Page 167 of Ashborne Forged

So, I was disoriented when I heard a door click and my eyes flew open again.

I sat, bolt upright, blinking, looking for Voski. Only to find Breckon standing before me, grinning hungrily.

“What… what has—”

“Good choice to rest,” he said, gesturing impatiently. “Wake up. Get up. We need to return to the ball and be seen. But we’ll have you back at your rooms before too long. I, too, am weary. Come.” He snapped his fingers at me like a dog, and instinctively, I leaped to my feet.

In my head, Voski snarled a curse, but I sent him a rush of reassurance as I straightened my skirt—and had to hide a smile as thoughts of his hands on me filled my mind.

‘It’s only days now,’ I sent, my heart fluttering as much with hope, as dread. ‘Only days. And I’ll never leave your side again.’

He didn’t respond with words, but as Breckon tucked my hand under his elbow again and drew me out of the door through which we’d entered, I saw what Voski saw in his mind, and it heated my cheeks.

Me, naked and arched in his arms, in the half-light of the hut, with no one to hear my cries except him.

‘Mine.’

I left the dim little corridor, nodding to the guards, with a smile on my face.

‘Yes, love. Yours. To my soul.’

56. The Vessel

~ VOSKI ~

I stood just inside the hidden door, one palm flat against it, feeling the vibrations of her voice and steps, my head tipped forward, forehead leaned on the cool wood. I wrestled with the shudders wracking my body in waves as I listened to that putrid fuck speak down to my mate, snapping his fingers at her as if she were an animal.

The temptation to burst through the door and take him before he even realized I was there was breathtaking.

I imagined being face to face with him, watching his eyes widen as I clamped one hand to his throat—only tight enough to make him wheeze. With the other, I’d level a dagger just under the corner of his jaw, where his lifeblood flowed through that thick vein—

‘Voski, don’t.’ Kham’s voice was low with disapproval, but the growl wasn’t for me. My dragon understood the desire to tear apart the one who would hurt his mate.

‘I wasn’t doing anything. Just fantasizing about it.’

‘Turn your mind to more beneficial pursuits. That line of thinking could be dangerous for both of you.’

I shrugged off the sense of pressure as Kham leaned on my heart, and took a deep breath.

Grace’s voice and footsteps faded through the door that lay west of my position. It would take them a full minute or more to be passed through the guards, then reach the junction with the main hallway, then less than a minute after that to be back in the ballroom.

He’d said they had to appear, but wouldn’t stay. Still, that probably gave me at least half an hour to reposition.

I smiled with predatory promise. The smile I would show Breckon when the day arrived.

When she’d told me she was being taken from the ballroom, I’d had to change plans quickly. I’d intended to secret myself in her room. Lie in wait until she was alone so that we could truly reunite, and plan our escape. It was risky with Breckon sleeping right next door, but with only days before the wedding and while Grace still hadn’t bled, I refused to leave her unguarded.

And I needed her.

That frantic coupling, so risky, was only evidence that there was a need to douse this fire—for both of us—so we’d think clearly. As perfect as it had felt to have her again, I couldn’t afford another delay, or distraction.

I had to get her out of here before that wedding. And while I believed my mother truly would work to intervene, I also knew she’d do so for her own benefit. If I could find a way to corner Breckon, implicate him—hell, if I could kill him in a way that wouldn’t appear suspicious, I’d do it. Risks, be damned.

‘Voski.’

‘Let me think my dark thoughts! That bastard has his hands on her and—’

‘Your energy is best spent solving problems, not creating new ones.’