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“It won’t respond to your touch?” I asked.

He removed my hand from his neck, and rubbed his own fingers over the foreign word without any kind of a reaction.

I batted his away, and dragged mine slowly over the letters.

Namir barked out a curse, seeming to lose control of himself as he slammed himself into me once, twice, and a third time, his erection throbbing as he lost control.

“Dammit, Love,” he panted, staring down at me with intensely-shadowed eyes.

A laugh burst from me. “Is it really that—” his thumb dragged over the side of my throat, and a scream escaped me as I bucked my hips, pleasure exploding through me.

His finger remained on my neck, completely still as his hot, dark eyes watched me come down from the high with short, rapid breaths.

“Shit,” I mumbled.

“The markings will grow less responsive as they stretch over our throats, but that could take months. There’s no set time for a bond to settle completely, as far as I know. But the possessiveness and need will grow more intense as the marks on our throats grow, as well.”

“Damn.” I closed my eyes, still panting. “That was insane.”

“When we’ve been together more, our bodies will become accustomed to each other, and we’ll have more control over it,” he murmured. “Theoretically.”

I cracked an eye open. “Theoretically?”

He shrugged lightly. “There aren’t many mated couples, and those that do exist don’t share intimate details about their love lives.”

Well, that was justgreat.

“So this is all unknown territory.” I gestured between us.

“Not all, but most.” His fingers lifted carefully off my neck, and slid into my hair as he rolled me to our sides. “Do you still want to train today?”

I grimaced. “I probably should. The next time Laith shows up, I don’t want to be useless.”

“The next time Laith shows up, he and his magic won’t be able to hurt you. Look.” Namir’s hand slid out of my hair and found my own, his fingers weaving between mine as he lifted our connected hands up where we could both see them.

His shadows slid off his skin and wrapped around our arms and hands. The feeling of them touching me was just as warm and comforting as it had been before—but there was another level to it.

It felt… like me.

And when I watched closely, I could see and feel my own shadows twisted with his, our different magics dancing and swirling together.

“You’re stronger than both your brothers, now,” I whispered to him.

Neither of them had their personal magic back, but since we were bonded, he could apparently access his through me.

“And yet my desire to end their lives is smaller than it’s ever been before,” he admitted, his voice soft. “I want a life with you Diora. Not a throne, or a war, or a field of dead fae. A peaceful, happy life.”

“That’s what would make you a good king, though,” I murmured.

He sighed heavily. “Don’t speak reason to me when I’m buried inside you, woman.”

The joke fell flat, but my lips still curved upward sadly. “I wish there was an easy way out of this mess with your brothers too, Namir.”

He went silent for a moment.

My eyes narrowed a bit. “Is there?”

“Now that we’re mated, I could surrender the throne magic to one of them. It would be a simple ending to our fight, but not necessarily the right thing to do. Things are complex.”