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I was so close . . .

Stars burst behind my clenched eyelids, and with the next pulsation of his shaft, his cock jutted warmth in me. My legs shook madly, and I rode the lulling wave, the weight of exhaustion falling over me.

He groaned, and his hips lifted, shoving deeper into my sex. His cock throbbed and the pinch of those glorious hooks sank into me, ripping me into another wracking orgasm.

His eyes sprang open, and he heaved in a deep gasp, his chest lifting off the bed so suddenly, his cock pulsed inside me, further extending my release.

He lifted his hand, and the shadows wound around his wrist, but there was the slightest bright vein within the darkness. He watched the shadows curve around his limbs with his eyes wide.

I was searingly cold, to the point of pain. He took my jaw, his large hands enveloping my whole face. With his touch, the cold settled into a comforting sensation in my chest.

“You’ve shared your soul,” he murmured, awed. “You have anchored me.”

A single pinpoint glowed in the middle of his eyes—a pupil.

“You have saved me.”

He lifted upright, his wings kicking up a wind. He pinned me on my back, hovering over me. His face lowered, and he carefully placed his mouth against mine, mimicking how I’d kissed him.

My heart exploded. I reached a trembling hand to his jaw, rifling my fingers through the feather-like hair.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

He pressed his mouth against mine more insistently, and his long, pointed tongue slipped past the cage of my lips to lick mine. I met the roughness with all my pent-up passion.

I dragged my fingertips down the column of his neck. I’d even missed how cold he was.

He buried his face in my neck with a groan.

“You belong to me, Little Mortal,” he purred.

I setthe plant toward the corner of the balustrade, the blooms bobbing with each gust of the wind.

The drooping bell-shaped flowers were a nice pop of color against the clouded sky that never changed, except on Novareth. They looked like billbergia, but instead of the rounded aspect of the petals, they had an outward curve like a rose. Overhauling the terrace was my first order of business, and I was glad for it, because every time I woke up, it was one of my first views.

The lilting sound of voices singing echoed from the base of the castle. I craned my neck, leaning to see around one of the towers toward the spot where his statue sat.

People gathered there daily, to bring offerings to the base of his statue, and to ‘worship.’

But what my eyes caught wasn’t as tame as what I’d seen them do before. A handful of women flounced around the statue, naked and singing.

“Too far,” I muttered and pushed away from the railing, marching out of our bedroom. I followed the clear path I’d marked into the ground with blue paint. It would fade in a while, but I’d been using it to memorize the corridors leading outside, because they were so confusing.

Weaving through a different entrance, I reached the crank to open the portcullis. With both hands, I heaved and pushed until the iron chains attached to the door swung it up enough for me to slip underneath. Corvus hated it when I opened the gates without him, probably because the thing looked like it could squash me.

Hurrying onto the stone path, I aimed myself for his statue. The stones deteriorated the deeper I went into the forest until it was only foliage underfoot.

His worshippers were always trying new things to get his attention, but I’d had enough.

I finally burst into the clearing. The group of five women turned toward me.

“You are his pet,” one of the dark-haired Novian women with fair skin hurried over to me and took my hand.

I swatted the worshipper’s hand away.

She frowned exaggeratedly, and her exhale made her boobs bounce.

“We are here to offer the Lord of Shadows pleasure.” She waved her arms behind her. “We offer ourselves to him.” The four other women flounced over, breasts also bobbing.