Page 124 of A Game Cursed and Deadly

I spin on my feet so quickly I see stars, and grip the iron-wrought railing to keep from slipping. Hands — large, warm, clawed ones — wrap around my waist, holding me steady. As my vision returns, he fills all of it.

And he’s far more beautiful than my memories gave him credit for.

Every time I’ve seen him in his true form, he’s been naked. Now, his chest is bare, but ornate; a chunky, golden necklace drapes around his neck, with a large, star-shaped red gem right in the middle, like the ones that decorated his book of sigils, but significantly larger. His shoulders are covered by dark epaulettes adorned in scales like those of his tail, with three ivory horns on the ends. Sitting low on his waist is a belt of that same dark, scaled material, with gold chains and an even larger red gem right in the middle; past it, his lower half is covered by a flowing black skirt.

He looks every bit the regal Prince, and I can’t enjoy the sight of him as much as I’d like before my vision starts to blur.

One of his gold-covered fingers swipes under my eye, gathering a tear. “None of that, little gem.”

I press my fists against his chest. “You left!”

The air around us changes, and now it smells darker, like burnt coffee and leather. No doubts, I’m scenting his emotions, and if they’re as bitter as the smell would suggest, he’s not happy right now.

Good. Let him feel pain. Let him feel anguish.

He. Left.

“I know.” His voice is hoarse, pure gravel. His fingers move from my cheek to the back of my neck, lacing with my hair, and tipping my head back.

“Would it make it better to know every moment away from you was utter agony?” He taps the center of my chest, where his mark is, and my skin buzzes. “That I’m not supposed to be that far away from you, and every single fucking day, this tether between us reminded me?”

I mull on it for a moment. No point in lying to him; he’s always seen me down to my soul. “Yes.”

His smile is pure sin. “So vicious,” he purrs, pulling me closer. The hands that I kept balled into fists release, nails digging in his skin. “I love you like that.”

Whatever thread of composure I had snaps, and I climb to my tiptoes to get closer, reach for his face, bring him down to me. Our lips clash in anger, in need, in hunger. It’s a fight this time, not a dance. It’s teeth, it’s angry lashes of our tongues. It’s exactly what I need. We’re live wire, explosive.

Tei is the one to pull away, and I growl in protest, attempting to bring him back to me, but he’s still way stronger than I am.

“Later, little witch,” he promises, his hands skating reverently down my body. “I owe you lots of groveling and worshiping.”

I scoff. “At least you recognize it.”

He chuckles, gripping my chin between thumb and index. “I’m here to keep my end of the bargain.”

My heart jumps in my throat. Does this mean…

He nods, as if reading my thoughts. “I found your mother’s soul, yes.”

I whip my head around, expecting to see her, even if just as a ghost, but it’s just the two of us on this balcony. “Where —”

“Not here,” he finishes my sentence. “I can bring her back, if you’d like. But there’s something else I’d like to ask you. If your answer is no, if you don’t want this, know… know I will respect your choice.”

My eyebrows furrow, waiting for him to continue. Tei’s scent turns more spiced, like anise and juniper, and it burns the back of my throat as if I’d just taken a shot of absinthe. Is this what his fear smells like? It’s one emotion I’ve never seen from him. His face is stoic still, but the scent… is overpowering.

“I wanted to be sure this was possible first, because I don’t want you as a spirit — I want you as you, my incredible, powerful, wonderful witch. You are the better half of my soul, the main reason I have to breathe. I want you by my side, as my equal, as my partner, for the rest of eternity. I want to worship you the way you deserve to be worshiped, to be the one to give you everything you wish upon.” He strokes my wind-whipped hair back. “My mark allows you to travel between realms.”

I choke on my own breath in a pathetic sound.

“Join us in the Beyond, little witch. Be mine forever.”