Page 208 of Blade of the Nightking

“You were in hiding!” she cried. “You left me exposed! And Hyperia⁠—”

“Don’t you dare.” His voice was a blade. “You sold her to them first. And when you realized what you could gain by allying yourself with the other Courts, you sold me too.”

She fell silent, her eyes pained.

“Are you happy with what you got, Elly?”

Elly? Was I hearing things?

“Mountains of riches. Lords and Ladies willing to overlook your sordid little enterprises.” His mouth twisted in disgust. “Does your depravity know no bounds?”

She whimpered.

“Tell me—does fucking everything that moves fill the hole in your heart?”

“No,” she whispered. “No one could ever take your place.”

Wait—what?

Rìan was Lady Elyndra's legendary lost lover? I glanced at him, taking in the breadth of his shoulders, his godlike body… When my gaze finally reached his face, he was already looking at me. I cleared my throat and quickly looked away.

Unfortunately, Elyndra caught the exchange. Her eyes flicked to me, narrowing for the briefest moment before returning to him.

She took a step back, her fingers moving to the fastening at her throat. “You don’t know how I’ve suffered, Rìan. How I’ve missed you.”

Slowly, she lowered her hood and shrugged off her robes. The fabric pooled at her feet.

Gods—her body was exquisite.

Everything about her was impossibly perfect, from the smooth bronze glow of her skin to the elegant lines of her figure. Hundreds of fine silver chains adorned her body, layered in glittering strands that wound across her curves, barely concealing the most intimate parts of her. Her hair was as pale as her eyes, a luminous creamy white that seemed to glow against the warmth of her skin, falling in flawless curls to her waist. Even her brows and lashes were colorless.

For one distracted moment, I found myself wondering what it would be like to be tangled up with someone like her.

I blinked, trying to banish the image before it could take root.

“You don’t know what I did for you, do you?” The chains tinkled softly as she moved. “How I helped the Eidra return to the Moiraithe. How I nearly depleted my own magic holding time still until she could free you.”

A muscle ticked in Rìan’s jaw. His gaze moved over her, taking in the sight she had so deliberately revealed, and a stab of jealousy speared through me. It was followed immediately by something worse.

Inadequacy.

Standing there in borrowed clothes that barely fit, I felt painfully ordinary beside her.

“My love for you has never faltered, Rìan,” Elyndra purred.

One hand rose to the veil concealing the lower half of her face.

“Let me prove it to you now.” Her voice softened. “Let me remind you what my devotion feels like.”

The veil drifted to the floor.

My heart forgot how to beat.

She was breathtaking. High, elegant cheekbones framed a face so striking it scarcely seemed real. Her mouth was full and perfectly shaped, while a scattering of silver freckles dusted the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Her beauty was… otherworldly.

Heat pooled low in my stomach.

I'd never been attracted to another woman before, but somehow Lady Elyndra made me want to fall to my knees and worship her in ways that were deeply inappropriate… and alarmingly appealing.