Page 181 of A Fate in Flames

The last molten threads of sunlight bled across the horizon before surrendering to velvet darkness.Every Jinn stood motionless, taut with anticipation and eyes fixed on the empty space where their king would appear.

I slipped between Jasila and Mira, excitement crackling off their skin.Tavrik stood on the other side of Jasila, his fingers ghosting over the delicate curve of her wrist while she arched into his touch.

I was going to tease them, but the words died as drums exploded through the night.

Then he materialised.

Dalkhan strode forward, the torches shuddering in his wake.Bonfires roared to life at the mere flick of his wrist, their flames writhing under his command.

Every head dropped in submission, backs bending, but his gaze never wavered, slicing through the crowd until it found me.

He moved through the sea of bowed figures, bodies parting before him, creating a path that led directly to me.

He slid his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up.

Our eyes locked, and everything else—the crowd, the feast, the very world—crumbled away like ash in the wind.

He leaned down, claiming my mouth in a kiss that shattered every coherent thought in my mind.It wasn’t gentle or sweet—it was a declaration of ownership that left no room for doubt.His lips moved against mine possessively, his hand tangling in my hair.Holding me exactly where he wanted me.

I whimpered into his mouth.

When he finally pulled back, my lips were swollen and aching, my entire body humming with want.His thumb traced the dampness he’d left behind, drinking in every detail of my ruined state like it was a masterpiece he’d painted.

“You will sit with me tonight.”

I managed to nod, my voice trapped somewhere between my racing heart and the inferno in my veins.I wanted to pull him closer, to let him unravel me beneath the stars and firelight, audience be damned.

Satisfaction flashed across his features, as if he could read every ravenous thought racing through my mind like an open book.

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and tugged me forward, pulling me to his side like I was meant to be there.Like I was a missing piece, finally sliding into place.

His throne-like chair loomed behind him, ornate and imposing.He appeared even more otherworldly when he sank into it.Instead of releasing me, he grabbed my waist, lifting me effortlessly onto his lap.

As I settled against him, I felt exactly how much that kiss had affected him.A slow burn spread across my skin as he adjusted me, every inch of his desire pressing against me.

His arms locked around me, creating a cage of warm muscle that was impossible to escape—not that I wanted to.One hand splayed possessively across my hip, burning through the thin fabric of my dress, while the other found my thigh, sliding higher with excruciating slowness.

As his thumb traced patterns against my skin, I bit down hard on my bottom lip to keep from whimpering.

His voice dropped to a dangerous purr.“Do you feel that?”He shifted his hips, holding me firmly against him.“How hard you make me?”

He scraped his teeth against my neck.“Everyone here knows I’m going to fuck you senseless the moment we’re alone.”

The steady rhythm of his heartbeat matched the wild pounding of my own, both of us burning with the same consuming hunger.

The feast roared to life around us.Laughter and conversation flowed like wine, but it was nothing more than a distant hum.

His fingers continued their exquisite torture, tracing slow, idle patterns along my waist.Dipping lower, only to retreat, burning me alive with the promise of something more.Each touch was calculated, designed to drive me to the very edge of sanity.To keep me teetering there, eager and wanting.

A slow, haunting melody built gradually into a fevered tempo.The beat slithered into the air like smoke, curling around my limbs, pulling at something deep and wild inside me.I yearned to sway with the hypnotic rhythm, but I fought against it, pressing further into Dalkhan’s hold.

His chest shook with silent laughter.

I looked back, catching the amusement bright on his face.“What’s so funny?”

“The music pulls even the strongest Jinn under its spell,” he mused, his fingers trailing down my collarbone.“Watching you try to fight it is… entertaining.”

The crowd had surrendered to the music’s seductive call.Their bodies swayed and twirled in a feverish display of sensual movement, limbs tangling together in wordless conversation of pleasure.Even Theo and Tavrik had joined in.Theo moving effortlessly against Mira, his hands guiding her hips in slow, grinding circles, while Jasila and Tavrik moved in perfect synchrony, his lips at her neck.Their eyes were filled with something deep and unspoken.