Page 44

Cadence

By the time we reached Ryker’s chambers, I was exhausted. My whole body ached, and muscles that I didn’t even know existed protested in pain.

Still, I was alive, so that was something.

The room was quiet compared to the soft noises of the forest and the violent sounds of battle. Everything had been amplified out in the woods. The sound of my blood pounding in my ears had been a constant companion as I lurched from one moment to the next.

Now, the silence was deafening. Eerily so.

As I peered around, taking in the velvet drapes and ornate furnishings, it seemed like they had lost their opulence. As if the night’s events had dimmed them somehow.

Ryker set me on the edge of his chaise before disappearing into the bathing chamber. My clothing was ruined, and I was smeared with blood and grime from the battle. I’d stain the soft fabric of the lounge in my current state, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

A moment later, Ryker returned with a washcloth in hand. He lowered himself to his knees before me, then pressed it to my temple. I hissed as pain radiated from the site, and when he pulled the cloth away, I was surprised to see it was bloody.

I hadn’t even realized I’d been injured.

“You held your ground out there,” Ryker murmured as he continued cleaning the dirt from my face.

I blinked, unsure how to take the praise.

“Did I?”

Ryker nodded, his eyes never leaving mine as he worked.

“I’ve seen more seasoned warriors falter when confronted with such odds.”

A humorless laugh escaped my lips.

“It was terrifying, and I’m not entirely sure how I made it out alive,” I admitted.

“I knew you would.”

“How?”

I quirked a brow, ready to hear him repeat his earlier declaration that not even the gods could take me from him.

“Because you’re strong, Cadence,” he said, dropping the washcloth to the ground.

“You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You were forced to make a choice tonight, and you chose to survive.”

I opened my mouth to respond but closed it again when words escaped me.

“And you’re stubborn,” he continued with a mischievous grin. “Far too stubborn to die, that’s for sure.”

A laugh bubbled up my throat, and before I could stop myself, it burst free. Ryker’s grin widened, and he cupped my cheeks in his palms.

“You are my mate, Cadence,” he whispered almost reverently. “You were created to stand at my side, and the gods would never have sent someone weak to tame the Night Cursed Prince.”

“Have I?” I purred, surprising myself.

I cleared my throat and tried again. “Tamed the Night Cursed Prince, I mean?”

I studied Ryker’s face, but his expression gave nothing away. His gaze dropped to my lips, and my tongue darted out to wet them.

Ryker leaned in close, his warm breath fanning across my cheek, and I inhaled sharply. His mouth moved to the shell of my ear, and he murmured, “Not even a little.”

It took a moment for my mind to clear from the lust-induced fog and to register his words. When I finally processed what he said, I shoved him in irritation. He fell to the ground, his back colliding with the hard stone floor as he laughed raucously.

I was defenseless against his boyish charm. He so rarely showed that part of himself that I longed for it every moment in between.

I grinned down at him, my annoyance fading away as I watched him struggle to rein in his laughter.

“You should have seen your face, Cadence.”

“You’re an idiot, Ryker,” I snapped, but there was no bite to it.

“No one has ever dared to call me an idiot before,” Ryker mused. “Well, except Riordan.”

“Yes, well, Riordan is an excellent judge of character.”

“Does your opinion of his judgment extend to all the good things he has been saying about me?”

“How do you know about that?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

Ryker lifted a hand, letting shadows pool in his palm. The reminder of what those dark tendrils could do sent a shiver of excitement racing down my spine.

“My shadows hear everything,” Ryker said absently as he played with the black mass.

Wisps of darkness danced between his fingers and wrapped around his forearm as if embracing him.

“And they trade in secrets.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Cadence,” Ryker rumbled as he sat up, bracing his arms on either side of my thighs.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

Ryker hummed, and liquid heat coiled between my legs.

The man had trained me to respond to his commanding tone. Even now, after everything I had endured tonight and how exhausted I felt, my body burned for him.

The intensity churning in Ryker’s gaze had me glancing sideways to escape the overwhelming heat that seemed to pin me in place.

My eyes locked on a crimson stain that had soaked through his tunic.

“You’re hurt,” I said, and I could hear the disbelief in my tone.

“It’s a scratch.”

I clawed at the garment as I pulled Ryker’s shirt over his head. An angry red gash marred his side, the steady flow of blood letting me know just how deep it was.

“If you wanted to get me naked, Cadence, all you had to do was ask,” Ryker teased.

I gave him a look that warned I wasn’t playing around before I returned my gaze to his injury. He sucked in a breath as I prodded the wound gently and more blood welled at the site.

“You should have said something,” I grumbled as I laid my palm over the gash.

The rush of power had me sighing in contentment, and I leaned into the feeling as I pushed more of my magic into Ryker. The swelling around the injury lessened, and the constant trickle of blood dried up.

Ryker’s eyebrows bunched as he watched me work, my magic weaving his broken flesh back together. As the final pulse left my palm, the thrumming in my veins slowly faded, and I looked up to see Ryker staring down at me.

“You’re incredible,” he said hoarsely.

“You’ve seen me work before, Ryker.”

“It’s different when you can feel it, too.”

Ryker plucked the washcloth off the ground and resumed his ministration on the cut at my temple.

“I can heal that myself, you know,” I teased.

“I’m aware, but I want to do it.”

The bond flared inside my chest, and I gasped.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, concern lacing his tone.

“No, I… it’s fine,” I muttered, as I forced myself to keep my hands at my sides instead of rubbing at the spot like I wanted.

Ryker gave me an indiscernible look but said nothing.

Once he was satisfied that he’d cleaned out the cut, Ryker stood and offered me his hand.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked as I placed my palm in his much larger one.

“For a bath. You’re a mess.”

“As if you can talk,” I scoffed, and I pointed to the blood still covering his body and matting his hair.

Ryker simply shrugged and tugged me along after him.

Warmth spread throughout my chest, and I had to wonder if I was finally softening toward my mate.