Page 61 of A Crown of Darkness
The pulse of need beat stronger and stronger. Finn kissed her exposed neck as she arched against him, as he thrust into her again and again. The power in her blossomed like night-flowering jasmine, winding through her with greedy tendrils and drawing still more of the shadows from him.
Finn shuddered, his body stiffening, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, his mouth opening wide, his teeth grazing her skin. Wren cried out, opening to him, falling with him as he came.
And all the darkness in the world filled her.
Her eyes snapped open, as, dizzy and delirious, she beheld the man entwined with her.
He was made of light, of fire, of the rays of the sun itself. She had to close her eyes again lest he blind her.
She came with a cry of ecstasy, her body no longer her own, and she didn’t care. He was all she wanted, and all her inner darkness desired. All those shadows, all those corners of the night, ached for the light that blazed through him now.
The Aurum, she thought, but it was a far-off and distant realisation. It was the Aurum inside him, filling him, scourging him until not a trace of the Nox remained. It was making him whole again, purifying him, filling him with the fire of a Paladin.
No, she was doing it. She was calling the Aurum somehow, just as she had in battle, and it was answering, freed at last from the long confinement it had endured. She could hear it singing to her, exalting in its liberation and the sheer pleasure it took from their joining.
Finn’s voice cried out and broke, her name, she was sure it was her name, but it was a song as well. Her name was a psalm on his lips once again, the Aurum echoing through it.
For a moment neither of them could move. They were caught there, lost in their union and their ecstasy.
He moved first, awkwardly, as if it was a great effort, but as he came back to himself he seemed aware that he might be crushing her. He wasn’t. She wanted to tell him that but couldn’t find the words.
She couldn’t find any words.
‘Did I…did I hurt you?’ he whispered. His voice was hoarse, but sated. And that warmth…light, she had missed that warmth, and the ache of affection.
Wren shook her head and felt her smile lift her face.
‘You glowed,’ she told him.
Finn gave a soft, almost-laugh. ‘I burned.’ His breath came out in a deep rush. ‘You are a wonder, my love. How did you do that?’
‘I just called on what was there. The Aurum loves you, Finn. It always has done. I knew it would save you.’
He bent his head again, kissing her lips first, then her jawline, then her neck. He was still inside her, and his cock seemed to stir again as he moved.
‘I am still yours, you know,’ he whispered. ‘Body and soul.’
She swallowed hard on the knot of emotion rising in her throat. ‘And I’m yours. That’s the secret, isn’t it? It isn’t about one or the other of us, but about both of us. Together.’
‘Together,’ he agreed, and turned his attention to her pleasure again.
Later, much later, as dawn stained the window, Wren woke with Finn’s arms still wrapped around her, and his long legs tangledwith hers. She lay there, watching the play of light on the ceiling above her.
Not just the light of sunrise, she realised, nor the early rays coming through the branches of the trees outside the window. The glow was too warm, and it held more colours in its depths than sunlight.
What have you done?the Nox whispered, resentment threading through her mind.
She had saved him, that was what. Freed him from its control. She had done what she had to do to save him from a lifetime enslaved to a dark goddess. She might not be able to resist it forever, but she would not let it take him as well.
You fool.The loathing in the voice was unmistakable.You’ve just handed him over to another form of subjugation. At least we would have let him live.
Wren’s immediate answer – that she was glad he was free, that it was just trying to trick her again – stumbled before she could fully give it form. Something was wrong. The Nox didn’t sound angry, not really. It sounded…bitter, defeated, and heartbroken with it.
It sounded regretful.
‘What do you mean?’ she whispered as softly as she could. She didn’t want to wake Finn, not yet. He was exhausted. After everything he had been through, she wanted to let him rest while he could. Turning her face, she studied his, soft in sleep, the tight lines around his eyes from stress and constant suffering barely visible now. Peaceful. He looked peaceful and that was good, wasn’t it?
But the glow she had seen reflected on the ceiling came from beneath his skin. It ran like flames on the surface of oil, shimmering and bright, illuminating him from within, turning him to gold.
