She nods, her gaze locking onto mine, filled with such trust and love that it makes my heart clench.
Her rhythm adjusts to mine, every movement drawing us closer to the edge but keeping us just shy of falling.
Her breathing turns ragged, her hands clutching at me as if I am her only anchor in the storm that rages within her.
“Now,” I say, knowing I don’t want to wait any longer.
Her hips grind down harder, faster, in sudden, reckless abandon. I meet each of her movements, matching her pace, her desperation.
We reach our release at the same time, shattering together, and collapsing in each other’s arms.
ChapterForty-Eight
ANNORA
Long after Jasce falls asleep,I lie awake next to him, thinking about that haunting dream. Even climbing on top of Jasce and trying to forget didn’t erase the memory from my thoughts. His heated kisses only provided a temporary respite before the scenes returned.
I sit up and wrap my arms around myself, seeing that cursed pool of water, watching helplessly as it pulled me under. I still hear my screams as pain ripped through me.
It had been so real, so vivid. Even now, my heart pounds against my chest, and my skin aches, as if thousands of daggers stab me over and over. I rub my arms, trying to warm them, but the bone-deep chill remains.
My pulse roars in my ears as I turn to observe Jasce sleeping next to me, oblivious to my torment. He hadn’t been there in that watery hell with me. I had ran and ran after I climbed from the pool, frantically searching for him, calling his name, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.
Dread knots in my chest as I climb from the bed and move to sit near the window. Even the moon is absent tonight, hiding behind a thick veil of clouds.
I have had plenty of nightmares over the summers, but this one was different. It had felt so real, as if I was there, thrashing in that icy pool.
It’s not real. It’s not real.
I mutter those words beneath my breath as I lie down next to Jasce and slide across the mattress until my back is against him. His heat instantly warms me and eases my worries enough for me to drift to sleep.
ChapterForty-Nine
ANNORA
The next morningarrives before I’m ready to face it, the dawn breaking through my window in shards of pink and orange light that stirs me from a restless slumber.
The remnant of my nightmare lingers like cobwebs in my mind, but I push it aside, not wanting it to taint this difficult day. I need to concentrate on saying goodbye to Emerin.
A deep sadness throbs in my heart as I rise from the bed. I wash and dress in a simple cotehardie, its bright yellow fabric doing nothing to lift my mood.
Lastly, I grab my veil and yank it over my face. The last thing I want is people to stare at me like the other day.
The sadness deepens as I move into the corridor and walk next to Jasce toward the largest parlor in the palace. Jasce had mentioned he prepared the room in advance, ensuring it would be vacant and the corridors leading us there clear of any prying eyes or unwanted interruptions.
As we step into the room, I find Arian and Emerin already standing there. Emerin hurries to me, and it takes everything in me to not beg her to stay here with me.
The scent of marjoram envelops me as she embraces me, her arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders. I cling to her just as fiercely.
Too soon she pulls away, her eyes glistening with tears. “I love you more than all the dragons in the sky,” she says, quoting something she used to say when we were little.
I repeat the lines I always said back to her. “And I love you more than all the secrets whispered by the moon.”
She laughs. “We always had overactive imaginations, didn’t we?”
“We did.”
She looks so small standing there, copper hair tumbling over her shoulders, eyes swimming with tears.
