“You defended me.”
“Of course.” She sounded offended that I would be shocked. No one helped the Death Mages. Everyone feared us, and rightly so. That a young orphan from the capital would face off with a fae and a ship of sailors to protect a man she barely knew? One who had kidnapped her, seduced her, and left her no choice but to go to the most feared and hated island in all of Lunaterra? She was either half-mad or the most courageous woman I’d ever met. “You threatened to burn half the crew.”
“They were going to hurt you.” Her hands twisted in front of her as if she were nervous or anxious and my heart disintegrated in my chest. It was gone, no longer mine, but hers.
Had the battle frightened her? Did she fear me now? Was that why she remained by the door, staring at me, instead of coming close? Void take it, she might was well know and accept the truth now. I positioned myself carefully on the edge of the bed. Hoped she would move in close. Accept me.
Want me as badly as I wanted her. “I would burn cities for you.”
A pause. Then, quieter, little more than a whisper, “Why?” She came toward me slowly, her eyes still lit with that strange, golden heat.
“Because they were wrong,” I said. “Your parents. The world. Wrong to give you up. Wrong not to want you.”
She swallowed hard, tears gathering in her eyes. “And you do?”
“Yes.”
She stopped just in front of me. Her fingers reached for mine, laced them together. “You were willing to die to protect this ship,” she whispered. “Even though everyone on it hates you. Even though it would’ve been easy to let the sea spirits tear them apart. You didn’t hesitate. You just… gave everything.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. And then she knelt in front of me, eyes searching mine.
“You might be a Death Mage, but you’re not the monster I thought you were.”
“No,” I said hoarsely. “But Iama monster.”
She smiled. Slow. Sad. Beautiful. “Apparently, so am I.” The air between us snapped like a live wire. Her fingers slid higher on my arms. Her eyes flicked to my mouth.
And my restraint—thin, frayed, already dying—snapped.
I surged forward, grabbed her by the waist, and hauled her onto my lap.
She gasped—but she didn’t pull away.
Our mouths collided.
There was nothing soft about this kiss. It was raw and desperate and too much, like we were both trying to devour the moment, the fear, the chaos still clinging to our skin.
Her hands tangled in my hair. Mine found the curve of her waist, the hollow of her back, the warm skin beneath the collar of her gown.
She tasted like fire and salt and survival.
I couldn’t stop kissing her.
Didn’t want to.
She straddled me, pressed against me, her breath ragged, her body alight with that golden fire. Every brush of her magic against mine reignited the bond, hotter and fiercer than ever.
This wasn’t just attraction anymore.
This wasclaiming.
This wasneed.
We broke apart only long enough to breathe, to press our foreheads together, to let the storm inside us find purchase in touch.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she whispered.
“I thought you’d run.”
