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“I love you, Malachi,” I whispered against his mouth.

Between our panting breaths and desperate touches, it wasn’t long until there was nothing between us. Just our bodies together, blending in a way that lit up the darkest parts of my soul.

Malachi was mine.

I was his.

And that night, I surrendered to him fully.

CHAPTER22

Malachi

“Malachi,” Serefin’s voice rang from outside the bedroom door, followed by a rapid knock. My eyelids shot open. “Malachi, are you in there?”

Jade stirred next to me, yanking the sheets up to her chin. My wings instinctively flared out, covering us both.

After last night, I never wanted her to leave this bed. I would never get enough of her laying next to me.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered. “It’s just Ser.” I then turned my attention to the door. It wasn’t unlike him to be knocking this early. “Go away, Serefin!”

“Someone is here to see you,” he persisted.

“Tell them to leave me alone,” I said. I moved my hand to trace a long, delicate line down the side of Jade’s perfect face. Her mouth twitched in a smile.

Serefin mumbled something I couldn’t quite hear outside my door, then said, “It’s the Paragon, Mal. Messengers from the Paragon are here and they’re requesting to meet with you.”

Jade’s eyes shot back open. Any relaxation from her in that moment ripped away, like it was never there in the first place.

I couldn’t deny that my heart rate sped up, too.

“Fine,” I said after finding the words. “Keep them occupied. I’ll be down in a moment.”

I listened to his rushed footsteps as he walked away from the door, leaving Jade and I in the bedroom.

“What are they doing here?” Jade asked, sitting up in bed with a tight grip on the sheets. “What do they want? Why would they come all the way here?”

“Calm down,” I said. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

“Nothing serious?” she questioned. “How is the Paragon, our biggest enemy, by the way, showing up in our kingdomnotserious?”

“If they wanted to cause us harm, half the kingdom would be dead by now. Trust me, Jade.”

I rolled out of bed and began dressing myself, very aware of Jade’s eyes watching my every move.

“Well?” I asked after a few seconds. “Are you coming?”

Her face flushed red, and she didn’t say a word. She stayed put, holding the bed sheet tight to her chest. “I hate to break this to you, princess,” I started, “but after last night, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Jade rolled her eyes and threw one of the pillows at me, missing by a good foot.

“Turn around,” she said.

After fully dressing myself, I listened, turning around while Jade got out of my bed and got herself dressed.

I didn’t stop my mind from wandering to the soft curves of her small body, and the way she felt in my arms last night. My chest warmed at the thought.

“Okay,” she said, interrupting my thoughts after a few, agonizing minutes. “You can turn around now.”