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Chapter thirty

Bound

Zayne

Daughter.

His words echoed in my ears, choking all else out as I fisted the shadows around me. Forced to the darkness, I watched as the Starlit King helped Ayla back to our suite, Rhett and Rimu trailing behind them.

She was his daughter.

By Teyr, it couldn’t be true. Except…

My gaze trailed the length of her growing antlers. They’d been such short nubs when we’d first met that I’d refused to see the truth: Once they reached their full size, her antlers would be as majestic as her father’s. And her magic… I had tasted her starlight, drank it to my core.

I should have recognized it.

There were countless signs I’d refused to see, and now that I forced myself to look, it was obvious: Ayla was her father’s daughter, through and through.

Not just his daughter.

She was his heir.

Her role was undeniable. I’d felt it when the throne’s bond pierced her mind, razing our tether in the process . Everything had shifted so suddenly, so forcefully that I feared my chest would be ripped open and we’d lose the connection entirely. In the aftermath, our tether wasn’t the same.

It was a small relief to watch the color returned to Ayla’s cheeks as she neared the suite door, her strength growing with each step. Rhett opened the door for her.

At the threshold, the Starlit King turned to leave, catching Ayla’s gaze one last time. “Please consider what I said. The Starlit Isle could be your new home, if you wanted it.”

She nodded without answering.

All the same, fear raced through me. Regardless of what Ayla wanted, the call of the throne could only be ignored for so long before she was compelled.

I shadow-stepped into the suite, following the others inside. Rhett closed the door, and I barred it in place. “Help Ayla to the couch,” I instructed. “I’ll bring over water.”

Ayla shook off Rhett’s grip. “I can do it myself.” But she didn’t hide her exhausted plop onto the cushion.

Rimu paced about the room, responding to everyone’s nervous energy, as Rhett settled next to Ayla. I set a bowl of dried fruit and glass of water on the table before her.

“Stop acting so concerned.” Ayla took the water glass and threw half of it back in a single gulp. “I’ll be fine.”

I bristled under her assurances. She’d had two bombshells dropped on her. Her mind was now restructuring.

“Though when this is over, I think I’ll sleep for days,” she admitted.

I shook my head. “Forget the shards. We’re going now. I want you safe, I need you safe.”

Anything to get the hell away from the Starlit King— her father.

Rhett leaned closer. “He’s right.”

She slammed the cup on the table, startling Rimu. “Now that we know what I’m capable of, stealing those final shards should be easy. And if we don’t, what was the point of...” her words slowed “...the point of all that?”

I frowned. “The point was to give you more control over your power, to understand why the Starlit King wanted to help you. And we accomplished that.”

She rubbed her temple. “We certainly did.”

My heart pounded, recalling how the Shadow Throne had consumed Eleanor for her ascension rite. Would the Starlit Throne do the same to Ayla when it was time for her to become queen? If my shadows didn’t work around the throne, how would our bond fair? The ramifications of all of this...

Ayla scratched Rimu’s ear, and he leaned closer as she found the spot that he loved. She turned to me. “Can I abdicate the throne?”

I frowned. “Doing so requires sitting on the throne so you can connect to it directly. Thrones don’t like being told they chose the wrong heir, and very few have succeeded.”

“And if we just... run away?”

“It’ll work, for a time. Possibly, years or even decades.” I looked away. “But when the throne summoned Eleanor, she was compelled. The bond between heir and throne is a frightfully powerful thing.”

Perhaps even more powerful than our tether.

I leaned back with a long sigh. “I hate how much it explains. Including the day we met.”

Ayla turned to me, eyebrows furrowed with curiosity.

I explained, “My plan to lure the shades to me failed that day because they simply pursue the fae with the highest power. I had assumed that because I was a fae prince, they would want me. But they went after you—an heir.”

Ayla let that settle, taking a tentative sip of water.

Putting the glass down, she held my gaze, her lips pursed with determination.

“I want to steal those shards. They’re why we came here, and if we take them, it ensures nobody can control Gloom.

We’re so close now, and we might never have another chance. ”

She paused to breathe, and a pleading anger pulsed through the tether, as if accomplishing this one thing would fix the rest. She was determined. And as much as I hated the prospect, I saw the merit. What if she was right? Since she was his heir, opening the starlight box could be trivial.

“We can take a look,” I slowly agreed. “I still don’t understand why he has the shards in the first place, so any clues would also be useful. But if a solution isn’t forthcoming, we leave. Deal?”

“Deal,” she agreed.

Rhett sighed, glancing from her to me. “If there’s no convincing you...”

“There’s not.” I leveled with Rhett. “We’ll meet you on the Umbral Star . Iona should already be on her way.”

“She... is?” Hope glinted in his eyes.

“She’ll explain.”

He looked confused, but it only lasted a moment before he snapped to action, clasping Ayla’s hands between his, making me curb the urge to come between them. “If I can’t talk you out of this, come back safe,” he urged her.

“I always do,” she promised.

He slapped his thigh for Rimu’s attention and stood, addressing me. “Teyr knows I’m not cut out for the type of trouble that follows Ayla, but I’m glad she now has someone who can keep up with her.” He shouldered his packed bag. “Take care of her, Zayne.”

“I will.”

He approached the door, and I faded into the shadows as I sealed the door firmly in his wake. He and Rimu couldn’t leave fast enough, my bond to Ayla achingly frail.

At long last, I was alone with her. Unable to wait a second longer, I shadow-stepped to her side, unveiling myself.

Her gaze flicked over me, searching from head to toe.

I cupped her chin. “Ayla, whatever happens—”

She leaned closer. “Help me forget.” Her meaning streamed down the bond.

I hesitated, the raging need to claim her at war with my urge to leave as soon as possible.

“Rhett needs time to reach the boat,” she justified. “Remind me of everything we are, together.”

My lips parted.

“I need you.”

We would never be the same, not after this. Her mind was no longer entirely mine, and before we took another step, I needed to cement myself so firmly inside her that I could never be replaced.

Without delay, I jumped us to the suite’s bedroom. Desperate, I needed to taste her, know her, discover everything before time ran out.

My lips snagged hers, finding she was as hungry as me. Her fingers dug into my skin. She found my waistband as I hitched up her skirt.

We only had moments.

Moments we had to stretch into a lifetime.

Ayla moaned into my mouth as she tugged down my pants. I palmed the outside of her panties and was rewarded with another beautiful groan. She pressed her hips into my hand and grinded against it.

Urgent, our energy snapped through the tether, spurring us onward.

Give me everything.

I shoved her panties aside just as she freed my cock, wrapping her hand around it, squeezing me tight. She cried out as I thumbed her clit, wiggling her hips closer to me.

I have to have you.

I picked her up, my hands under her butt as I laid her on the bed.

Quickly.

I dropped my head under her skirt, using my tongue to prepare her sweet opening. Kiss and suck, kiss and suck. When I stopped, her thighs tightened around my head, but I raised myself over her, regretting there was no more time. Looking down at her, locking eye contact, I positioned my cock.

Now.

The tether sparked as I plunged, thrusting into her and filling her in one swift blow. Pleasure raced along my cock. It bellowed across our bond.

Keep going.

I lifted away and shoved myself back in, careful to tilt my hips so my cock struck her inner wall. With every thrust, the onslaught of pleasure rose higher. Groaning, I reached down and found her clit, pressing it as she was fully sheathed. She moaned and squirmed. I withdrew and thrust again.

Just like that.

We danced and writhed. The bed squeaked and our skin slapped as we bid ourselves higher and higher.

Faster.

I pummeled into her and her walls clenched around me as her face tightened in her orgasm. Her lips parted with a silent moan, and at the sight, a spasm seized my cock. I spent myself into her.

Perfect.

Everything about us was absolutely right.

We coasted down, her body seizing around me several more times before loosening around my spent cock.

The bond swelled between us, swirling with shadow and light.

The air grew charged with our connection, our scent salty and delicious.

I savored my relief. Despite every obstacle, every trial, Ayla and I were still bound.

She fell back with a sigh and a flourish. Her lips parted as she looked up at me. “I love you.”

It was the last thing I expected to hear, and my heart skipped a beat.

She held my gaze. “I’m sorry I couldn’t say it earlier. You’re the one person who can see all of me, that I allow to see all of me. Zayne, you have planted yourself far deeper in my soul than any bond. And that terrifies me.”

I smiled at her confession. “I’ve been wanting to hear that for a long time.

To know you feel this too. That our bond isn’t something you regret, that despite our strange circumstances, you chose us.

Me . I am a shadow prince and necromancer, and still, you want me.

” Unable to contain myself another moment, I surged forward and kissed her. “I love you too.”

She grinned against me, kissing me back.

For a few final moments, time held still.

We were together. We were bound.

And that was enough.

It had to be.