Page 71 of How to Claim A Shadow King

“Absolutely not.” His voice is flat. "It is entirely too dangerous for her to attend. Vesperia has proven she can rift into warded locations. Including her in a coven meeting would be pure invitation for an ambush. And if she were to take out all three witch brides? The Fae incursion would be successful in one strike. We are returning to the keep where the masonry can be reinforced."

"She is a grown woman and a powerful witch, Malakai, not a delicate piece of stained glass. Besides, we could use her input. She’s our sister now too,” Wren snaps back, matching his icy tone with her own heat.

I open my mouth to intervene, but I’m too tired after what happened with the queen. The room fills with the tension of powerful magical posturing, and I blow out a sigh.

I have a feeling our simple courtship is officially over.

Piper gives me a tight smile and hands me a cookie. “We’ll be alright. We’ll be here when you’re safe.” She wraps in me a tight hug. “Wren’s just worried. You take care of yourself, now, okay? We need our new sister.”

“New sister?” I repeat, and with that, I hug her back.

27

MALAKAI

We returned to Shadow Keep in a suffocating silence. She insisted on seeing to Sandwich and the whole larder of horses, and I’ve been pacing the halls and trying to wrack my mind for some solution to our Fae problem.

Worse, my yearning for her is no longer a shadow whispering in the corners of my mind.

It has become a physical predator inside me. It prowls beneath my ribs, ready to be unleashed. Every time I look at Aveline, the physical pull of her threatens to snap the final threads of my restraint.

The phantom hum of her magic’s under my skin, though muffled beneath the protection spell the coven placed around her neck.

My shadows rebels against the silver barrier keeping her power in check.

The keep is quiet, still sulking over the Unseelie Queen's intrusion.

I need Aveline like I need air, and I decide being apart from her any longer is stupid.

My shadows find her before I do, trailing the faint, sweet scent of lavender and fresh earth down to the stables.

When I step into the dim, vaulted stone barn, the air is thick with the scent of sweet hay, oiled leather, and horse musk.

Aveline stands in the center of a stall, completely focused on the giant golden horse. Sandwich nudges her shoulder with his massive head, his golden coat gleaming under the lanterns, and she lets out a soft, melodic laugh that instantly causes the knot of tension in my throat to tighten, the ache of yearning near painful.

She brushes him with long, rhythmic strokes, and the huge horse relaxes into her, taking contentment in her after the trials of this morning.

I lean against the wooden doorpost, arms crossed, watching the elegant column of her neck. "You find comfort in the horses."

"Animals don’t demand magic or crowns. They are content with carrots and a soft touch. I find that more than comforting. It’s a relief." She turns her head, her beautiful features softening as she catches my eye.

"I am attempting to find comfort, too," I murmur, my voice dropping into a gravelly register.

Aveline watches me carefully.

Sandwich ignores me completely, happily chewing hay.

I step into the stall. The space immediately feels too small, the power radiating from her body casting a spell over my senses. "I promised you a courtship, Aveline. I promised to show you this world on your own terms. Let us leave the castle behind for an hour. Come for a ride with me."

She glances at the midnight stallions stamping their hooves in the adjacent stalls, then looks back at me, a defiant spark in her blue eyes. "We should take two horses, then."

"No," I say, the possessiveness in my tone slipping out unbidden before I can stop it. "We take only one."

“Pickles will be upset to be left behind,” she counters.

“I will be more upset not to have you with me,” I tell her, taking another step closer.

Aveline swallows hard, her gaze flicking down to my mouth before she darts it away, her cheeks flaring with that delicious pink. She knows exactly what that means. She knows the torture of the proximity she is agreeing to. Yet, she gives a slow, single nod. "It wouldn’t do to upset the King of Shadows.”