He twitches inside me, his heavy manhood stiffening.Kindlingme into a restless flame that rocks my hips despite my utter lack of energy.
He produces a throaty laugh, packed full of amusement, and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Swiftly stolen by my thieving hands and tucked somewhere safe.
I crush some of my lustrous beads and build a crystal chest beneath my ribs, then tuck his laugh in the hollow—along with the rest of my precious trinkets.
He blows a warm breath against one of my blooms, ruffling the swirl of petals, then nuzzles into my neck. “We can’t sleep like this, Milaje. I won’t be able to let you rest.”
He presses a kiss to my budding smile, and I nod dozily, then groan through my displeasure when he grips my hips with his strong hands and pulls from my raw, tender core. Hating the sudden emptiness.
But then he maneuvers my body so my head is planted atop his heart, and the hard thump of it pounding against my ear fills me just the same.
I bunch my legs up either side of him and thread my hands beneath his armpits, fingers curling around his barreling shoulders. The tips of his fingers paint secrets atop my flush of blooms as I drift into a balmy sleep …
Home.
The sun sank, then rose, and is now halfway across the sky outside—the blades of light shafting down in bold lines, like a luminous cage I’d happily stay trapped in forever.
Orlaith releases a contented sigh, clinging to me the same way she has all night and half the day, reminding me of the way krah sleep; but upside down and hanging from their tails.
I’d forgotten what it felt like to trulyrest.But over the past two nights, she’s given me more uninterrupted sleep than I’ve had since before Rai fell. This right here—it tames every bristled cell. Smooths every scar.
Stifles every curdled scream.
I pull a leaf from her hair and brush my hand across her flushed cheek dusted with a constellation of luminous freckles I’ve counted then recounted while I’ve watched her sleep.
I smile.
She’s everything light, bright, and beautiful to my hard, coarse darkness, her ivory skin such a stark contrast to the tone of mine.
Sweeping the blunt end of an iridescent wave from her eyes, I run the pad of my thumb along the sharp tips of her thorns.
She shudders. I’d think it from my touch, except her teeth begin to chatter.
I notice the fine sheen of sweat upon her brow and the skin above her paling upper lip.
My blood ices.
I spread my hand across her spine—unnaturally warm—and give her a gentle shake. “Orlaith?”
She mumbles something incoherent and digs her face deeper into my chest, shuddering again.
Shaking the cage of thethingtrapped beneath my ribs.
“Orlaith,” I growl, threading my hand up through her hair and giving it a firm tug, pulling her head back, her mouth popping open the slightest amount. “Open your eyes.Now.”
“Stop yelling,” she mumbles, her words a garbled slur. “You can get the same message across without raising your voice.”
“Then open your fucking eyes.”
She groans, prying them open, revealing the whites shot through with a burst of red.
My heart stills.
Some of the light has sponged from her crystalline irises despite the blades of sun that have been carving across her back all morning.
“You’re not well.”
“I’m fine,” she slurs, closing her eyes, trying to nestle against me again. My grip on her hair doesn’t waver, and she makes a frustrated grunting sound as she tries to tug her head forward. “I’ve got a headache that I need to sleep off. So if you’ll just—”
