Page 125 of Evermore

Her eyes snapped open, burning with determination as she pushed back against the darkness as if she and Levanya had already made a pact between each other. The Remnants surged, trying to overwhelm her, but she held firm. Step by step, breath by breath, she fought for dominance over her own power.

“That’s it,” I murmured, watching her find her way. “Don’t cage them. Make them yours.”

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she wrestled with the shadows. They responded to her command but sluggishly, like reluctant children testing their boundaries. A tremor ran through her body as she forced them to obey.

“I can’t hold it,” she gasped. “I was doing so well with them two days ago. And now this.”

“Yes, you can. This is your power, Paesha. Your birthright. This is your fate.”

The shadows along the field stretched to the treeline as they tried to run from her. She winced as if they burned. They turned, racing back through the field, surging for her in licks of black flame. They came for her.

I sent a burst of power forward. Not for them, but her. Shielding her from the destruction of her own power. She had far more than a mortal ever should but she wasn’t weak.

“Remember who you are,” I said quietly. “Not what they want you to be. Not what anyone wants you to be. Just you.”

Something shifted in her expression, understanding, acceptance, determination. The Remnants surged one final time, a last desperate attempt to break her will. But Paesha stood unmoved, unflinching, absolute in her power, even if it was only temporary.

The field fell quiet as the shadows settled around her feet like obedient pets. She drew a shaky breath, rolling her shoulders as if testing the weight of her control. Even exhausted, she was a vision that made my blood burn, hair wild from the wind, chest rising with each breath, that damned dress clinging to every curve.

“Not bad for a mortal,” she said with a hint of her usual sass.

“Not bad for anyone. How do they feel now?”

She flexed her fingers, and the Remnants rippled in response. “Like they’re sulking.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “They’ll get over it.”

A wicked gleam entered her eyes as one shadow tendril snaked out, wrapping playfully around my wrist. The touch sent electricity through my veins. “I wonder what else they will do.”

“Careful, darling.” My voice dropped lower. “I’m not as well-behaved as your shadows.”

“No?” Another tendril traced up my arm, deliberate and teasing. “You seem perfectly controlled to me. Always so… proper. Studious. Annoying.”

Fates help me. No. Fuck the Fates. But the way she moved was pure temptation. Each shift of her body made that dress reveal another glimpse of thigh through those godsdamn slits. “I’m beginning to think you enjoy testing my restraint.”

“Beginning to?” She circled me slowly, letting her power brush against mine like a caress. “I thought you knew everything about me.”

My jaw clenched as she passed behind me, close enough that I could feel her, but not quite touching. “You’re playing with fire.”

“Am I?” Her breath ghosted across my neck. “You don’t seem very dangerous to me. All bark, no bite is such a disappointment, Thorne darling.”

I turned, catching her wrist before she could complete another circle. “Would you like me to prove you wrong?”

Her eyes sparkled with challenge as she pressed closer, knowing exactly what that silk dress was doing to my sanity. “I’d like to see you try.”

“The things you do to me,” I growled, my free hand sliding to her hip. “You have no idea how fucking beautiful you are like this. Wild. Powerful.” My fingers found bare skin through one of those damned slits. “Mine.”

“Yours?” She tilted her face up, lips nearly brushing mine. “That’s awfully presumptuous.”

“Is it?” I traced patterns on her thigh, feeling her shiver. “Tell me to stop then.”

Instead of answering, she sent another wave of power washing over me, as dark and seductive as her smile. My control snapped. Her gasp of surprise turned to a moan as I claimed her mouth in a bruising kiss, all teeth and tongue and desperate hunger. She met me with equal ferocity though, her nails digging into my shoulders as she arched into my touch.

“Is this what you wanted?” I growled against her lips. “To push me until I showed you exactly how much I want you?”

“Yes. I came out here thinking to myself?—”

I kissed her again. Brutally. Selfishly. Fucking possessively. I knew where she was going with that. I had no patience for it.