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He lifted his head just as he reached my center, my fingers curling into his onyx hair as his fingers curled into me. A moan rolled from my lungs, sparks flowing through my veins, readying to electrocute my heart.

In that moment, everything fell away.

The war, the pain, the uncertainty—none of it mattered.

All that existed was us .

Two shattered souls, making a home in each other’s arms.

“I want to taste my wife.” His voice was a growl, a low rumble as he said the words and my legs spread for him in response.

I didn’t have a second to breathe before his lips were on me.

My hands flew to my side, fisting the sheets as my hips rocked against him, rocked against the pleasure that was coiling so fast, too fast . His tongue delved into me, drinking in every bit of the pleasure that was made for him—only ever for him.

A cry broke free from my chest, rapture flooding my system like the lighting crashing outside of our sanctuary, bright and sharp and blinding.

He groaned against me, the vibrations sending shockwaves rippling under my skin.

His hands gripped my hips, holding me steady as he feasted, devouring me whole.

Tears began to stream from my eyes as my heart swelled against my breasts. Liquid love that overflowed from my soul, pouring from the very depths of my being.

“Landers, please . . .” I begged, though for what I wasn’t entirely sure.

But he seemed to understand the unspoken pleas.

He always understood.

With one final, devastating swipe of his tongue, he crawled back up my body, settling his hips between my thighs.

My heart shuddered as his eyes caught mine, silver tears bleeding down his face, mirroring my own.

Something cracked between us then, as if the universe had split to make room for a love as great as ours. Coils of silver magic poured from my skin, wrapping around us, tying us together as wings snapped from his back.

The breath caught in my throat at the sight of him kneeling before me, a silver glow lighting up his skin and his face as if he were an angel sent to save me.

A primal growl fled his lungs as his lips crashed onto mine with a hunger that ignited the fire in my veins. His kiss consumed me, a scorching brand that seared through flesh and bone to claim my very soul. I opened for him, surrendering to the onslaught of passion, of desperation, of fear.

He tore his mouth from mine, both of us gasping for air as his forehead fell against mine, eyes blazing with every emotion we had ever felt.

“I love you,” he rasped, his voice ragged. “Gods, Hyacinth, I love you so much it terrifies me.”

Tears filled the corners of my eyes again, spilling down my cheeks at the vulnerability shining through the cracks in his armor. A broken sound escaped him, and then he was kissing me again, deep and thorough, like he could pour all the shattered pieces of himself into me.

I accepted every single jagged shard.

His wings flared out, casting shadows across the room as my magic glowed off of us. With a single thrust, he filled me completely.

A cry of pure ecstasy tore from my throat, my nails digging into corded muscle that rippled with each one of his thrusts. My body welcomed him, craved him , every nerve singing as he moved inside of me.

His wings beat in time with our racing hearts, stirring the charged air. Sparks crackled where our skin met, desire and power merging into something ancient and unbreakable. I clung to him, meeting each roll of his hips with my own, chasing the rapture only he could bring.

His hands gripped my hips, angling them so he could drive deeper, and gold flares exploded from my pores, fireworks breaking around the room as the length of him brushed against the well of pleasure inside my core.

We moved as one, giving and taking in equal measure until the world narrowed to the slide of sweat-slicked skin and the blinding ecstasy building at the base of my spine.

Landers’s thrusts grew more urgent, more demanding as he plunged into me.

“Gods,” he groaned against my neck, his teeth grazing my skin. “You feel so fucking perfect.”

I could only moan in response, my voice stolen by the pleasure blooming inside my abdomen. My legs locked around his waist, heels digging into his sculpted back as I urged him deeper, harder.

“There you go, baby,” Landers panted, his fingers finding my clit and rubbing merciless circles. “Look at me.”

It was a command and I obeyed.

I opened my eyes to meet his gaze, my heart racing at the raw need and desire burning in those emerald eyes.

“I need to see you come for me,” he growled, increasing the speed of his movements until I was gasping for air.

His fingers dug into the flesh on my hips, the possessive grasp bordering on painful. But I reveled in it, craved the exquisite ache that reminded me we were alive.

That we had survived.

Pleasure finally crested that peak, shooting through my veins like molten gold, my body lighting up from the inside out as if I was the sun itself.

Landers’s name tore from my throat, a prayer and a plea as my walls clenched around him in pulsing waves. He followed me over the edge, face buried in the curve of my neck, the roar of his release muffled in my skin and vibrating through my bones.

For a breath there was only one, two people sharing a single soul.

A King and Queen. A warrior and God. Husband and wife.

We clung to each other for a long moment, refusing to let a single wisp of air come between us as our bodies trembled. His breath came in ragged pants against my chest as I combed my fingers through his hair.

Slowly, reluctantly, Landers withdrew and rolled onto his side, gathering me against his heaving chest. I curled into him, my head resting on his shoulder as we listened to the rain patter against the windows.

Silence stretched between us as our breaths mingled, and I wanted to stay locked inside of it forever—wanted to stay cocooned in the shelter of his wings and arms. But it was time.

Reality would not wait for us.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I began, my voice shaking. “About Cain . . . about what Wren said to me before he died.”