse—but both of us were lions.
“Such a good girl.”
“What I was really waiting for was the woman I loved. I waited, and I waited. Then I found her, and she made me wait even more.” He set a kiss on my spine. “I would have waited a lifetime, if that’s what it took.”
“Behave, or you won’t get your reward.”
“You’re a handsome, powerful Descended royal. Surely you’re not threatened by a mortal teen.” “Threatened?” he said incredulously. “You think I’m threa—” His eyes narrowed at the shit-eating grin on my face. “You are absolutely getting punished tonight.”
“I think my godhood is smitten with yours,” I said as his magic shrouded my vision in darkness. “You should hear the things mine tells me to do to you.” He took me by the shoulders and guided me forward. “Maybe later I’ll give him what he wants.”
“Shall I get on my knees for you?” he murmured against my mouth. “Or would you rather I force you to your knees for myself?”
“Blessed Mother Lumnos offered me a choice that night, and I accepted it. I swore to her I would serve the grey-eyed Queen and fulfill her dream of peace. I kept the scar as a symbol of that promise.” His focus rose to me. “But you are the woman I pledged myself to. And now, this scar is for you.” He laid his hand over mine to flatten it over the scar’s rippled edge. “Let all those who might try to tear us apart see this and know how far my devotion will go. I will suffer for you, bleed for you, but most of all, I will survive for you. My body can be carved in two, open and dying, and still I
...more
He lowered his forehead to mine. “Diem Bellator, you are everything I’ve ever wanted. You are my joy and my salvation. You are perfect. And I promise you this—I will love you for as long as love exists.”
“If I lay you out on this table, will you eat while I make you come?” I chewed on my lip, debating my options. “Can I read while you make me come instead?”
me
