“I won’t risk you.” Arim kissed my cheek. “We both know what he really wants. For me to suffer. And the surest way of doing that is to harm you. Maybe if I distract him long enough, Sava can work some Shadow magic and take him out.”
“Bullshit. Sava’s great, but he can’t take on a Dark Lord who’s as crazed and powerful as Sin Garu. It’s not just Dark energy he’ll be fighting. It’s demons too.” Though Sava has spent some time in the Pit. What might he know?
“What if you’re pregnant, Blue? Would you risk our children in this fight?”
I paused. There was nothing motherly about me. Yet…I curled a hand protectively over my stomach.
“That’s what I thought.” Arim’s smug tone put my back up.
“Now hold on. If I am, by some otherworldly means, pregnant already, after just a few times with you —”
“It only takes once, especially with the Guardian of Storm.” He arrogantly arched a brow.
I refused to laugh. “Then my children won’t ever be safe until Sin Garu is dead. The only way to do that is to combine our powers. We’re stronger together. Our energy builds off each other instead of attacking and degrading our opposing magics. It’s always been that way.”
“I know.” Arim’s cockiness faded. “But I can’t put you in harm’s way.”
“You had no problem battling me a few months ago.”
He frowned. “That was different. I thought you were… Ah, not quite on our side. Even then, I would never have let you come to actual harm. I’m not saying I didn’t want to seriously spank your ass. When we fought Sin Garu, it practically killed me to let him touch you. I was barely in time to save you after you took that demon blast meant for me.”
“Which reminds me. What the hell were you thinking to give me so much energy?” I slapped his arm.
“What?”
“You gave me too much of yourself the last time we were together. I thought I felt something, but I chalked it up to Tanselm welcoming me back. That’s part of why you were fading so fast after you passed out over Ravyn. The stress, Tanselm’s faltering magic, and your generous gift nearly did you in.”
He looked uncomfortable. “I saw you hurting and wanted to help. Why is that a problem?” Arim’s discomfort faded under a dark scowl. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me the demons ripped away part of your soul? Your soul, Blue. You should have come to me right away for help.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. All you needed was an excuse to have me under your thumb.”
“You’re damn right.” Arim tilted his hips and slid deeper inside me, his rising erection a carnal promise for more. He started thrusting harder, in and out. And it felt so good. “We’re eventually going to have to find Sava. We need a plan to separate Sin Garu from his wraiths and finish him for good.”
“Yeah,” I breathed, unable to do more than feel him inside me. Tanselm, bless her, echoed the sentiment, sending bursts of ragged power through Arim into me, power the land could ill-afford to lose but power the land gave, regardless. I knew we’d need every bit to aid us against our enemy. “We’ll find him. But after, okay?”
Arim groaned his assent. Our passion spiraled out of control, as intense as our previous lovemaking. Hearts and souls mired together, the cautious voice in my mind gone as if it had never been. Unspoken love flowed freely between Light Bringer and Dark Lord, and I knew true happiness.
In the aftermath of our sexual interlude, when I came back into myself, I swore I felt the first stirrings of something foreign in my belly.
Something that felt suspiciously like new life.
Chapter 28
Arim
As we walked through the castle toward the commons looking for Sava, I stared at the back of Lexa’s dark head, my mind a whirl of chaos. My emotions ran the gamut from one end to the other. Grief for my sister’s untimely departure, joy that I finally had Lexa where I wanted her — in love with me — and fear that my happiness might be taken away before it had a chance to take root.
Our relationship had taken a drastic turn. Through it all, my little Dark Lord remained tough as nails and twice as sharp. Though I’d had her screaming my name in ecstasy and in love, the cold, emotionless shield that encased so much of her feelings remained intact.
The caution that seemed so much a part of her had yet to fade. I wanted to press Lexa up against the wall and fuck her until she cried my name out loud again, showing me, if not telling me, what she felt inside.
Several Light Bringers passed us, staring in fear. A few Church brethren glared with hostility, bringing home the very real problems we would need to face soon. Still, I couldn’t stop looking at her, feeling the touch of her soft skin under my palm, the spicy taste of her on my tongue, and the exotic scent of Dark and danger she emitted like the sultriest of perfumes.
A cautious part of me suddenly reared its head.
Mother of Light. Had I lost all sense? My sister was gone, another casualty in our war against an evil blood-drinker and Dark Lord, and I drowned in love for my enemy’s sister.
Rationally, my decisions made little sense. Emotionally… How could I consign Lexa to the same hatred I felt for her sibling and many of her kind? Lexa was as much a victim of Dark manipulation as her family had been. I rubbed my forehead as a familiar headache surfaced. Thoughts of the life I’d lead before coming to Tanselm remained foggy, my one connection to that life now swimming in the Next.
