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The lords were quite tipsy, and they had made no few toasts to Cassia’s health and Tenebra’s future, by the time they staggered into the gallery to return to the New Guest House. She managed to persuade sober Benedict and Eudias to accompany the others.
But there was no convincing Callen and Perita to leave her on her own, not when they knew what Skleros had done. At last Cassia surrendered and went to bed, while Perita settled down to spend the night on the couch in the sitting room, and Callen posted himself beyond the outer door.
Cassia rolled over, nose to nose with Knight. “Guarding the courtyard front is all on you, dearest.”
“Guarding you on all sides is entirely my responsibility.” Lio suddenly stood silhouetted against the closed glass door. With the low light of the courtyard shining in behind him, he was a deep, dark shadow between her and the rest of the world.
Cassia tumbled out of bed and went to him.
He wrapped her up in his embrace, bringing her face to rest against his chest, sheltering her in his arms. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
“You are not going to lose me.” She held on to him as she had the night at Waystar when they had finally been reunited. Except this time, she did not weep. She smiled against him.
His breath was warm upon her hair, his voice ragged. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I feel…restored. I have experienced Annassa Soteira’s healing for myself.”
He framed her face with his hands, lifting her gaze to his. “I am so sorry for what happened tonight. I promised you would be safe here in Selas.”
“Queen Soteira worked her magic from the other side of the city without batting an eye, just to save me from an overdose of Teething Tonic. I was never in real danger.”
“Don’t make light of what Skleros did. It could have been—”
“No, it couldn’t. Javed confiscated all his dangerous poisons.”
“ButIshould have protected you tonight. I should have predicted the threat. I should have realized there was alchemy in the smoke. Yourdogknew you were in danger before I did.”
“I could say the same about myself. I know better than to ignore Knight’s warnings, and yet I did. Skleros caught both of us by surprise.”
“I failed you.”
Cassia put a hand over his mouth. “Enough of that. You have stood between Hypnos and me more times than anyone else.”
“He managed to lay a finger on you tonight. Please, forgive me. Perhaps then I can forgive myself.”
“There is nothing to forgive. Let me share some wisdom with you, which I learned thanks to the patient efforts of the strongest person I have ever known. It is all right to need help sometimes.”
“Did your sister teach you that?” he asked, his voice softening.
“No, Lio. You did.”
He sucked in a breath. “Thank you, Cassia.”
She pulled his face down to her and joined their lips. She filled her mouth with the taste of him and let the sensation of his nearness and his kiss fill her body.
Her return to Tenebra had only been a dream. Her close call had been a false alarm. Lio would not lose her, and she would not lose him.
He kissed her with exquisite gentleness, but oh, so deeply. He ran a careful hand down her braid and eased his other palm down her spine. Through the fine linen of her tunica, the warmth of his hand sent shivers of heat through her.
The door to the sitting room whispered shut, and she felt his veil spell wrap tighter around them. She parted her mouth from his to gasp a breath and stepped back, pulling her tunica over her head and tossing it aside. His silhouette shifted, and when she moved close to him again, his bare body met hers. His skin was silken against her, the slight hair on his chest and torso striking sensation across her tight nipples and along her belly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull herself up closer to him. The next thing she knew, her feet left the floor. He levitated her higher, supporting her with his magic, and buried his face against her neck. His stubble scraped the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder, and desire burned down into her.
It was always there, this hunger, and it took only the slightest invitation from him to awaken it, the barest touch to make it run wild. But everything she craved was right here in her arms. Like the statue in the garden, she held all she desired. But she and Lio were not locked in stone.
She put her lips to his neck and kissed him there, mirroring where his lips touched her. Opening her mouth, she licked and sucked at his throat. He gave a deep sigh and laved her neck with his tongue, giving pleasure for pleasure. She suckled harder, nipping at him, driven by the pulse under her tongue and the pulse pounding through her. When she bit down on him, he cried out.
She snapped her head up. “Was that too hard? Did I hurt you?”
