Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)

by Rebecca Yarros

He’s the last person I should be craving, but lust and logic never seem to go hand in hand.

I can’t turn around. I won’t. Wanting Xaden is fine. It has to be. Indulging the impulses it gives me? That’s asinine.

“Oh, are we telling dick jokes now?” Ridoc asks from Liam’s side. “Because my entire life has led up to this very moment.”

It’s impossible to rip my eyes away until he passes, though. Gods, I have it bad. “Go away unless you have something useful to say.”

His thumbs stroke over the soft skin under my ears, and his gaze drops to my mouth and heats. Hands flexing, he draws me forward a few inches before he suddenly lets go and retreats a full step. “Damn it. Touching you was a bad idea.” “The worst,” I agree, but my tongue skims my lower lip.

Is it absolutely toxic that I’m attracted to this look on him? Probably. But one look, and my temperature rises.

I shift my body weight in annoyance. Little does he know, I’m almost always in pain. It’s pretty much my comfort zone.

The pain in his eyes is the kind that never dies, the kind that rises like an unpredictable tide and floods the shoreline without mercy.

Satisfaction fills every ounce of my being as I smile up at him. It doesn’t matter how the vote comes down. I’ve already won.

One of the riders down the table whistles low. “Do you boys just want to whip it out and measure? It would be faster.”

My heart jumps as my sight goes black. “Relax. It’s just me.” A ghost of a touch skims my cheek.

Then his hands are on my cheeks, sliding back to cup the base of my neck as he brings his mouth to mine. The kiss is reckless and consuming, and I give it my all, knowing it might be the last one. His tongue licks into my mouth with an urgency I return, angling to take him deeper.

“Maybe it was when I saw Oren holding a knife to your throat,” he says. “Or maybe it was when I realized the bruises on your neck were fingerprints and wanted to kill them all over again just so I could do it slowly. Maybe it was the first time I recklessly kissed you or when I realized I’m fucked because I can’t stop thinking about doing more than just kissing you.”

“Fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.” Xaden’s expression remains bland, bored even, but his eyes heat as his gaze drops to my mouth. “And you say this now, where people will see if you actually do.” My breath catches. “When did I ever give you the impression that I give a fuck what people think about me?” A corner of his mouth rises, and now it’s all I can concentrate on, damn him. “I only care what they think about you.”

“Bet it would be even more awkward if I kissed you now, huh?” Yes, please. “The next time we kiss had better not be just to piss off Dain.” The next time had better only be because we want it. “Next time, huh?” His gaze lowers to my mouth again.

Keeping my eyes locked on his, I fling the dagger at the target. The satisfying sound of split wood tells me I hit true. “Fuck, that’s hotter than it should be.” He pulls in a deep breath.

“So then why are you here, Xaden?” “Because I can’t seem to stay away.”

“Come on,” he whispers. “Show me what you’ve got.” I surge up on my toes and kiss him.

The kiss is blatantly, deliciously carnal,

There’s nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn’t find you, Violence.”

“And we’d have all the time in the world to figure it out if you’d stop acting like such an emotional chickenshit and just admit that you’re going to fall for me, too, if we keep this up.”

“Did you know that the first time I climbed these steps with Dain, I was horrified that there wasn’t a handrail?” “Did you know I can’t stand to hear his name on your lips while you’re leading the way to my room?”

both of the important men are walking away from me right now, in opposite directions, and given the one I’ve chosen to follow, my life is about to change forever.

Xaden walks away from Garrick and holds out his hand as he approaches. My eyebrows rise. Is he… No. He wouldn’t. Not in front of the eight other cadets. He laces his fingers with mine. Guess he would.

“People talk. Let them.”

“Worrying about you is ninety-nine percent of what I do.”

“Trust me, my motives aren’t altruistic, Violence. I’ll take any excuse I can get to put my hands on you.”

“Not sure I’ll ever be finished.” He rises, every plane of his body caressing mine on the way up. “I’m way too fucking greedy when it comes to you.”

“I’m going to keep you,” he promises, just like he did last night. Or was it this morning? “You’re mine, Violet.” I lift my chin. “Only if you’re mine.” “I’ve been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.”

“You’re fucking early,” he says. And my heart stops.

WHAAAAAAATTTT

“You take a step toward that Sorrengail and you’ll be dead before you can even shift your weight,” Xaden says, his voice dropping lethally. “She’s not up for discussion.”

“Not yet. I’d prefer you come to your own conclusion. I chose you for your intelligence and courage, Silver One. Don’t let me down.”

The truth rarely needs effort,

It only takes one desperate generation to change history—even erase it.

“You’ll feel the moment when you’ll know that there’s nothing to leave. And it might break your heart, but when you feel it, you fly. Promise me you’ll fly.”

As angry as I am, I can’t imagine a world without him in it. “I need you to survive this, even if I hate that I still love you.” “I can live with that.”

Because right now, standing near the dead body of my friend and his dragon—all I want is to show these assholes exactly how violent I can be.

Whatever is wedged between us right now, I don’t want him dead. I’ll never want that.

We hadn’t even kissed, and I fell.

“I’m not afraid of hard work, especially not when I know just how sweet the rewards are. I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I’ll do it. You gave me your heart, and I’m keeping it.” She already owns mine, even if she doesn’t realize it.

“Welcome to the revolution, Violet.”