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Chapter forty-eight

A strid clung to Dimitri, dizzy and short of breath. Her breaths turned ragged, but she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. Her night-streaked nails bit into his back as her head fell to his shoulder.

Dimitri’s death magic consumed her, hungry and seeking. It intensified her ecstasy until she craved each ruthless thrust. Until she needed him, rough and claiming.

Astrid blinked as dark splotches patched her vision and her mind began to quiet. The steady beat of his wings tossed her hair but all she could feel was the harsh rhythm of his cock and the waves of her orgasms crashing through her.

Pain cut through the haze that blanketed her mind. Dimitri cruelly gripped her hip and thrust into her a final time. He groaned, tilting his chin back and palming the back of her head as he came deep inside her.

Dimitri curled his membranous wing around her, then the other, molding them to her body. He leaned back and Astrid’s heart raced as her view pitched forward. The cold bite of nerves shrieked through her body as weightlessness enveloped her.

They plummeted the next moment, accelerating as they fell through the clouds.

“Dimitri!” Astrid screamed.

She wedged her hand between their bodies, pressing her palm to her sternum. Golden threads burst from her and arched back into her body before pulling tight. Astrid stitched her soul again and again. She’d never seen a body fall from this height.

Would there be anything left of her body to regenerate?

From this high, the pine forest were mere patches of green and the southern palace looked like a figurine. They were falling, but the ground didn’t grow closer. She knew once it did, she would have moments before impact.

Astrid yanked on Dimitri’s shirt and struck his chest. His fingers, tangled in her hair, lazily caressing her scalp, was her only indication he was conscious.

Serpents devour you.

She wasn’t going to die like this. Astrid grabbed his face, cupping her palm over his nose and mouth.

Dimitri shook his head and pulled her hand away. His wings constricted around her until she fought for breath. He rocked his hips, languidly sliding his cock in and out of her.

Astrid’s temper spiked. She was trapped within his boney, membranous prison and could do nothing to stop their freefall or his invasion.

“Pull up,” Astrid yelled, shoving her shoulder against the leading edge of his wing.

Her mind raced as the ground rushed to meet them. She couldn’t escape this. The sword she had prayed for was maddened and he was going to kill them both.

Astrid tensed and tucked her chin, bracing for impending death. If she survived this, she was cutting off his fucking wings.

The suffocating compression eased as Dimitri altered the angle of their fall. Astrid counted her breaths, acutely aware her back would hit the ground first. His arm cradled her spine, and he held the side of her head against his chest with the other.

Dimitri spread his wings abruptly. The change in momentum was sharp and jarring. Astrid’s legs flung back, her heels dusting snow as they pulled out of their dive. She would have been a red stain in the snow if Dimitri hadn’t held her in place.

“Put me down!” Astrid screamed.

She shoved at him, struggling against his hold. A ten-foot drop wouldn’t kill her. Astrid pushed off his chest and swung, catching his jaw with the point of her elbow.

Dimitri’s hold faltered and she gasped, falling into open air. She would land hard, but she could heal a broken ankle.

A callused hand caught her wrist and Astrid’s shoulder took the brunt of her weight as she jerked to a stop. She twisted, upturned her chin. “Let go of me before I decorate the snow with your organs!”

Dimitri flicked her wrist away and she landed on her ass in the snowbank. Astrid cursed, getting to her feet. She dusted the clumped snow off her skin, realizing she was naked from the waist down.

At least they were in a clearing in the middle of the forest. The cold bit into her feet and leeched up her legs. She stomped toward Dimitri and nearly fell when her bare foot came down in the snow, upheaving her center of balance on her remaining high heel.

“What did you think you were doing?” Astrid snapped, trudging toward him.

Dimitri fastened his slacks and sneered at her. “Reminding you who you belong to.”

“ Belong to?” Fury tangled her words and Astrid’s magic engulfed him. His soul remained constant beneath her will, and she wanted to scream. “You parade me like a whore. Anyone could have seen us.”

“You’re mine, neva.”

Her fury shattered beneath his declaration. “I belong to no one!”

“You’re mistaken,” Dimitri said, catching her by the throat, “ wife .”

The title was her prison. Yet another cage a male sought to trap her in. Astrid clawed at his collar, dragging him closer. She dug her nails into either side of his windpipe and spat, “The only thing I belong to is my fate.”

“I am your fate,” Dimitri bellowed before shoving her back.

Astrid fell in the snow and scrambled to her feet. She needed a weapon and scanned the clearing for a branch. A rock. Anything. But fresh snow surrounded them, concealing anything useful.

Dimitri turned from her and his breath fogged as he exhaled.

“Give me your shirt,” Astrid snapped. Her demented sword glared back at her over his shoulder, as though her demand was outlandish. “You ruined my dress. Give me your shirt, your coat, and your belt,” Astrid ordered, shaking the melting slush off her foot.

Dimitri shrugged out of his topcoat and tossed it to her. Astrid caught the heavy garment and waited for his shirt. He stripped out of it and Astrid snatched it from his hands, shoving the coat to his chest before letting it fall.

He caught it before it hit the ground and Astrid donned his shirt. She cursed and welcomed the warmth locked in his clothing.

“Your belt,” she said with a flash of her teeth.

Dimitri didn’t fight her and removed his belt. Astrid took the remaining articles and fished his belt through the arms of his coat. She swung it over her hips and turned to straighten it over her ass. Dimitri’s brows lowered as she belted the makeshift train around her waist.

“Take me home.” The word shocked Astrid the moment it slipped past her lips.

A smug expression crossed Dimitri’s features as he closed the distance between them. She dug her nails into her palm, wanting to cut the certainty off his face.

“Carry me nicely,” she snapped when he bent to pick her up.

Dimitri paused for a moment, and she wondered if he was going to hoist her over his shoulder. To her amazement, he scooped the back of her train and held it to the bend of her knees, lifting her off her feet.

Astrid’s temper cooled. She was covered and the heat of him seeped into her. Dimitri spread his wings and launched skyward with a powerful beat of his wings.

“Don’t fly higher than necessary,” she added. A muscle ticked in Dimitri’s jaw, and she quickly added, “Please.”

They glided toward the southern palace in silence—an uncomfortable truce struck a foot above the pines.