Page 96 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

Evie put a hand over her heart, signaling she’d tucked the enchanted method of communication into her bra.

Great.

She wore a conservative summery dress, sky blue with tulle sleeves and a high neckline. She was covering most of her skin and it still wasn’t enough for me.

I didn’t want any of those demons to see even an inch of her.

The last piece was in a box on the dresser. It was a choker necklace with a clasp that doubled as a tiny ink pen.

It was also a discreet collar, a reminder for Evie that she was safe, protected, andowned.

I placed it on her neck in front of the mirror, and my frown didn’t ease. Not even when Evie’s lips curved slightly, thumbing the familiar moonstone, and the crescent moon, star, and heart charms.

“This is beautiful, Kylo,” she said softly. “Veryme.”

I released a sigh. “I wanted my name front and center, but that’s for next month. When all of thiscivilityandpoliticsanddecorumhave been overtaken by good ole fashioned violence.”

“It’s unlike you to be so tacky. What happened to subtlety?”

I snorted, irritated with Evie’s ability to make me laugh at a time like this. “My undying devotion isn’t meant to be subtle.”

She turned away from the mirror to face me. “We can workshop it. Surely there must be a classier alternative to your name on my neck.”

“Looking forward to those negotiations,” I forced out.

I grabbed her waist. She stroked my cheekbone and traced my tense jaw.

“Will you read to me before bed?” she asked.

I swallowed, basking in the hopeful, determined, unkillable light of Evie’s eyes. She was reinforcing the inevitability of her safe return to me. “Of course, angel.”

31

EVIE

The last stubborn remnants of my anger and distrust over Kylo’s betrayal died off completely the moment I stepped into born territory.

I’d already all but forgiven him. But now? When he was choosingmeso selflessly, giving me my ultimate freedom despite how much it was killing him inside…

I fucking loved that man.

As born guards led me through the grand front gates of the Nighswander Estate in the heart of Etherdale, I pushed all of my true self to the side.

I blocked out the image of Idris yelling. The way my stomach sank as he begged me not to go. Kylo’s heartbroken face the moment he said goodbye, the wounded emotions he concealed before everyone but me.

Tonight, I was a witch without allegiance. I killed my coven for mistreating me. I killed the group of born who kidnapped my brother. The turned were protecting me, but these lords could only guess why. They didn’t know for certain that I had taken Princeton’s place.

And Lord Aster thought he could win me over, regardless.

Perhaps the ruthless, naive girl who escaped the Servants of Lillian to take refuge in Etherdalecouldbe swayed. Maybe the reason she was surrounded by the turned was merely the promise of protection after a life spent looking over her shoulder.

I didn’t hide my fear as two born men escorted me up the path to the small castle. They’d each smirked at me, one of them unabashedly flashing his fangs as his nostrils flared. But neither of them touched me.

The gardens here were rich with spirits, and some of them were not so friendly. I fortified my psychic shields, maintaining my clarity as I paid careful attention to my surroundings.

“Lord Aster will be pleased you’ve made it, Miss Lockwood,” the more stoic, dignified born man said without glancing back at me.

I flinched. “I don’t use that name anymore,” I said. I’d meant for my voice to come out stronger, but the nervousness was ripe and unavoidable.