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“She looks like Sapphire,” I admit, although I don’t elaborate further.

“She does,” Aerix agrees. “Remember—I saw them, too.”

Them.

Sapphire and Riven. They were there when Aerix flew me away from the attack at the waterfall—when he saved me from those monsters who were going to drown me if I remained there any longer.

He studies my face, his eyes seeming to see far more than I’m saying.

“Your human life is fading, Zoey,” he says softly. “After tonight, the memories will feel like a dream.”

“I know,” I whisper, and I do.

I’m ready to let go of my old life—even of Sapphire. But having Laura will be like keeping a small piece of that past, transformed into something that fits my new existence.

Aerix lifts his hand to my face, his touch gentle as he tilts my chin up. “Are you having second thoughts?” heasks, a dangerous edge beneath the softness of his question.

“No,” I say firmly, since any hesitation will cost me. “I want this. I want you. Forever.”

The tension in his wings eases, and then he’s drawing me closer, his lips finding mine again in a slow, controlled kiss. It’s a claim. A promise. A quiet possession. His thumb traces along my jaw while his other hand finds my hip—the spot under the dress that’s signed with his name.

“You’re the only thing I’ve ever been certain of,” he whispers so quietly that the words are for me alone. “I knew it from the moment I saw you.”

Just like at the fountain when he had me drink his blood, it feels like he’s offering himself to me—every twisted, powerful, broken part of him. The thought steals my breath away, making my heart race beneath my ribs. This dark, deadly prince who commands fear from an entire court is offering me everything he is, and I absolutely love him for it.

I let my hands slide up his back, fingers finding the sensitive base of his wings where feathers meet flesh. I press lightly, watching his eyes darken as a shudder of pleasure runs through him.

“Careful,” he warns, his voice rough with desire. “Keep touching me like that, and I might ruin you right here in the barns.”

I press deeper, feeling the tremor that runs through his wings as I caress the sensitive spot. And as I do, power floods my veins.

Intoxicating. Addictive.Dangerous.

“Then let them see,” I challenge, and then his mouth is on mine again, his wings tightening around us as he backs me against the nearby wall, his body pressing against mine with delicious urgency.

“You’re playing with fire,” he murmurs against my throat, his fangs grazing the sensitive skin there.

My fingers thread through his hair, pulling him closer. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not afraid of getting burned.”

His laugh is dark and hungry as he lifts his head to look at me. “So eager to be consumed, little consort, even though we have a ceremony to prepare for.” His wings pull back, although his body remains pressed against mine, as if he can’t gather enough control to pull away. “And believe me, when I finally make you immortal, I want you in my bed—not against a cell wall.”

I sigh, dropping my hands from his wings. “Fine. But afterward?—”

“Afterward,” he promises, his eyes gleaming with dark promises, “I’ll show you exactly what an eternity with me means.”

As we walk back toward the entrance, heads turn to watch. The humans in their cells, the guards at theirposts—all witnessing the prince and his consort locked in their own private world.

Tonight’s just the beginning.

After my transformation, we’ll have forever to explore what we are to each other. Forever to love in our own dark, twisted way.

And I can hardly wait.

ZOEY

The night airswirls around us as we return to the palace, and we pass through silent hallways, emptier than I’ve ever seen them. Any night fae we encounter bows deeply before hurrying away, as if they know better than to be near us tonight.

Eventually, we reach what appears to be a dead end—a wall of black stone.