Page 9

“Mother heard about Elsie’s power. Tarix told her when she consulted him about a sensitive issue.” He flashes me a knowing smile. “Which turned out to be the humans you brought to the palace.”

Kian no doubt found out about that by reading our parents’ minds, and now he’s taking pleasure in letting me know he knows, which is just his way of rubbing my so-called mistake in my face.

“That’s what took you so long?” I ask with a growl that quickly sobers him.

“Father summoned me. He and Mother wanted details about Elsie’s power. Her ability is potentially dangerous. You can understand why they’re concerned.”

I glance at Elsie, who’s sleeping soundly, looking small and lost on my large bed. “I need you to find Vitai and tell him to come immediately. Elsie is hurt, and it’s serious.” I look at Kian. “She sustained a head injury. Her power is gone.”

He reels. “That’s unfortunate. Maybe it’ll return when she’s healed.”

I cross my arms. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

He scrutinizes me. “You weren’t keen on your mate developing her power when you first found out about it.”

“You saw for yourself what she is capable of doing with that power.”

“Running from you,” he says, not trying to hide his smirk or the fact that he’s enjoying my anguish. “What changed? Aren’t you happy she lost it? At least she won’t fly off on a dragon’s back again.”

“She won’t regardless,” I say in a harsh voice. Making an effort to calm myself, I continue. “An Alit is incomplete without his power. That’s not what I want for Elsie.”

“I see,” he says, more surprise flickering in his silver eyes. “You actually care about her.”

“She’s my mate.” I drop my arms to my sides and walk to him. “Of course I care. But enough of the chit-chatting. We’re wasting time. Where’s Vitai?”

“Last I saw him, he was going fishing. Let me see.” Kian closes his eyes and opens them half a beat later. “He’s by the lake. I’ve summoned him.”

I nod my gratitude. It’s quicker to use Kian’s mind-reading ability to reach out to our brother than to go through a dozen or more portals opened by my sister. “I need you to do something else for me.”

“Yes,” he drawls. “The Earthlings. I already gathered that from when you opened your mind to me.”

“Father would’ve arranged for them to be taken to an available quarter. Make sure they’re fed and treated for injuries.”

“What’s the plan?” he asks, his usual disinterested manner back in place.

“The plan is for Mother to send them back to where they came from.”

“Tricky,” he muses. “Opening portals to Earth is forbidden.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t envy you,” he says with a chuckle on his way out. “Luckily for me, I was born second. Just as well I don’t have to deal with these sticky issues.”

I sit down on the bed when he’s gone, taking Elsie’s hand in mine.

Vitai arrives a short while later, wearing water boots and a commoner’s tunic.

His shoulder-length hair is untamed and tussled from the wind.

Mud mars his arms where his sleeves are folded back.

A few muddy stripes are painted across his tunic.

He resembles a pond lily hunter or a plough hand on the fields.

I look him up and down. “If Mother sees you like that…”

He dismisses me with a shrug and walks to the bed. “What happened to her?”

“A Phaelix hit her on the head.” I suppress the anger that simmers beneath the surface of my calm. “The blow must’ve been hard. It broke skin.” I hesitate. “She said she’s lost her power.”

Shock washes over his expression. “That’s a first.”

“I know,” I say, my mood dark. “Will her power return when you’ve healed her?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” he says, stepping closer.

I give him space, letting him work, but I hover close by in case Elsie wakes up. It’s impossible to stay too far away, especially after almost losing her a second time.

The healing takes a while. Sweat drips from Vitai’s face when he’s done. I dismiss him with an inadequate and hurried thank-you, wanting nothing more than to finally be alone with Elsie.

“Let me know about her power when she wakes up,” he says as he turns to leave.

Once he’s gone, I seal the exit.

On cue, Elsie’s lashes lift, and then I’m staring into those arresting blue-green pools.

“How do you feel now?” I ask in a voice gruff from uncharacteristic tenderness.

“Like my old self,” she says with a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Of course. You didn’t think I’d let you suffer?”

“Not only for healing me.”

“For what else?”

“For saving me.” She looks away and says under her breath, “Again.”

She doesn’t sound entirely pleased about that.

I climb onto the bed and, stretching out on top of her, keep my weight on one arm while gripping her chin in my free hand to turn her face toward me. “Why did you run away, Elsie?”

She purses her lips.

I search her eyes. “Did I not give you pleasure? Did you hate it that much?”

“You did,” she admits, averting her gaze. “I didn’t hate it. But you were disappointed.”

“I was.”

Her mouth drops open as her gaze snaps back to mine. She tries to pull free, but I hold fast.

“I was disappointed that the bond hadn’t been completed. You clearly rejected me.”

“Oh! Oh—” she splutters, fighting me harder. “Are you saying it’s my fault?”

Gripping her wrists in one hand, I pin them above her head. “Calm down, Elsie.” I make my voice hard. “I wasn’t the one who had a problem with accepting our bond.”

She arches her back, writhing beneath me.

“Last time I checked, you came inside me. You said consummating the mating would secure the bond, and it was fucking consummated.” Animosity glows in her eyes.

“There was no resistance from my side, you know that. Well, not at the crucial point.” She stops her futile efforts to escape and says through gritted teeth, “Let me go.”

“Never.” Never again.

Her chest moves with rapid breaths. She’s not shouting, but the soft words she throws at me have a more potent effect than any outburst could’ve. “I hate you.”

My smile is sardonic. “And there you have it.”

“Go to hell,” she spits out. “Maybe you should look inside yourself before pointing a finger at me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Why should you?” Her face twists. “You’re not the one who was stolen from your home.”

“This is your home.”

“You really have a way of making me feel welcome.”

I’m fast reaching the limit of my patience. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“For crying out loud, Aruan. A glacier has more warmth than what you projected after fucking me.”

My frustration mounts. “I wasn’t cold toward you. I needed a few moments to think, and you made it obvious that you didn’t want me around. What did you expect after showing your regret so openly?”

“I regretted having sex with you because of the way you behaved afterward.” Her voice rises. “You made no secret of the fact that the sex didn’t please you, and then you walked away and left me cold.”

“I never said the sex didn’t please me.”

“Oh, come on.” She utters a laugh. “You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face.”

“Sex with you was an incandescent experience, Elsie.” I tilt my hips, pressing the tormenting hardness of my cock against that enticing soft spot between her legs. “I have a feeling that’s not going to change. I can prove it if you don’t believe me.”

She bucks and twists her hips, rubbing herself in the process over my cock and only aggravating my need with her struggling.

“Keep still,” I warn. “Or don’t hold me accountable for the consequences.”

She goes quiet at that, staring at me with all the hatred she proclaimed not a moment ago.

Yet her body isn’t unwilling. I can hear the wild rhythm of her heartbeat.

My enhanced senses allow me to smell the sweet scent of her arousal.

I can feel her wetness through the layers of my clothes and the sheet that covers her.

Her nipples are hard little pebbles that poke my chest. And it’s all I can do not to rip apart the fabric preventing our naked bodies from touching and my cock from sinking into the welcome heat of her pussy.

The thought alone sets my body on fire. Sparks sizzle beneath my skin. My intention changes from talking this through to something entirely different. I can’t control the all-consuming lust. I can’t hold back.

She opens her mouth, but before she can protest, I press my lips to hers. Her mouth tastes like honey. Her lips are soft and pliable, a gift for my taking. And I take. I steal inside her mouth with my tongue and tease hers into doing this dance with me.

At first, despite her promise, she’s resistant, pushing on my shoulders to put distance between us.

But as every successive sweep of my tongue explores a little deeper, a little longer, the tension in her muscles eases.

I cup her face and keep her in place while eating those lips that are the most delicious treat ever created.

By the time I bring the kiss to a slow halt, she reverses the roles by snaking her arms around my neck and refusing to let go.

A protest escapes her mouth when I tear my lips from hers, but the sound quickly changes to a throaty moan as I glide a hand over the silky sheet to explore her naked body underneath.

I lean on one elbow to study her exquisite shape.

The sheet draws her naked curves in a thin, shiny fabric spun from the silver silk of the rarest silkworms, creating a stunning picture that’s even more erotic than if she were naked.

Her small breasts are firm and pert, her nipples extending beneath the teasing strokes I administer with my palms. The dip of her stomach is a beautiful valley that leads to the small mound of her pelvis.

I take my time to memorize her contours with my gaze and to learn her shape with my hand, and then, finally, I slide my fingers to the prize between her thighs.