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It glowed with soft light, shimmering, like moonslight over the surface of water. I smiled at the pure beauty of it. It felt like a beacon, drawing me nearer until I could see that the entire evergreen, from the exposed roots in the soil to the tips of the leaves, was covered in the light.
“What is it?” I marveled in complete awe, I had never seen anything like it and it was captivating.
“It’s some kind of bioluminescent moss that’s usually found at higher altitudes, but for some reason, it also grew here on justthis one tree. It glows brightest during the Nailu, not having the light of the moons to dampen its glow. It’s considered to be sacred and, legend has it, that it was touched by Xareus as a gift for his mate, Kleio.”
I glanced up at Ryker. He was looking down at me with something in his eyes that I had never seen before and it made my stomach flutter.
“That’s sweet that he gave his mate a tree.”
“I will givemymate so much more than that.” He brushed his fingers lightly over my face, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
Gods, I wanted nothing more than to kiss him then. To feel his lips against mine in that magical moment. I lifted to my toes to do just that, thinking that just one kiss wouldn’t drive us too far. Just one…
But I stopped when I thought of Nailu and what would come after it—our mating trial. The threats, the Sages and Worthy, the Glaev, all of it came rushing back to the forefront of my mind. On the off chance that one of us would lose control, we couldn’t even taste each other.
I looked back toward the city, to the people we were protecting by preventing our mating bond from being sealed. We couldn’t risk their lives. I slowly lowered back on my heels.
They were being targeted. No other Glaev attacks had been reported outside of Oryn. Not since the Trial. Not since Vicria warned Ryker that he would regret not denying the bond. It was too much to be a coincidence.
So many of Oryn’s people had been killed or forced to abandon their homes simply because we were together. Was that selfish of us? To toe the line, risking their lives just because we couldn’t stay away from each other?
Ryker’s face fell when a single tear streaked down my cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb and my lower lip trembled.
I was so tired. So exhausted from my fate always being closer to that of death rather than life. Especially now that I wanted one.
He pulled me into him, pressing his lips to my forehead for a long moment with his eyes shut tight. We could feel each other’s anguish through the bond. The hurt inside me howled down that swirling tether. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his chest.
Unable to hold it together anymore, tears flooded down my face. Ryker held me tighter, laying his cheek against the top of my head. A choked sob burst from my lips and I couldn’t stop the heaving cries that followed.
I barely noticed when Ryker lifted me into his arms and shifted his wings. And I barely noticed when he thrust us into the air and over the city back to the palace. I blinked through bleary eyes when he continued to carry me to the bedchamber to find a tear falling down his cheek.
He sat on the end of the bed and held me in his lap, resting his chin on the top of my head and rocked gently while brushing his hand down my hair soothingly.
“Little gem…” he whispered. “Everything will be okay.”
“It’s not fair. I finally found you,my mate, and I can’t even have you.” My whimpered words were barely discernible through the sobs.
“No.” He held my face and carefully pulled my head back to look at him. His expression was so open and every emotion shone in his eyes. “I am already yours, bond or not. I was made for you and you were made for me. I’ve waited three hundred years for you, and I will wait for the rest of my life—so long as it means that I get to spend every moment of it with you.” He wiped away my tears. “Nothing will keep me from you. I belong to you. I havealwaysbelonged to you.”
I pulled my head back slightly and gave a soft smile. “And I belong to you, my shadow. Always.”
I was still disheartened by everything, but through it all I knew that I would have him with me. But why did it have to be so hard? Why did fate have to be so cruel?
“Kya…” He curled his fingers through my hair. “Let me make you feel better. Even if it’s for a short while. ”
He bent his head down and lightly brushed his lips down to my neck, just below my ear. I tilted my head in answer, giving him better access to my throat. He turned me around on his lap so that I was facing away from him, languidly nipping and licking at my soft skin.
He trailed his fingers down my neck and chest, then unbuttoned my jacket. Heat flooded me. I let out a gasp when he moved his hand to my breast underneath my shirt and pinched my peaked nipple before he rubbed it with the pad of his thumb, drawing out pleasure after the pain.
His touch was hot against my skin and the world melted away. Everything in me lit up and I felt a fire in me unlike anything I had felt before. Nothing existed outside of him.
His cock hardened beneath me and I ground my ass against him, eliciting a groan from him.
“You better stop that or I’m going to claim you right now. This is about you. Let me do this.” His voice was guttural and pleading.
My skin pebbled as his fingers traced my stomach, down and down to my waistband. I lifted my hips when he stopped there in a silent question for permission, making it easier when he slipped his hand underneath. He continued his slow movements down, under my dampened panties. My hips bucked when he brushed his fingers over my swollen clit, craving his touch. He tightened his arm around me to hold me down.
I spread my legs apart. My lips parted in a gasp when he slowly slid a finger into me. My hand shot up and gripped the hair at the back of his neck and leaned my head to rest on his shoulder. He pulled his finger out to the tip then slowly pushed back in.
