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R osana pulled Adric closer, angling her body to take him even further inside.

He was hot, lithe, powerful. He fucked her with slow strokes that shot sparks up her spine, out to her fingers and toes.

Her pleasure built. She instinctively tightened her inner muscles around him and discovered that made it even better.

He liked that, too. His whole body went taut, and he muttered, “God’s cat, you feel good,” and thrust harder.

“Yes,” she gasped. “So good.”

His mouth captured hers, sinking his tongue deep, kissing her breathless. When he released her, he curved his body to kiss his way down her throat. His tongue rasped over each of her nipples in turn. She moaned and pressed against him, and he gave each a hard suck.

She hissed and clenched around him. It was like he’d pulled a string leading straight to her clit.

He continued moving. Deliberate, sensuous strokes that were a language in themselves.

I love you.

And I love you.

Between her breasts, the amethyst heated until it felt like another heart.

He pulled out, tapped the side of her hip. “Turn over.”

She took a deep breath and then flipped onto her stomach.

“Lift your hips.” He positioned himself behind her.

Yes… She immediately obeyed. Her ass was canted up, her breasts pressed into their shirts.

He grasped her hips and resumed thrusting into her. Filling her in a way she hadn’t known she needed.

She’d told Adric she didn’t know him, but she knew all the important things. That he was strong, confident, scary smart. A natural leader who didn’t follow any rules but his own. Ruthless and ambitious, but not for himself. What drove him was bettering his clan.

Beneath that bad-boy facade, the man cared.

He twined his fingers in her hair and gave it a tug, gently urging her to lift up on all fours, her back arched. Kisses seared the side of her throat while his other hand slid between her legs to do magical things. Stroking, rubbing, circling until she was sobbing with need and want and wonder.

He released her hair to grasp her hip so he could piston into her hard and fast.

The two of us together.

Yes. Always.

They climaxed at the same time. She dropped to her forearms, moaning his name into their shirts. Behind her, he growled lowly and stilled, spurting into her, hot and urgent.

For a few seconds, he hung over her, lungs working, and then he disengaged from her and came down on the clothes, bringing her with him.

She curled into his chest. “Guess you’re feeling better.”

“Mm.” He ran a palm down her spine. In the silence that fell, this time it was his stomach that rumbled. “And hungry,” he added wryly. “But maybe no food is good news. Could mean they’re not planning to keep us down here long.”

“Maybe.” She scooted closer. “The prince—he kept trying to get me to eat his food.”

Adric’s hand on her back stilled. Beneath her, his body locked up like a fighter’s. “He wants you to stay, then.”

“He knows I’m a Seer. He offered to help train me.”

He swore. “I knew you’d be like catnip to that prick. But you told him no.” It wasn’t a question.

She thought uneasily about how tempted she’d been. “Oh, yeah.”

“Good.” He resumed caressing her. “So. Any ideas about getting out of here?”

She shook her head. “They took your dagger and the door’s locked up tight. It doesn’t even have a handle on the inside. The only thing they left us was your quartz.”

“And that’s low in energy right now. I drew heavily on it to heal myself. I probably couldn’t even shift right now.”

“You can’t use my amethyst for energy?”

A shake of his head. “I have a magical bond with my own quartz. In an emergency, I can draw any quartz, but the energy doesn’t have the same quality. I couldn’t use it for something so tricky. But—” He fingered her pendant.

“What?”

“It’s warm. And I can hear the crystals singing, louder than I’d expect.”

“And that means?”

His brows squashed together. “I’m not sure, but… I think you’ve bonded with it. Not like an earth fada, but you’ve formed a weak connection. Don’t ask me how, because I’ve never heard of anything like it. The good news is that if we get separated, I can use it to find you.”

She gripped his wrist. “We have to stay together,” she said fiercely.

He cupped her nape. “I’ll do my best, okay?” He stopped there, but she heard the but . If it came down to it, he intended to sacrifice himself for her.

She set her jaw. Not if I can help it.

“I can tell you one thing,” he added. “They won’t take my quartz from me, not at first.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged a powerful shoulder. “They’re not stupid. They know it hurts like hell to have my quartz touched. They’ll use it to torture me.”

“ Deus ,” she muttered, then brightened. “Can’t you use it to call for help?”

“The wards would block it. But”—he jerked upright—“Marjani’s close.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know. As alpha, I’m connected to everyone in the clan through their quartz, but with her, it’s even stronger. Fuck.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “This is bad.”

“It is?” Rosana sat up as well. “She’s here to rescue you, isn’t she?”

“Gods.” He drew a harsh breath. “She knows not to come anywhere near him.”

“But why? I don’t understand.”

“Because. It’s her the prince really wants. Not me.”

She opened her mouth to ask why, but he shook his head. “I can’t say any more, but take my word for it. He’d love to get his long, cold fingers on her.”

And suddenly, Rosana knew .

Marjani had killed Langdon’s son, not Adric—and Langdon had somehow found out. No wonder Adric had been so determined to assassinate the prince.

She grabbed his arm. “Tyrus,” she mouthed. “It was her. And he knows it. That’s why you came alone.”

An infinitesimal nod. He set a hand on her mouth, warning her not to say more.

She dipped her chin, telling him she understood, and he lifted his fingers. “So that’s why you wouldn’t listen to me,” she whispered.

“I told you not to come. But you just wouldn’t listen.”

“Maybe because I’m supposed to be here.”

He made a small sound, half laughter, half groan. “Know something? I’m starting to believe you.”

She watched as he rose to his feet and crossed to the metal trough. He took a drink and then used handfuls of water to rinse the rest of the powder off.

Adric was here to save his sister.

He wasn’t here only for his clan. He was here for Marjani.

This changed everything.

She washed up herself, and they took turns using the toilet. She pulled on her clothes and sat on the bench, mind working.

Yeah, her gut told her she was supposed to be here, but why? She was a Seer, not a warrior. Until today, she’d never even seen combat. And without an iron weapon, she was helpless against the night fae. Even with their iron, the prince had fought off both her and Adric.

Adric got dressed as well and prowled around the small space, clearly unhappy at being confined. At least he was better. Seeing him so battered had hurt at a primal level, like she’d shared his pain—and she’d known the instant he’d come back to consciousness.

Which was strange, come to think of it. She furrowed her brow, unconsciously massaging her breastbone.

The realization hit her like a fist to the heart.

The mate bond had formed on her side. Not just a few threads, but a shining ribbon of sea-colored light.

She felt it, stretching from her to him.

But before it reached his chest, it slammed up against something bright and hard, as if he’d thrown up a shield.

Blood roared in her ears. She gulped, the breath literally knocked out of her.

Adric fingered his quartz and slid her a look. But he didn’t say anything.

The bond had formed, but he was blocking it from his side.

He’s doing it to protect you .

It still hurt, but she understood—until she recalled he’d started blocking it even before he’d left Baltimore. Which meant he’d come to Virginia expecting to die.

The last piece of the puzzle thunked into place with an awful, stomach-dropping sound.

He’d told her himself, right before they’d fallen asleep: Because, damn it, I don’t care about me.

This was a suicide mission. His life for Marjani’s.

If Rosana hadn’t been at New Moon, he might already be dead.

She moved her head slowly from side to side. “You…no. There has to be another way.”

He didn’t pretend not to understand. “Rosana.” He sat next to her, took her hand. “I didn’t want this to happen.”

“But it has.”

“No, it hasn’t. The bond—it’s not complete. I’m still hoping I can take down this bastard and escape, but…. At least this way, you’ll be able to find another mate.”

“That’s up to me, isn’t it?”

His glance was a brilliant mix of bronze and blue. “I need to know you have the chance, at least.” He took her hand between both of his. “Promise me something. If you get another chance to leave, you’ll take it.”

“No.” She jerked her hand free. “Don’t even ask.”

“Please, Rosana. You say you love me. Do it for me if you won’t do it for yourself.”

She growled. “That’s not fair. If you were me, would you leave?”

He exhaled. “No. But this is my fight, not yours.”

She just shook her head and stared out at the room.

Adric eyed her. She felt his will beating at hers, demanding she give in. Her body tightened.

It wasn’t easy to refuse him, not when she sensed how much it meant to him. How much she meant to him.

The tension in the cell ratcheted up until she could’ve screamed, and then he said something low and vicious and resumed his restless pacing.

“There’s one thing I’d give a big fat diamond to know. How in Hades did the prince know I was here?”

She slumped against the wall, relieved he’d given up—for now, anyway. “I was there when Olivier—the butler—told him Luc was in the foyer. He knew then that you were with Luc.”

“He did?” He shook his head in disgust.

“What was that invisible thing you did, anyway? I thought only wayfarers can disappear like that, but you’re a tracker, aren’t you?

“I have another, secondary Gift that I can use like a cloaking spell. The prince shouldn’t have known I was there.”

“I told you, he has the farsight. Maybe he Saw you before you entered the court.”

“I was cloaking myself on and off. I mean, come on—the man can’t be watching all the time, can he?”

“No. He has to sleep, eat, go about his business. And he can’t hear you—just watch.”

Adric swiped a hand down his face. “Gods, I made it easy for him. He just had to wait for me to arrive like a spider with a stupid-ass fly.”

“He couldn’t have Seen exactly what you had planned. Seers almost never See their own futures. I had no clue Luc was outside your den.”

She raised her hands, palms up, and swallowed. Twice.

Adric crouched before her. “What?”

“My visions—I have to touch someone to See their future. And in the last week, I’ve had my hands all over you. My bare hands. But it hasn’t set off my Sight.”

“So?”

She brought her hands down, met his eyes. “So a Seer can’t foretell her own future. That’s why I can touch you without setting off my Sight—my fate is tangled up with yours now.”