Caught in the Basilisk's Gaze (Monsters of Faery, #4)

by Mallory Dunlin

"Will you kiss me, princess?" he asked, not looking away from my eyes. "Kiss me, and never stop?" "We'll have to breathe," I said, my mouth wetting. I leaned towards him. My breath caught in my throat. "So breathe," he whispered, "and kiss me again."

"Then I'm yours," he said in a fragile voice. He took my hand and set it on his throat, his pulse under my fingertips. "Yours to harm or to harbor, and yours to succor or to strike. Set a collar around my neck, and I will submit. Set a crown on my head, and I will stand sovereign. But I beg thee, set thy hand over my heart, and claim what longs to be claimed."

"I love you beyond all reason." Vaduin said it like a prayer, as if hoping the gods would hear, and remember. "My heart beats because of you, and for you. You are my song and my solace."