Page 150 of Ballad of Nightmares

“I would claim you, Deianira,” in a haunting voice.

Ana swallowed beneath the conviction in his gaze when he met her eyes, and she held her knees steady as he continued.

“I would break every binding the witches tried to place upon me to keep you,” he continued. “I would take your being into the next existence. Watch this mortal life fade from your eyes… And then I would recite the text never spoken aloud.”

Ana’s eyes widened. She knew the text, or she knew of it.

“I would make youmine.” His voice quieted to barely a hover over a whisper, and he reached to move her wet curl from her face. “Your tether would tie to mine. You would become a part of me, an extension unlike the others. You would bear my mark on your skin and around your neck. You would have an immortal existence that would mean we are one.”

Her heart skipped at the fantasy he told, and she knew he was imagining it by the look in his eyes.

“This is how I would keep you,” he whispered. “Forever.”

She didn’t know what to say, how to respond. He was serious. If only she would ask, he would do it. She could go beyond what she’d only ever dreamed of. No crown would match becoming his. She could be his demon, free herself of the thing she was told she would have to be.

Sam released her face, apparently thinking he had scared her, and he took two steps back.

“Why would you do this?” she called out as he turned on his heel. “Answer me. Why would you bind me to you and break every rule you ever gave yourself. Why do you want me for all eternity?”

“Because I refuse to lose you,” he growled, suddenly standing over her. “Because I love… I love you more than anything this world could ever give me. Everything you are, every part of you, every broken piece that makes up your whole… You are everything I have ever wanted, everything I did not know I was missing. You are a part of what is left of my existence. My other half. My match. And because you were right. Iwillhave you as my Queen. I will not let you go, Ana. No matter what terrors or armies might come after you… May they pray for my mercy if they think they can take you from me.”

Ana swallowed as she watched him start to step away.

“I thought you knew this the other night,” he said. “I thought you were in this with me. That you were ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“To take this world with me.”

Lightning struck close, cracking over the water and sending a charge through the rain.

Ana didn’t shift.

“This is what you meant to talk to me about,” she realized.

Sam stepped closer. “Everything you said that day in the dungeon. Revenge against all those who have wronged you, wronged your family, ruled so ruthlessly and oppressed you… They’re the same people that once tried to break me. I have lived beneath these shadows waiting for the right time to strike once more. You have crippled these armies and their kingdoms. You have paved the way for this… Everything you’ve ever worked for. All of it was leading you here to me.” He paused before her, his hand over her cheek. “I know you meant to use me, but I have a better proposition.”

Anticipation swelled in her chest and knotted her muscles.

“Tell me,” she found herself saying, almost desperate to hear him say it.

“Become my immortal half,” and a dagger of lightning jolted the earth at his back, but Sam didn’t flinch, and Ana… she couldn’t look away from the hunger and determination in his eyes. From the need for her to say yes and become his as no other had become before.

“Let me take you into the next life and bring you back as my own. Match, Queen…wife… my Tower. Let me keep you.”

Ana didn’t respond. She was shaking with the thought of it.

Sam held her cheek in his hand.

“Take your time thinking about it,” he told her softly. “Even if you never agree, I still wish for you to stand by my side as we take revenge and give this place back.” He brought her knuckles to his lips, holding her gaze. “I love you, Ana. Let me give you the crown you deserve and the wings you didn’t know you were destined for.”

“Wings?” she repeated, unable to will the fantasy of such an honor from her mind.

Sam’s lips twitched upward, delirious need swelling in his gaze. “Wings, my Temptress. Immortality. Vengeance. Your crown…”

“What’s the downside?” she asked, almost smiling at him.

His arms settled around her waist, bringing her closer. “You would be stuck with me the rest of your life.”