Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1000(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 667(@300wpm)
“Besides, you were busy with your subjects, Your Highness.” A steady line of lords and ladies snaked through the great hall during the feast, coming to our table one by one to introduce themselves and preen at their new ruler’s feet.
“They are your subjects too. Have you forgotten the crown that adorns your head? The one I placed there?”
I tense as he rounds the bed, settling on the edge. He collects the book from my grasp without asking. “Samara’s Quest.” Tossing it aside, his heated gaze drags over the black silk nightgown I found in the closet. Despite the uprising that saw countless sections of the castle destroyed, the king’s and queen’s chambers remained untouched. Overhearing the guards, it sounds like the rebels focused their efforts on searching for missing children. “You are angry with me.”
“I am tired.” It isn’t entirely a lie. I am exhausted. Three centuries of waiting will do that.
“You lashed out at our visitors with far more than fatigue today.”
I caught the side of the beast with a bolt of my affinity. I imagine they’ll need the casters to heal the burn.
Malachi caresses my cheek with his palm before cupping my chin, as a lover would.
I flinch and attempt to pull away, but his grip tightens until it borders on pain.
His dark eyes are searing as they attempt to dissect me. “You think that because I have taken this physical form, I cannot sense what is going through that vindictive mind of yours?” His eyebrow arches with amusement, even as his fingers squeeze.
Tears well in my eyes, but they aren’t for pain. Not physical, anyway. “I have waited nearly three hundred years, I have done all that you asked, and still you have not returned my husband to me.”
“Did I not?” He shutters his eyes, a soft smirk curling his lips.
My affinity bubbles under the surface, begging to be unleashed. I could end this torture now.
When his eyes reopen, he blinks repeatedly, as if regaining consciousness after a long sleep. He focuses on my face and his eyes grow wide with panic. “Dear God.” He releases his tight grip of me, pulling away as if burned.
Dear God.
The Fate of Fire would never say such a thing.
“Elijah?” I ask tentatively.
He breathes a heavy sigh and ropes his arms around me, pulling my body to his. “Yes, my love. This is me.” Hot lips press against my forehead. “I am still here. I have been here the whole time. Ever since you found me in the Nulling.” His voice is hoarse. “It is a never-ending nightmare. I can see and hear everything, but my body and words are not my own to control.”
“But you can see me?”
“I see you. Your anguish, your heartbreak.”
Hope explodes in my chest. “It is not too late, then. I have not lost you yet.”
“You have not.” His lips move to my cheek, then to my lips.
I relish their taste against mine for a long moment until my tears meld with our kisses. “This is not what I intended.” I shake my head, sobbing. “This is not what he promised me.”
“What did I warn you of Malachi, my dearest Sofie? That he was not to be trusted. That he would take everything from you.”
The season for castigating has long since come and gone. “What am I to do?”
“I do not have the answer for you.” Elijah’s cheeks are damp with tears too. “But know that I am here with you. You are not alone. Your pain is mine.” His kiss turns frantic, full of desperation and urgency, as if the clock is about to run out on our moment.
I match the intensity, our hands working away at each other’s clothes until we’re left with nothing but skin and the cool air flowing in from the terrace.
I cry out with Elijah’s first thrust, a dreamlike feeling overwhelming me as the memories I’ve clung to for centuries rush back. My legs wrap around his hips as he pins me down, our fingers entwined above my head. I have waited so long to feel his weight atop me, and the delicious burn of him filling me so completely. I would sacrifice everything to hold on to this moment forever.
“See, my love? I did not betray you.”
The hairs at my nape prick at the sudden change in timbre.
As quickly as Malachi left, he has returned.
His hips pause and he pulls back to show me his cruel smile. “Your husband is with you at all times.” I gasp as he thrusts hard, his hands flexing around mine until they threaten to crush my bones. “And any harm inflicted upon me—by anyone—will be dually felt by him.”
A not-so-subtle warning in case I had plans to take my revenge.
I swallow. “No harm shall come to you while I am at your side.”