Page 57

REMY

Iris darts out her tongue, unconsciously licking her quivering lower lip.

Trezzoran moves, but with a twist of shadow at his ankles, I slide in front of her first. “You needn’t watch them like that.”

A delicious flutter dances along her jugular.

“Like what?” There’s a challenge in her voice, but her silks tremble with fear and longing she can’t hide.

Our souls are too entwined.

My shadows rope her possessively. “Imprints are barely understood. They’re limiting, and at best unnecessary. Sometimes, even harmful.”

Don’t want something that I can’t give you.

Iris absently lifts a hand to Trezzoran’s chest, holding him back. Her other hand settles over my heart. Her sweet scent sears the back of my throat.

“Don’t worry,” she says softly. “I won’t be able to imprint. I can’t leave you.”

Her voice is gentle, but her soul despairs.

I clutch her wrist and press her hand more deeply into my flesh. Flickers of the past few hours swirl with the shards of my long-forgotten memories.

Her unique power.

Her thirst to sacrifice herself.

Kyorgos’s betrayal.

“Do you believe I would abandon you?” I ask.

Iris strokes my cheek.

The touch is warm, but her eyes are empty of light. “We should head back up.”

A shard of ice stabs.

My vision doubles, then whites out.

“Remy?” The sapphire eyes that were avoiding me snap to my face, filled with alarm. Iris grabs my jaw. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

My veins blacken, and I watch through the growing haze, as my nails lengthen to black-tipped claws. “It’s cold.”

“Godsdamnit,” Iris growls, stomping the thread of death magic spearing through my boots. “He’s mine , you creepy fucking zombie.”

She yanks me into a kiss.

Her fingers dig into my hair. Her tongue delves into my mouth.

Aggressive.

Possessive.

Her silks wrap around mine, and she glows with furious determination as she shines moonlight in my soul.

I’m too awed to offer much help.

Iris wants me , but she doesn’t want my help.

What do you need?

What can I give you, my commander, my love?

There’s no answer, even when I ask her soul, but her silks subtly change their motion. Instead of curling, they weave.

Trezzoran snarls. You dare?

It’s not me.

Iris isn’t deliberately trying to imprint, but with her full focus spent cutting the lich out of my veins, her soul wants me to see her deepest wish.

She craves a bond that’s impossible to escape.

As if I could leave.

There could never be anyone but her.

My vision wavers. My body numbs.

Iris curses. “Work with me. He’s not stronger than us together.”

I try to cooperate, but my soul-silks stiffen.

The pain runs hot, then cold.

She kisses me, but my lips won’t respond.

With a growl, Iris drags my face to her throat. “Bite me, Remy. Drink .”

My fangs lengthen as she rubs them against her jugular, but my jaw is locked. Everything is cold and blurred.

It’s the familiar, fading sensation I’ve experienced so many times.

This time, I’m unwilling.

I can’t move.

I can barely reach out with my mental voice. Open. Throat.

Fuck’s sake. You’re useless. Trezzoran mutters and pushes me away from Iris. He drags his fang across her throat, helping himself to a luxurious lick.

The fruity scent of her blood floods my mouth.

“Drink,” Iris orders, dragging my mouth to the wound.

Hot blood flows between my lips.

I manage to work my throat, to swallow her sweetness, but the warmth barely takes the edge off the power locking my body.

“Why isn’t it working?” Iris grips my hair. Her silks desperately scour my body and soul until her focus snaps to the last knot of power still under my control. She surrounds my magic. “What is this?”

I can’t remember.

I just know that Iris needs me to hold on.

Gritting her teeth against the bite of death, she forces her way in and follows the path of my shadows.

An invisible rope reaches up through the ground, through the ruined floor, all the way to the keep’s tallest tower, where two bodies struggle against my shadows.

Ah. I forgot.

But I didn’t forget, did I?

I’m still holding on.

For her.

“Let them go.” Iris tightens her grip in my hair.

I can’t respond, and I can’t obey.

Kyorgos hurt her.

“Let them go,” Iris repeats. She moves me away from her bleeding throat. As she presses our foreheads together, I can feel Trezzoran’s purr. He’s licking her wound.

Even then, I can’t let go of that last handful of power.

Iris stares so deeply into my eyes that she turns my world blue.

Her power glows.

“Remy.” Her voice is magnetic, with a seductive touch of hoarseness. “The king can reach you through Kevan. If he’s taking a host body, it’s not going to be yours. You’re mine.” Iris whispers against my lips. “Aren’t you?”

Yes.

She licks her blood from my lips and passes it into my mouth.

Then nothing else exists.

I let go of everything.

Finally, my muscles respond.

I drag her soft body against mine. Her pulse speeds, and her skin flushes. I graze down to her hips, digging into her flesh with a little bit of claw.

She makes a mewling gasp.

I capture the sound and tilt her head.

Pushing deeper.

Deeper.

She tastes so sweet.

Iris goes limp in my arms. She trembles with pleasure when my claw scrapes just behind her ear.

I control the kiss while she controls our silks, using my power to slice away the decay.

As my body warms, liquid with her lifeblood, the advantage tips to our side. Iris flays the last intruding thread.

“Yours,” I pull back just enough to murmur. “My love.”

With a whimper and a hot pulse at the center of her soul, Iris leaps. Her legs hook my hips. She takes my face in both hands and seals our lips.

I hold her tightly, carefully.

Like I’m holding onto the moon.

When she gasps for breath, Trezzoran yanks her sideways, stealing her kiss. I support her, stroking her lower back.

I don’t want to share, but I love watching Iris melt.

Rolling her blood on my tongue, I wait for my chance to retake control.

“Um, Commander?” A light male voice cuts through the noises of her breath. “What the hell is going on?”