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ZOEY

“I swear, you taste better and better each time I have you,” Aerix murmurs against my skin, his breath cool against the heat of my neck, a feverish glint in his dark eyes.

“Guess that makes me your finest vintage,” I say with a mischievous smile, forcing a teasing edge to my voice despite the quickening of my pulse.

“You’re not just a vintage. You’re the addiction I’ll never recover from,” he says, and then his mouth crashes onto mine, wild and demanding.

My lips part at his unspoken command, and I taste my own blood mingled with the cold, sharp essence of him—winter storms, pine forests, and danger.

I want to crawl inside him, feel him under my skin, and let him consume me completely. The thought sends a bolt of adrenaline through my veins, and I arch closer, desperate to lose myself in him.

“Take this off,” he demands, tugging on the strap of my chemise. His voice is low, a dark purr that leaves no room for argument.

I sit up, slipping it over my head and tossing it aside. But instead of pushing me back down on the bed, he sits back on his heels, his gaze devouring every inch of my bare skin. His eyes are nearly black now, molten with hunger.

“What?” I ask, holding my breath, ready for anything.

“I want to see how it’s healing,” he says, his fingertips trailing slowly, torturously, down my body. He pauses at my hip, brushing over the red, angry mark where his name is carved into me.

The wound is still fresh, but it makes me feel alive in a way nothing else ever has as he traces each letter with his thumb, his eyes wild, his breaths coming faster. There’s a dark pride in his expression, something possessive and predatory that makes my stomach flutter.

“It’ll scar,” he declares. “You’ll carry me with you forever.”

I shiver beneath his touch, tilting my hips toward his hand.

“I love it,” I whisper, and he exhales slowly, as if I’ve undone him with three words.

Then he leans down, pressing a soft, worshipful kiss to the wound.

“You’re mine. Forever,” he says against my skin, and I tug him back up to me, needing him closer.

His wings curve forward, enveloping us in a cocoon of darkness and feathers as he kisses me again, deeper this time, more demanding.

“I should have done this sooner,” he says, almost to himself. “Claimed you in every way. Made it impossible for them to even think about touching you.”

At the mention of “them,” I hesitate, and Aerix pulls back just enough to search my face, his expression dark and dangerous.

“What is it?” he asks in the sort of tone that makes it clear there’s no point in trying to lie to him.

“I was just thinking about Victoria and Sophia,” I admit, and his magic crackles, cold enough to sting my skin.

“They’ve been hostile,” he says, seeming like he already knowing the answer.

I nod.

His body tenses. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

I shift beneath his weight, pulling the sheet over my chest, suddenly feeling exposed in a way that has nothing to do with having torn off my chemise minutes earlier.

His eyes narrow, catching the movement, displeasure crossing his face at my attempt to cover myself.

“Victoria thinks I’m just your latest obsession,” I confess, the last words sticking in my throat. “That when you get bored, I’ll end up in the barns.”

Aerix’s face darkens, his magic cold and sharp. “She said that to you?”

“She’s scared,” I rush to her defense, even though I don’t like her. “They both are. But I think I can fix it.”

He narrows his eyes. “What, exactly, are you suggesting?”

I take a shaky breath. “Maybe I should stay in the human wing sometimes. Just to smooth things over. I actually like Sophia. She’s been kind to me from the start. And Victoria…” I hesitate. “I’d rather have her as an ally than an enemy.”

His jaw tightens. “You want to leave my chambers to appease them.”

“Not leave,” I say quickly. “Just… not stay every night. Not yet.”

His wings retract with a sharp, controlled rustle, and I brace myself, half-expecting him to bite me again—harder this time, less forgiving.

Instead, his voice comes low and even more dangerous.

“Stick with Aurora and Isla,” he says, and I blink, thrown.

“Isla?”

She’s the youngest of the group. Smart, yes. Careful. An excellent chess player. One of the king’s girls. But Aerix has never mentioned her to me. I didn’t even know he noticed her existence until now.

“She’s been here long enough to know how to navigate the court,” he continues, although there’s something hidden beneath his words—something he’s not telling me.

“You’re being cryptic,” I say, studying him.

“I’m being practical. And I need you to trust me. Aurora and Isla are the best companions for you. However, if you insist on appeasing Victoria and Sophia, then I won’t stop you.” He pauses, his black eyes glinting like ice beneath midnight. “But I need you to remember where your true loyalty lies.”

My heart pounds.

“I will,” I whisper.

His eyes flash in quiet warning. “Tell me now,” he says, and my heart races, the heat between us crackling to life again. “Where does your loyalty lie?”

“With you,” I promise him, grounding myself in it. “Always with you.”

“Good.”

He pauses, the moment stretching, his stare burning through me.

“I’ve already sent Aethelthryth home for the night,” he finally says, his voice low and intimate, “but I’ll escort you back to the human wing myself.”

“You’d do that?”

The question slips out before I can stop it.

He tilts his head, dark amusement crossing his face. “I’d do anything for you.”

My heart twists, and I lean forward, placing my palms flat on his chest.

“Just for tonight,” I promise. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

His gaze turns molten.

“You’d better be,” he growls, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me in for another kiss.

This one is deeper, more desperate, teeth scraping against my lower lip, claiming me all over again. His wings flare, wrapping around us like a shield from the rest of the world.

I don’t think he’s going to let me go.

I’m not sure if I want him to let me go.

But when he eventually pulls back, we dress in silence, the weight of unspoken tension pressing between us.

Every night fae we pass in the winding, mirrored halls bows their head. Their eyes are on me—curious, envious, some filled with barely veiled contempt.

Aerix doesn’t care. He walks beside me like I belong to him, his hand resting on the small of my back with a touch that says: mine.

When we reach the heavy wooden doors of the human wing, he stops, his hand tightening on my lower back as if he can’t stand the thought of letting me go.

“I love you,” I tell him, the sentiment pouring out of me naturally now. “The fact that you’re letting me try to make this right with Sophia and Victoria means a lot to me.”

His magic stirs around us, sharp and cold, like frost seeping into bone.

“I’m going to keep you safe, ,” he promises me. “No matter what it takes. No matter who I have to destroy to do it.”

Before I can ask what he means, he crushes his mouth to mine, his teeth dragging against my lower lip like he’s holding himself back from biting down.

“Until tomorrow,” he whispers when he pulls away, trembling, each syllable heavy with need.

“Until tomorrow,” I echo, soft and breathless.

His fingers trail down my arm, stopping at my wrist. He doesn’t just hold it—he clutches it, his thumb circling over my pulse like he’s memorizing the rhythm of my blood.

When I step back, his grip loosens with agonizing slowness, his fingers trailing along my skin. And as the doors close between us, I catch one last glimpse of him—dark, beautiful, and dangerous—his wings flared as he watches me with a look that promises he’ll burn this court to the ground if I asked.

Only when the doors shut do I exhale, pressing my palm to my hip, feeling the still painful wound beneath my dress and smiling.

Because Aerix’s name is carved into my skin.

Into my heart.

Until the end of time.