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Reyla

O ur hands linked, we left the throne room and took the stairs to our floor, stopping at my door.

“I’m with you from now on,” I said firmly.

He traced his fingers down my cheek. “You are. I thought you might like to collect a few things and Farris.”

Inside my rooms, Lore leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed on his chest as if he was completely relaxed, though his gaze betrayed him. He watched me like I might bolt back to my fortress, as though this newfound reality, this union of light and dark, of him and me, was still too fragile to fully trust.

Farris bounded over, springing into my arms before I could say a word. His warm, furry body wriggled with excitement, and I buried my face in his neck. The familiar scent of him, grassy and warm, made me grin. His little yips of happiness and the soft nudge of his nose against my chin made my grin widen.

“Missed me, hmm?” I whispered against his fur. I kissed the top of his head, and his tail thumped wildly against my arm.

I turned to my ladies who stood near the fireplace. Moira looked from Lore to me and winked. Faelith bounced on her toes, her brows raised in delight. Calista…had a stoic look on her face. No other way to describe it.

“As you must know, we’re moving my things to the king’s suite. The royal couple’s suite, that is.” The moment those words hit the air, they settled across my shoulders like the nicest of blankets.

Our suite. Not his. Ours .

Faelith piped up, her emerald eyes sparkling. “Lord Briscalar sent word. Per his command, we took most of your belongings there already. I don’t believe we missed much but it’s right down the hall.”

“Should I unpack everything as though this is permanent?” Calista asked through pinched lips.

“Yes, please,” I said. “You take such impeccable care of my things, Calista, and I appreciate it.” Yeah, I was gushing, but she seemed unsettled. I reminded myself to be patient with her. She was recently hurt, and her emotions were impacting every aspect of her life. “Unpack tomorrow, however. Not tonight.”

Tonight was for me and Lore.

I took one last glance around. The place already felt bare, as though it had never belonged to me. My heart swelled, the sudden realization dawning on me. I didn’t need this suite anymore. We didn’t need to remain apart.

When Farris pawed at my shoulder, I gave him one last scratch behind the ear before setting him down. Faelith approached, carrying his leash and collar. “I'll take him outside for a bit, then bring him to your suite after his bath? ”

“Thank you.” I turned to Lore, who hadn’t moved, though his gaze tracked each movement I made. His eyes held an intensity that made me flush.

“What now?” he asked, not impatient but careful.

I stepped over to him and linked my fingers with his. “Let’s go home.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—a Merrick smile, but tempered, deeper, holding hints of Lorant’s fire. “Very well, wife.”

We left and strolled down the hall, Moira and Calista following. Once we reached the door, two guards bowed deeply and opened it wide, nodding as we passed. The moment we stepped inside, the air felt different. These weren’t his chambers anymore, brimming with cold worry and hidden truths. My belongings would soon be nestled beside his. They’d soften the worry, and as for the hidden truths, I’d expose them all and smash through them.

“Shall we help you undress, my queen?” Calista asked from the open doorway, Moira nodding from behind her.

Lore’s smirk was slow, dangerous, and teasing all at once. “I’d say that particular privilege is mine tonight—and every night hereafter.”

He nudged them back out into the hall and kicked the door closed, sealing the rest of the world outside, leaving only us. His ward descended, though I sensed Faelith would be able to nudge Farris inside.

My laugh bubbled up, a rich, unrestrained sound that filled the room in a way that nothing else could. Embarrassment didn’t heat my cheeks. Instead, a simmering thrill, a rush of electricity, pulsed across my skin in molten embers. I loved this about him, his unapologetic possessiveness, the unmistakable claim in his voice that left no room for argument. Coyness would never be this man’s way. He wanted me, and he’d made it clear for anyone to hear.

“You’re bold, my king.” I stepped forward, not stopping until there was no space between us. “And?” My challenge lingered in the air.

His smirk deepened into something darker, something that promised more than teasing words. His hands moved to my waist, and he pulled me flush against him. “And I’m yours.”

The simplicity of it struck me like the bite of winter air. My chest swelled, the corners of my lips curling into a slow smile. Finally, finally, there was nothing between us, no tangled truths masked by shadows. Just Lore and I, shimmering with that same magnetic pull that had brought us to this place, this moment.

His gaze scanned the expanse of the room before falling back to me with undeniable longing.

Then, he sank to his knees.

My breath caught. The raw devotion in his expression… It was Merrick, the man who'd confessed his love when dusk slaked across the sky, and he thought he'd die. And it was Lorant, the man who'd growled that he'd love me for eternity as night consumed our world. It was both of them, yet more than them at the same time.

“Lorant?” I croaked.

He nodded. “I’m here. I love you, Reyla. I will adore you until my dying day and beyond.”

“Merrick?” I had to know, truly had to know. Were they both with me still, because I couldn’t go on without them.

“I’m here,” he said, his gaze locked on mine. “Evermore, Wildfire. Evermore.”

This was Lore , all the parts of the man I'd married and fallen in love with combined into one.

His palms remained on my hips, and when he lifted his eyes to meet mine, I stared into his unguarded expression, finding no denial there. No secrets. No holding anything back.

“You.” His voice came out low and scraped raw. “Are the reason I’m whole. You saved me. I will never spend a day without loving you as you deserve.”

His words cracked open spaces inside me I'd sealed tightly after my loss. The fates could be cruel, but they also could be kind. They'd given me not only one love but two, and for this, I'd thank them forever.

“Lore,” I whispered. “I love you. Always you.”

He rose gracefully, but the heat in his gaze solidified into something more feral, something darker. Before I could react, I found myself with my back pressed to the wall, my hands over my head, and his big body caging mine. This was the aggressive, demanding, and hungry man I knew well. A predator pinning its equal.

He stroked his knuckles along the column of my neck, his eyes locked on his hand. Bending close, he ran his nose from the shell of my ear to my chest. His breath burned my skin, sending shivers rolling through me.

“You smell amazing,” he rasped, dragging his head back up to press a kiss below my jaw. None of this was tender. It wasn’t meant to be. This was a branding. “Every bit of you is mine to taste.”

The promise in his voice stole more than the air from my lungs; it swept away the ground beneath me and every thought from my head.

“Lore—” His name was all I could manage before his lips brushed my cheek, then my jaw again.

“I’m going to lick,” he growled, “every bit of you. And then I’m going to start at the top and lick you again.”

I laughed, the sound catching as he pressed closer, letting me feel every heated intention humming through his body .

“We’re covered in borgon blood,” I said, though when his free hand slid to rest between my thighs, I doubted even that mattered. “Sweat. And we reek.”

He pulled back enough to look down at me, that impossible grin curling his lips. It was pure Lore. Whole. Impossibly smug. And insufferably endearing. “I have a solution for that.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he flitted us to the bathing chamber. The air was warmer here, scented faintly with soap and herbs. A flick of his fingers, and the enormous tub filled, steam curling in lazy spirals across the surface.

He stepped back and unbuckled his weapon’s belt at his waist. A flick of his hand and it was gone, tossed aside to thud on the floor.

“Well, Wildfire.” His gaze locked on mine, daring me as he ran a thumb down the fastenings of his pants. “What do you say about bathing together?”

“Show me what it means to be yours.”