Page 7

I bow my head respectfully and once given leave by the king, I hurry back to my room. Aima doesn’t join me, which is just as well. I want to be alone. Instead, she seeks out Pyre to discuss what he learned from Silvanus.

As to Pyre, I admit that my feelings for him have grown beyond that of a friend, but I don’t wish to come between he and Aima, if he chooses to pursue the love of his reincarnated mate.

It was quite the shock when he announced that his one true love, who had perished so many years before, had been reincarnated in Aima.

And much though I care and admire Pyre, I would never choose to stand between true love.

The door to my room swings open and I see Theren sitting on the edge of my bed.

“Word travels quickly through the stronghold, Eilish,” he says softly. “You’ve fought for me once again and yet we’ve barely spoken in over a week…”

***

THEREN

“I needed time,” she whispers softly.

I watch as she moves through the room slowly, pulling off pieces of her armor as she goes, not knowing that she carries my heart with her.

She always has. My hands clench at my sides as I fight for control.

The pain in my body from everything I endured still lingers and yet I hunger for her. For her love... for her touch. For her.

She turns to look at me and there’s a frown on her face. “What are you doing in my room, Theren?” she demands. “I told you we should take some time to catch our breath before we discuss anything.” She seems hurried, annoyed even.

“I don’t need to discuss anything, Eilish,” I say. “My love for you never diminished over the years I was under Morrigan’s spell.”

“Aima,” she starts but I interrupt her because it’s a foolish argument she’s attempting and she knows it.

“Aima... deep inside she always knew my heart belonged to someone else.”

“She did.”

Eilish’s answer surprises me, but it changes nothing. “I know I hurt Aima and I have every intention of making amends with her,” I start. “But you are the most important subject for me at the moment.”

“Me?”

I nod. “I sit and I listen to the whispers about you and they anger me.”

“What whispers?”

“The men in your company have often chosen to turn their backs on you because of something you can’t control... they don’t know your heart the way I do. They haven’t chosen to face an eternity in darkness to keep you safe.”

Her eyes meet mine and I’m ensnared by the blue of her gaze. “Chosen to face an eternity of darkness?”

I nod. “You knew about the bargain I’d struck with my father.”

“Yes.”

“I went with Morrigan to the Cogost Mountains because Elioth promised to spare your life as well as mine. I never cared much for myself, whether I lived or died, but I always cared for you.”

She wraps her arms around her middle and drops her breathtaking gaze to the floor. “Are you saying this to make me feel guilty?” Then she looks up at me and her lips are tight. “As if my mind isn’t confused enough already, you decide now is the time to bring this up?”

“I never meant to hurt you with my words, Eilish. Nor my actions.” I walk over to her and gently cup her chin, lifting her head so I can once again see her eyes. “I remember every single moment I ever spent with you.”

“Those moments matter little now,” she starts but I shake my head.

“Do you recall the time when I chased you in the rain and you slipped in the mud and twisted your ankle?” She doesn’t respond. “I carried you to the lake and cleaned you up...”

“That was before we were friends, Theren. You called me a Hatchling because my feathers were still downy at the time.” She glares at me and I smile in return. “I didn’t forgive you for three days!”

“But I carried you to that felled tree and you kissed me. You… kissed… me.”

“I recall,” she says in an uninterested voice.

“Thus, you must not have been that upset with me.” My hand slides from her chin to her neck where I feel the lifeblood flowing through her veins.

As an angel-succubus hybrid, she’s the last of many, but, most importantly, she’s the only woman I’ve ever truly loved.

“I made a vow to always protect you, Eilish, and I failed.”

She shakes her head, causing tresses of hair to flutter around her face. “I want to believe you’re more than what everyone says... that deep inside, you’re still the boy I fell in love with, but… all everything that’s happened stands in my way. And Aima…”

“Hush,” I whisper, brushing my lips against her forehead. “The past makes me feel horrible, and I have my own guilt to process regarding Aima.”

“Why did you play with her heart so carelessly?” she demands.

I nod, expecting this question. “I was with Aima because it was simpler than having to live alone while you turned to Silvanus.”

Eilish steps out of my reach, but I don’t allow her to retreat entirely.

“I can understand if you hate me,” I offer.

Again, Eilish shakes her head. “Hating you would be easier than what I’m feeling.”

“Show me.”

“Show you what?”

“Show me how you feel, Eilish.”

The hunger growing in her gaze calls to me.

I lean down and seal my lips over hers, tasting the tantalizing flavor of angelic grace mixed with brimstone.

Eilish moans and I reach down to grip handfuls of her lush ass, lifting her onto her writing desk.

She grips my shoulders with a need that surprises me.

I break the kiss and curl my hands into her hair, yanking her head back so I can see her.

“I offer myself to you,” I say.

“What?” she blinks away the haze that came over her, but doesn’t struggle in my arms.

“My servitude, Eilish. I offer my body, mind, and soul to you.”

She’s quiet for a moment as she looks up at me and years of struggle war through her eyes. Slowly, tears begin to take over and she pulls me into a fierce kiss. I can sense her confusion as it battles with my own inner turmoil.

Eager fingers shove my robes down my arms and I step away, only to show that I’ve bared myself beneath the fabric for her ease.

The purr of a wild cat reaches my ears as her fingers wrap around the velvet steel length of my cock.

She tickles the slit with her finger and my seed spills, easing the slide of her palm along the shaft.

I hiss through my teeth. “I... need you out of your clothing, Eilish,” I whisper against her lips.

“No time.” The desperation in her voice makes me growl. “It’s already been too long as it is.”

I can’t argue that, so I don’t. Instead, I reach between us and tear open the seam of her pants.

The first caress of my cock between her folds is like coming home after too many years adrift.

Eilish gasps as I bring her to the floor and force her knees to her chest. I dip low to pass a teasing kiss against her clit before I enter her swiftly.

The flash of pain I see in her eyes is just as delicious as her pleasure.

Eilish is lost to it, just like she always was—all those years ago.

“Do the others fuck you like this, my love?” I ask, unable to keep the words in.

She trembles in my grasp as I trap her beneath my body, draping over her like a beast. The back of her calves rest against my shoulders and I fill her to the very depths of her body.

I groan, feeling the tip of my cock kiss her cervix.

She can’t take all of me, no matter how much she wiggles and rocks her hips. “Please, Theren.”

I know what she wants, what she’s asking for. “I won’t hurt you, Eilish. No matter how much your body hungers for it.”

She lets out a little whimper, but I lick my fingers and reach around to the tight pucker of her anus. Eilish throws her head back with a throaty moan. “Oh…”

“Have you dreamed of being filled completely? Of having me inside you while another stretches you open, sliding inside?”

“Yes!” Eilish cries.

“Who? Who have you imagined with us?”

A soft blush touches the peak of her cheekbones. “Cambion.”

The thought of claiming Eilish with my brother ignites a fire within me I never expected. Eilish screams and convulses, clinging to me even as I cover every inch of her body. I ride the waves of her pleasure until I see the white-hot glory of my own climax.

“Theren…” Warm breath puffs against my neck and, once more, I’m undone by Eilish. I lift her from the floor and walk her over to the bathing room.