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Page 47 of The Deathless One (The Gravesinger #1)

“It can do whatever you want it to do,” he replied. She didn’t have to imagine the surprise in his voice. It was there without her having to search for it. “What did you want it to do?”

“I wanted it to be free.”

“You are always a surprise, nightmare.”

She couldn’t help herself. She turned in his arms, hugging him around the neck and drawing him close. A bubble of excitement burst in her chest, and she laughed loudly. “I did it! I did it—you said I could do it and I did!”

Until this moment, he’d always hesitated to return her touch. She’d always known he was uncomfortable with her touch, but there were moments when she couldn’t help herself.

Jessamine hid her soft smile against his shoulder as his arms came around her, this time without hesitation. He pressed her to him, tucking her head under his chin. “I believe we’ve discovered the secret to your magic. This should be easier the more we practice it.”

“And you’re all right with binding yourself to me even more?

” Now that the thought was in her head, she didn’t know how much she liked it.

Leaning back in his arms, she frowned at him.

“I know you have a history of witches using you. I don’t want you to think that I’m doing the same thing.

If at any point I’m pushing you too far, please let me know. ”

His eyes softened. She watched the darkness in them leak out until it was like she was looking up at a starlight sky. There were pinpricks of light in him. Tiny, almost impossibly small, but she could see them. She wondered, if she let him be who he really was, if that light would grow.

“I am not uncomfortable,” he murmured, a little chuckle escaping before he continued. “I have never had a witch ask me that before.”

“I thought we both agreed that I’m not really a witch.”

“No, I suppose you are not. You’re something else entirely, Jessamine Harmsworth. Although right now, I’m not sure what.”

So many words pressed against her tongue. Words that made no sense. Like that she was his. Did it matter what else she was, if she had already dedicated herself to him?

His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips, and Jessamine felt heat bloom within her yet again. He wanted her. She could feel it, deep in her belly.

The desire that had zinged between the two of them wasn’t spent. Not yet. There was so much power and magic bubbling between them that it felt natural to reach for him. She could expel all that power with him in an instant if she let him, and yet…

It wasn’t right to push him. Not after what she’d seen in his memories. He had given so much of himself to so many people, and for once, she wanted him to choose. Without the passion of magic, without the suggestion that he had to eat up life while he could, she wanted him to choose her.

Taking a sharp breath, she pulled herself out of the hug and smoothed her hand down her pants. “Right, well… I have to get back to the streets.”

“Of course.” He lunged away from her, as though he had just realized the same thing. “More messages to write?”

“Well, I can’t leave my people waiting too long.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. “Food to steal as well, I suppose. I should eat.”

“Jessamine?” Elric asked, his voice a low rumble.

Before she could even respond, he was there. Right in front of her. Elric grabbed onto the hem of her shirt, curling his fists in the thin fabric and dragging her against him.

The kiss he pressed to her lips was a brand. A claiming of ownership and desire and all those lost years in one. He licked and nipped and bit at every inch of her mouth until she was spinning. What way was up? She wasn’t all that certain.

When he finally drew back, they were both breathing hard. His lips lingered on hers, seeming to have a hard time drawing away from the plush cushion of her mouth.

“I will be waiting for you when you get back,” he whispered, that gravelly voice ragged after their kiss. “Return to me soon, nightmare.”

He dissolved, sent back to his realm, where he could gather the power to remain by her side until he was fully summoned.

She had to write those messages on the walls. They were important, even as she remained frozen where she was for a few more moments.

I have so much to tell you.

Don’t give up on me.

The truth is out there if you seek it.

The messages were meant to give people hope, but she knew that without action, they would no longer look at the messages as notes from their fallen princess, but as a lie.

Soon enough, she would have to let people know in person that she was alive.

And, distracted with magic lessons, she hadn’t found anyone else to trust here.

As always, she and Elric were running out of time.

Even as she left the graveyard, she knew she would wait a few more days before trying to find Callum again. Just a few more days where she could pretend that nothing was more important than lingering in Elric’s arms.

Because a dark-haired demon called for her, and she was a weak-willed woman who wanted to worship at his feet.