Page 26

I set the plant toward the corner of the balustrade, the blooms bobbing with each gust of the wind.

The drooping bell-shaped flowers were a nice pop of color against the clouded sky that never changed, except on Novareth.

They looked like billbergia, but instead of the rounded aspect of the petals, they had an outward curve like a rose.

Overhauling the terrace was my first order of business, and I was glad for it, because every time I woke up, it was one of my first views.

The lilting sound of voices singing echoed from the base of the castle. I craned my neck, leaning to see around one of the towers toward the spot where his statue sat.

People gathered there daily, to bring offerings to the base of his statue, and to ‘worship.’

But what my eyes caught wasn’t as tame as what I’d seen them do before. A handful of women flounced around the statue, naked and singing.

“Too far,” I muttered and pushed away from the railing, marching out of our bedroom. I followed the clear path I’d marked into the ground with blue paint. It would fade in a while, but I’d been using it to memorize the corridors leading outside, because they were so confusing.

Weaving through a different entrance, I reached the crank to open the portcullis.

With both hands, I heaved and pushed until the iron chains attached to the door swung it up enough for me to slip underneath.

Corvus hated it when I opened the gates without him, probably because the thing looked like it could squash me.

Hurrying onto the stone path, I aimed myself for his statue. The stones deteriorated the deeper I went into the forest until it was only foliage underfoot.

His worshippers were always trying new things to get his attention, but I’d had enough.

I finally burst into the clearing. The group of five women turned toward me.

“You are his pet,” one of the dark-haired Novian women with fair skin hurried over to me and took my hand.

I swatted the worshipper’s hand away.

She frowned exaggeratedly, and her exhale made her boobs bounce.

“We are here to offer the Lord of Shadows pleasure.” She waved her arms behind her. “We offer ourselves to him.” The four other women flounced over, breasts also bobbing.

I clenched my teeth so hard my molars ground together.

“If you don’t stop offering yourselves, I won’t stop him from killing you.”

I’d already been generous with them, but they didn’t get the clue.

“We would be blessed to be killed by Lord Zypher,” the buxom blonde purred.

A tendril crept up my leg, and I gasped, whipping my head from side to side.

They had only been around when he was, because the shadows now clung to him at all times, like an extension of him.

“You best get out of here?—”

“Beatrix!” His bellow shook the trees, and I sighed, crossing my arms. The women’s eyes all widened with excitement. A gust of wind later and he slammed onto the ground with a thump.

“You are not to leave without me.” He stormed forward, shadows whipping around him like a storm cloud.

From behind him, the Novian women watched, chests jutting toward him. Even if he didn’t spare them a look, it pissed me off.

“Not right now, Corvus,” I grumbled.

“You are the Lord’s pet. Many can harm you. He’s obviously worried about you,” the red-haired woman tittered and curled her finger around her hair.

“Pet?” I screeched, and snapped, lunging for her. In my fit of rage, my toe snagged on a vine and I went flying forward. Screaming, I squeezed my eyes shut.

I was suddenly jolted, my dress banding around my torso. I squinted to see the ground a foot from my nose. Corvus lifted me with care until I was back on my feet, and I found the clearing empty.

“I will kill them all?—”

“No,” I blurted and scrubbed my face. He would do it in a heartbeat, and that was wrong, even if I kind of wanted him to.

“Jealousy,” he rumbled, his mouth widening.

He sprang at me, bringing me to the ground with ease.

The cool graze of his shadows pillowed my landing on the foliage, serving as a thin layer of protection.

He lifted his pointer claw and, keeping his eyes on mine, he punctured the linen between my legs and dragged it down to open a slice in the skirt.

I stayed frozen, watching. A tendril slid up my thigh, and the cold sensation spread in my channel, ripping a gasp from my throat. “How I revel in your jealousy.”

The shadow thrust and expanded, stretching my sex. It prodded some deep, hidden button inside me, and my chest jerked up, arching my back. I whimpered, and the shadows pulsated, rubbing harder against that spot.

An orgasm crashed into me like a freight train, and I screamed, floating on a cloud of pleasure, my body pulsating from the sudden release.

Sharing my soul had anchored my life to him. It was still a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around.

Slowly, I lifted my eyelids, peeking through my lashes. A purr rumbled in his chest, seething with satisfaction. Not moving his pinpoint pupils off me, he licked the scars marking my arms. He rested my hand on his chest and crawled up until he blocked the sky.

“I need nothing but you,” he grunted and slid inside me, taking my breath away with a single pump.

We claimed each other in front of his statue, rejoicing in the feeling of each other.