Page 80 of Cursed Evermore

I took it and draped it around her shoulders with a gentleness I hadn't known I possessed. My knuckles brushed against her silky skin and I lingered. Lingered longer than I should.

It was time to leave. But I remained a fraction longer, as if tethered to the spot by invisible chains.

Her breathing changed and she snuggled into the blanket, looking more comfortable.

On seeing that I rose to my feet, my shadow falling across her face. “Sleep well, little mage. Who knows what fresh horrors this journey may bring for us both.”

A rough sigh escaped me and I retreated, not looking back before closing the door behind me.

The corridor stretched before me, echoing with a truth I didn’t want to name:

I was drawn to her. Not because she was useful. But because she fascinated me.

She fascinated me in a way that drove most males to madness and obsession when they met a female they wanted.

The kind of madness and obsession that could make you burn kingdoms to ash and tear stars from the sky.

Though the monster inside me purred in satisfaction at the thought of wreaking such havoc, I knew that was one line I must never cross. No matter how much she tempted me.

At least she was mine now. Not Thayden’s.

Mine.

Chapter 15

Elariya

“Answers That Taste Like Dust”

Dawn bled through the windows like a wound, painting my new prison in shades of false hope. The chamber sprawled before me, a deceptive expanse of dark walnut panels and gleaming brass fixtures that whispered of wealth while screaming of captivity.

A bed draped in midnight-blue silk dominated one wall, while an ornate wardrobe stood sentinel in the corner.

Everything was beautiful, but no matter how luxurious the room was, it was no different from a barred dungeon designed to lock you away.

This room was a gilded cage owned by the prince who'd stolen me away. The damn door being locked from the outside didn’t exactly prove me wrong.

Sleep didn’t come to me until late last night. And I most likely drifted off because I was so exhausted I’d lost the fight to stay awake.

I woke minutes ago. Maybe seconds. Just long enough to catch the first slices of golden sunlight, bright and too soft for this place.

The first thing I’d noticed was the thick, fluffy blanket wrapped around me, keeping me warm.

The other thing I’d noticed was… Wolfe’s essence clinging to the air.

He’d been in here while I slept.

The potency of that harrowing thought sunk into my skin, making the fine hairs on my arms rise. My body remembered his power, leaving me raw and hypersensitive to every shadow and every whisper of movement.

His lingering presence both infuriated and unnerved me. Even without seeing him, I could feel the ghost of his power brushing against my soul, intimate as a caress.

The realization unsettled me more than I cared to admit. Until I’d met him, I hadn’t even considered things like sensing the presence of others. But in the short space of time I’d been around him, my senses had sharpened. It felt like a magical thing. Like my mage intuition had kicked in because I was in survival mode, watching for the predator before he struck.

I assumedhegave me the blanket. And that realization made my skin crawl. He’d been here. Close enough to touch me. Close enough to kill me if he

wanted to.

A shudder ran through me at the thought of him prowling around me while I was asleep and unable to protect myself. Not that I was doing a better job of doing so awake.