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I shook my head. “More. I need you, I need more of you.”

A low, gritty growl was my response. He removed his fingers and dragged the tips over my thighs, over my lower belly, as though marking me with the evidence of what he could do to me.

“More of this?” he rasped. “You need more of your mate, Little Rose?”

He shoved my back firmer against the tree, so he could release one of my legs and grip his length. In beautifully cruel strokes he teased my entrance with the crown. “Is this what you need? Need me to fill you until all you feel is me?”

“Gods,” I said. “Where did you learn to talk like this?”

He grinned. “Comes naturally with you. I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“Yes. I want you inside.”

Silas slid the tip inside. He kissed me, sweeter than before, and whispered. “We don’t have much time, so I’m going to need you to come fast. Come hard.”

Damn the gods. I wanted him to crack my body in half and fill every vein with more of him. This passion, this obsession, was heady and vibrant. No wonder everyone on these palace grounds could hardly see reason when theirhjärtawas threatened.

“Ready?” Silas’s breath was hot against my ear.

I couldn’t catch a breath and simply nodded, clawing at his shoulders. Silas rammed his length inside to the hilt. I moaned when he offered no respite, merely tightened his hold on my thighs and pumped into me deep, hard, and fast.

My breasts bounced against his chest with each thrust. I hooked my ankles at the small of his back when the heat of my release built, then snapped in one vibrant wave.

I couldn’t stop rocking against him, desperate to squeeze out every last piece of pleasure.

“Calista,” he moaned, wildly thrusting into me. “Again, do that again. Gods, you feel so perfect wrapped around me.”

His tongue tangled with mine. My core throbbed, but I kept rocking into his length as he deepened his movements. Silas kissed me, his teeth trapped my lip, then in a few more breaths, he went still. A heavy moan hummed from his throat to mine as his length twitched inside.

His release dripped down my thighs, it dripped onto the soil, and I loved the whole sight of it. Like we were staking claim across the palace. This was our kingdom. Our world. Our home.

But this man, he was minealone.

For a moment his forehead pressed to mine, and my arms remained locked around his neck. A tinge of gray was chasing away the velvet black of the night. The precious bits of peace were fading away.

My heart ached when voices lifted from within the palace . Distant glides of steel and leather rippled into the thicket as warriors roused and prepared.

“There must be movement at the shore,” Silas whispered.

I forced a smile, desperate to suffocate the disquiet in my chest. There was no choice—we faced a battle today. Run and be killed, fight and be killed, or . . . fight and claim back our land for good.

Silas kissed me, a mere whisper of a kiss, and slid out of me. He helped me gather my tattered trousers, and fastened his belt. When we laced our fingers together, he kissed my knuckles, his eyes locked on mine. “I love you, Little Rose. I always have.”

“To the Otherworld, Whisper.”

Chapter35

The Storyteller

I quickly gatheredmy old trousers from the upper rooms and adjusted the laces around my waist as Silas and I hurried toward the great hall. Whatever was about to happen, torn clothes from a beautiful, rough-handed moment in the thicket wouldn’t do.

Commotion rose from the hall. Royals, warriors, their guilds, and a few confused, sleepy littles bustled about, strapping blades, muttering plans, inspecting old maps of the first kingdom with the guidance of the Golden King and Raven Queen.

“Auntie Cal.” Livia Ferus hugged my waist. “Your room was magic. Not one nightmare came.”

I gave Silas a smug grin and stroked Livia’s dark, silky hair. “Told you.”

A boy with messy hair standing on end approached, munching on a juicy blood pear. “This where you’re living now, Cal?” His grassy green eyes flicked to the dark rafters overhead. “Sorta dusty like, but there’s a lot of rooms.”