The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia, #2)

by Carissa Broadbent

Knowing I was taunting him. Knowing I was, once again, asking a question I didn’t want the answer to. His forehead lowered. Our faces were so close—I could feel his breath, shallow and quick. “Because I’m so tired, Oraya.” His mouth brushed over the tip of my nose. Almost a kiss. Not quite. “I’m so tired of pretending. Tired of pretending I don’t think about you every night. That I’ve ever wanted anything⁠—” His throat bobbed, and he closed his eyes, as if he needed a moment to collect himself. His fingers found that spot on my wings again, dragging across it so agonizingly slowly, and I let out a trembling breath that made him lean a little closer, like he wanted to capture that sound on his lips. “I’m exhausted, princess,” he groaned. “So damned tired.” It sounded like a plea—like he was begging me for an answer, a solution. And I hated that I recognized it because I felt it too. It was exhausting, to be this sad all the time. To feel so angry. To resist, constantly. Just as tiring as carrying the wings on my back.