Page 48

CALCULATE REPAIR COSTS (WHEN CONSUMMATION REQUIRES RECONSTRUCTION)

ARABELLA

My entire body hummed with magic. I sat on a hay bale in the stables, trying to regain some semblance of composure while Nyx devoured her third cow in a flurry of teeth and claws.

Everything felt raw and turned up to an almost painful pitch.

Colors seemed brighter, scents more potent.

Even the hay stabbing into my palms became a source of pleasure-pain.

And the magic. Gods, the magic .

It raged through me like a dam had burst, no longer contained in neat, carefully measured channels.

I felt it in my fingertips, in my throat, thrumming behind my eyes.

Part of me wondered if this was how Kazimir always felt, with an undercurrent of raw power constantly crackling beneath his skin.

Or maybe this was simply the aftermath of what we’d done together.

A memory of that moment in the war room strummed through me, scattering my focus all over again.

The way our bodies had collided, our magic tangling and intensifying until the walls literally fell around us.

I’d called it an excuse to fulfill the Heirloom’s requirement, but I couldn’t hide the truth from myself anymore. I wanted him. I’d chosen it—chosen him.

I exhaled and mumbled to no one in particular, “What does this make me now?” Nyx cocked her head, blood still dripping from her muzzle. I wasn’t sure how to explain my chaotic mix of exhilaration, guilt, and lust to a shadow dragon.

“Not you,” I said softly. “I’m talking to myself like some unhinged villain’s bride.”

Nyx gave a wet snort, and shadowy smoke curled from her nostrils. The impression I got was something like Well, if the horseshoe fits. I actually laughed. “Don’t encourage me.”

A shadow fell across the straw-strewn floor. Kazimir stood in the doorway, silhouette framed by the setting sun. He’d changed into clean clothes, though he had a fresh cut along his jaw.

“You’re bleeding,” I said by way of greeting.

He touched the cut absently, as though he’d forgotten it. “Falling masonry. The east tower took some damage.”

“From what we did?”

That faint, prideful twitch of his lips made my stomach flip.

“From what we did,” he confirmed. His gaze raked over me, lingering where his shirt barely covered my thighs.

My robe had been ruined, so I’d grabbed the first thing in arm’s reach, which happened to be his clothing.

It did next to nothing to hide the fact I wore no undergarments.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

I felt my cheeks heat under his scrutiny. “Like my skin doesn’t fit right anymore. And my magic…” Words failed me. There was no easy way to describe the sensation of holding a storm in my body.

He stepped closer, settling beside me on the hay bale. Even that small closeness sent phantom electricity racing across my skin. We’d just had sex, yet my body still turned molten the moment he drew near.

He nodded vaguely to the stable hands, who were themselves attempting to be invisible in the far corner.

“The servants are talking,” he said. “Apparently the Dark Lord and his bride destroyed half the fortress while—” his lips quirked—”‘bonking,’ I believe was the polite term they used in front of me. ”

I buried my face in his shoulder with a groan, noting the distinct mix of his usual magic and the new thread of energy coursing between us. “Are they scandalized?”

“More impressed than anything.” He threaded his fingers through my hair in a gentle tug that sent warm shivers across my scalp. “Although Vex did ask that we save any further ‘activations’ for less essential architecture.”

When I dared glance up, Kazimir’s eyes had darkened, locked onto my mouth. Desire flared. We’d only just finished tearing half a wing down in our frenzy, and already my blood pounded for more. Maybe that made me reckless, but I no longer cared.

“Everyone out,” I said, raising my voice. I didn’t even look at the stable hands, just kept my eyes fixed on Kazimir’s face.

They set their tools down with awkward speed and scurried out, one of them pausing to shut the door behind them. Nyx huffed in protest at losing her audience, then kept chewing.

“That was very authoritative,” Kazimir teased. “I think you’ve nailed this ‘Dark Lady’ business.”

They were gone, but I still lowered my voice. “So, the Heirloom?”

He exhaled. “Active, but the power feels incomplete. As if it’s still warming up.”

I bristled at the thought that we hadn’t quite finished the job. “So we destroyed a war room and half a wing for nothing?”

He tilted my chin until I met his gaze. “We’ve awakened it, just not at full strength. And,” he added, his eyes flicking down to my lips, “I don’t believe anything about that was nothing.”

Heat surged in my face. There was no point hiding my reaction, especially not from him. We both knew it wasn’t purely a cold transaction anymore.

I tried to stay on topic. “Is it normal for the Heirloom to warm up?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. There aren’t exactly instruction manuals for ancient artifacts of power. I had to piece things together from dozens of obscure sources.”

I snorted. “A manual would have been much easier. ‘Congratulations on your purchase of the Heirloom of Dominion. Please note that activation requires blood sacrifice and/or earth-shattering sex with your unwilling bride.’“

His lips twitched. “Unwilling?”

“Initially unwilling,” I amended, feeling heat rise in my cheeks again.

His voice dropped an octave, taking on that rough edge that sent shivers down my spine. “Because I seem to remember you coming to find me. And you were remarkably... insistent.”

I cleared my throat. “So what happens now?” I asked, seeking safer conversational ground. “King Auremar won’t stop.”

“No, he won’t,” Kazimir agreed, bitterness creeping into his tone. “But we’ll be ready. Let him come.”

I frowned. “He can’t just want me for a political trophy. I’ve been kidnapped and married, so it doesn’t make me prime queen material. What could he possibly want with me that’s worth starting a war?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Kazimir’s jaw tightened, a flicker of fury crossing his features. “He knows something about your bloodline that’s important enough to risk everything.”

“But there are others with heroic blood. Why me specifically?”

“I don’t know yet.” He pushed my hair over my shoulder to expose my neck. “Whatever their plan, I’m not letting them succeed.”

There was nothing gentle in his promise, only that dark, possessive glimmer that both alarmed and excited me.

“I’ve set a monitoring spell on the Heirloom.

If its power continues to build, we’ll know.

” His gaze dropped to my lips, then lower, to the open collar of his shirt that I was wearing. “In the meantime...”

He tugged on my hair, pulling my head back to expose my throat. The simple touch sent sparks of pleasure racing down my spine, and I couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped me.

He murmured, “Still sensitive?”

“You could say that,” I breathed.

“Good.” He leaned closer, pressing a featherlight kiss to my neck that had me sagging against him. “Because I’m nowhere near done with you.”

Kazimir parted the collar to expose more of my throat and lightly grazed my skin with his teeth. His hand remained firmly tangled in my hair, keeping my head tilted back and my throat exposed to his exploration.

I melted into him, my hands finding their way beneath his tunic to the warm skin and scars beneath, feeling the heat of him as he continued his assault on my neck.

He hummed against my skin, his free hand sliding up my thigh.

When his hand slid under what passed for my hem, he froze at finding bare skin.

A low, appreciative sound escaped him. “No undergarments?”

I shrugged, breath hitching when he teased my inner thighs. “I came straight here to check on Nyx. I… didn’t think about it.”

“Then I’ll get the names of every servant you passed on the way,” he growled possessively.

My heart drummed a little faster. “Why? So you can play golf with their eyeballs?”

“That would be merciful compared to what I have in mind.”

“Don’t you dare.” I grabbed his wrist, half to stop him from conjuring some violent retribution and half to encourage his wandering fingers to keep going. “The servants like me, and I don’t want you to mess that up.”

He chuckled darkly, leaning in to kiss me, swallowing the gasp I made when his hand pressed exactly where I was most sensitive.

I hardly registered what I was doing as I grabbed the edge of his tunic, yanking it over his head. The sight of his runes and scars in the warm haze of the stables made me want to explore them again. I traced one with a fingertip, noticing how his breathing caught.

He groaned. “This is going to escalate quickly.”

I replaced my finger with my lips, pressing a kiss to the center of the spiral.

His hand tightened in my hair. I smiled against his skin, and continued my exploration, tracing the patterns with lips and tongue, learning which ones made him tense and which made him moan.

When my lips reached the waistband of his trousers, he tugged my hair again and hauled me up.

His expression was raw in a way I’d never seen before. “Enough,” he gasped. He bundled my bare legs in his discarded tunic, then scooped me off the hay bale and made for the stable door. “I don’t want to burn anything down.”

From her corner, Nyx projected a strong sense of agreement, tinged with alarm.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed the underside of his jaw, finding another rune there to map with my tongue. “I suppose one of us should be practical.”

“My—our—chambers,” Kaz’s voice was strained. “The tower is warded more heavily.”

Nyx’s disgruntled huff behind us was probably disapproving, but I could only manage a half-laugh, still lost in Kazimir’s taste.