“You truly are exquisite,” he whispered.
I could not help closing my eyes as my heart ached in longing for it to be enough, but I knew better now. I knew that I was far from the most physically beautiful woman he would ever know. It would not be my middling beauty that would captivate him. It would need to be my power. My ruthlessness. My resilience. My defiance. Rian was so powerful that he was practically a god. Even among fey. And if I wanted to be anything more to him than another passing curiosity, I would need to become the goddess of death that I had Seen at his side. That meant challenging him and caring for him in ways that no one else could. That meant demanding his respect and never settling for anything less than his complete devotion. And it meant expecting more than the meager scraps he was willing to offer of himself.
Rian pulled his hand away from my hair, and I opened my eyes in time to see him reaching for the side of my torso instead. I looked down and inhaled through my nose when his finger brushed the exposed curve of my breast just beneath my armpit. Then I looked up at him again to watch as his appreciation of me hardened possessively.
“I do not want anyone else looking at you.”
“I am yours alone,” I reassured him and then reached up to fasten several of the buttons on his vest to cover the utter perfection that was mine. “But I feel the same.”
Rian snorted a laugh, but I could see uncertainty in his eyes as he watched me button his shirt.
“Then you meant what you said last night?”
“I will kill anyone who touches you,” I confirmed with anunapologetic nod.
Rian stared down at me as if he was contemplating the seriousness of my promise. And when his eyes dipped to my mouth, I knew his mind had gone to the kiss that I had been goaded into giving up the night before.
“There is something I want to know,” he murmured as he tenderly cupped my face. He held me still as he leaned over me to brush the softest of kisses across my mouth. “Who taught you to kiss like that?”
I frowned in confusion at such an unexpected question. And in spite of my determination to make him wait for any more of me, I could not help but respond to his every gentle nip at my lips. Especially when one of his hands slipped slowly down from my jaw to grip my throat.
“Who was it? Who has kissed this mouth before me?” Rian demanded in a growl. His hand tightened enough on my neck to nearly coax out the more submissive side of me that just wanted to be his to do with as he pleased.
“No one. I never kissed anyone before you.”
My monsters had never had any interest in kissing me. And although it was the only thing that had never been forced upon me, it was still something I had managed to keep precious and mine to give.
“That is impossible,” he muttered against my mouth as I reached up to clasp my hands over both of his wrists. “That kiss was not inexperienced.”
“Rian, there is only you,” I insisted.
He lingered, seemingly uncertain how to respond, and I thought he might succumb to the urge to kiss me again.
“Can we leave now?” Ciaran demanded impatiently, interrupting us before Rian could decide.
“No need to rush, Ciaran. You will undoubtedly have better luck if the females are drunk enough to overlook your complete lack of personality,” Ornella quipped.
“Gods alive,” Rian muttered and released my throat to threadour fingers together. He led me over to the others who looked about ready to throttle one another.
“Is the dress to your taste?” Rian asked the dryad in an obvious attempt to disrupt the scowling contest she had entered into with their fellow rider.
“Yes, thank you,” she assured him and tore her glare away from Ciaran to give Rian a beaming smile. It was in such a stark contrast to her previous expression that the switch was almost jarring.
“Ornella can hardly be expected to accept Ciaran as an escort tonight. May I?” Rian asked as he lifted his arm out toward Ornella in a clear offering. But he had held back just out of her reach, and I realized it was not because he was waiting for her agreement. He was looking down at me formypermission before he let her touch him.
The satisfaction that stormed through me was so heady it made me lightheaded. Especially when Ciaran’s mouth dropped and Ornella’s brows shot up.
“I value her life,” Rian explained to me as if this was only reasonable.
I could not stop the wicked smile from curling my lips, even though it was clear that catering to my demand was something of a game to him. But I still inclined my head to give him my consent, and he extended his arm fully to Ornella who took it rather hesitantly. She seemed unsure about having any part in our power struggle.
“Remember, we are going to Mionlach tonight to root out possible spies and traitors in the city. Not to indulge. Keep your guard up and your eyes wide open for threats,” Rian cautioned us sternly. “Andyoudon’t leave my side,” he added to me more quietly as he leaned near enough to brush his lips over my ear.
Ciaran gave a reluctant sigh as he nodded and lifted a hand to form a portal. Then I watched in awe as he began to wreathe himself in shadows, which he seemed to pull from under furniture in the yurt. They would have hidden him from sightcompletely if not for the proximity of the lanterns that made the unnatural darkness gleam like oil. Once he finished concealing himself, the Shadow Walker stepped into the portal to secure the area wherever we were going before we followed shortly afterward.
I shivered, turning into Rian’s deliciously warm body as the cold of the portal seeped into me. When we came to a stop on the other side, I looked up again to see we had emerged into an enormous and dimly lit room. It was also unnervingly quiet considering it wasfilledwith fey. But every one of them seemed to have stopped what they were doing and were now staring at us.
The cathedral ceiling was consumed in darkness high above us. The distant walls were a deep burgundy colour with black accents and dark wooden beams that separated them into panels, some of which had arched doorways. Lanterns hung from gold brackets on each vertical beam and candles flickered in the chandeliers. The floor was a dark marble and streaked in gold veins, which glimmered eerily in the dim firelight. The black couches that looked much like the one in Rian’s tent were positioned around the room with fey lounging in varying states of undress. Some of them even seemed like they might have been in the midst of something very intimate.
