“How about a duel?” I asked, biding my time. “Fight to the death. Witch versus warlord, no holds barred.”
His eyes flashed with mischief. “Do you honestly think you’d stand a chance?”
“Give me a sword and let’s find out.”
He bent down and scooped up the discarded sword, turning it over in his hands as if he were actually considering it. Torchlight flickered along the blood-stained blade. “As entertaining as a deathmatch sounds… No, little thief. I’m not sure that would be prudent. You seem quite… determined.”
“Don’t tell me the big, scary fairy is afraid of a little witch.”
“Something tells me Ishouldbe.” He lowered the sword to his side, and a smile finally cracked the stone-hard face. Not the smooth, charming grin of a fae spell-weaver entrancing his prey, but the smile of a real man. A fae who was as much human on the inside as I was.
And in that moment, his entire face changed.
Literally.
The sharp angles smoothed out just a bit, the nose widening. And those violet eyes, so cold and deadly, turned… silver.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
It was all just a fae glamour, and in that brief instant, I saw right through it to the real man beneath.
Elian.
A wave of relief swept me up and propelled me right back into him like a boat tossed against the rocks. I threw my arms around his neck, tears hot on my cheeks.
“I was so worried about you,” I breathed, burying my face in the crook of his neck. “You have no idea.”
Then I pulled back, looked once more into those familiar silver eyes, and slapped him across the face.
“Thatwas for scaring the hell out of me,” I snapped, then whacked him again. “And for making me worry about you for three fucking days.” I lifted my hand once more, this time making a fist. “Andthis—”
He grabbed my wrist, those silver eyes boring straight into my soul. They were clear tonight, no trace of Devil’s Dream. No trace of anything but white-hot fury.
His vise grip tightened, crushing the bones of my wrist.
“I thought you were dead, dickhead!” I shouted, the agony in my wrist intensifying. “And all night you’re just… what? Fucking with me? Where’s Keradoc? Is this even his castle? Or was this all just another one of your bullshit schemes?”
His brow furrowed, a look of genuine confusion settling into his features. His eyes flickered between silver and violet.
I had a million more questions, and they all rushed through my mind at once.Where the hell have you been? Why didn’t you get in touch with us? What kind of glamour is this? Why did you kill those shifters? Why did you act like you didn’t recognize me when we danced?
But none of that mattered. Something else was welling up inside me too, chasing away all the questions—the new as well as the old.
I no longer cared where he’d been.
No longer cared why he’d left me all those years ago.
No longer cared why he’d gotten exiled to this terrible realm in the first place.
Suddenly, I just wanted to kiss him. Ineededto kiss him.
“I hate you,” I whispered.
Then crashed into his mouth.
He resisted for a second, then dropped the pretense, releasing my wrist and kissing me back.
The sword clattered to the ground, and he lifted me up, claiming me with his brutal mouth as my legs wrapped tight around his hips. Without breaking for air, he turned and lowered me to the dais, kneeling between my thighs, pushing me down against the steps as he devoured me, his hands winding into my hair, his breath hot, tongue sweeping into my mouth, cock grinding against my center, every touch sending spasms of pleasure straight to my core.
