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This was just fucking, and he won’t even fuck me anymore.
He tightens the last buckle on his armor. “Rest while I’m gone.”
“Rook!” I reach out to him. “Wait.”
Something flickers in his eyes. Something I don’t recognize. “Yes?”
Don’t go.
Don’t leave me.
Don’t believe I would never want all of you.
But I tell him, “Be careful. Watch out for dire wolves and the queen’s knights.”
“I’m well aware.”
He turns on his heel and strides downstairs. I hear the hooves of his horse drumming the ground as he rides away from the tower of thorns.
Too late, I realize that the look in his eyes was hope.
* * *
With Rook gone,I’m too anxious to fall asleep. I drink the rest of the water, then clutch the blanket to myself and stare through the broken roof at the sky. Gray mist clings to the trees of the Thornwood. It’s almost dawn.
Every part of me aches, including my heart. I don’t know why it hurts so much to be rejected by him. I knew that sex with an incubus would be dangerous. I knew that he would use my body and leave me when he was done.
Was I desperate?
My throat clenches until it’s hard to breathe. Tears sting my eyes until I can’t stop them from spilling over my cheeks.
I just wanted someone to claim me.
To love me.
I never should have let myself hope. But whenever he protected me, or cared for me, it was impossible not to want more. It was my fault for expecting him to feel the same way. We had nothing between us but lust. At least, until my traitorous feelings betrayed me.
Worst of all, the ultimate indignity, I can’t stop thinking of him inside me. When I press the blanket to my nose, it carries his scent: the amber spice of pines. My skin feels flushed and my heartbeat too fast.
Was last night enough to bring me out of heat? How long will it take?
Dawn brings shards of sunlight that pierce the mist. Dew glimmers on the bloodred petals of cursed roses. Beautiful, but I can’t stay here forever. I don’t even know if I want to wait for Rook to return. I’m sick with longing for my cave.
A flash of gold catches my eye. It rushes above the forest, the speed of it rustling the leaves before it vanishes behind the trees.
Something big. Something fast.
When I stand, I’m steadier on my feet, no longer light-headed. I clutch the blanket to myself and lean out the tower window like an imprisoned princess.
Wingbeats hit the air hard on every downstroke. I tilt my neck back, straining to see what’s flying above the Thornwood.
“No,” I whisper, my heartbeat hammering wildly.
A golden dragon.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
He soars over the Thornwood, his scales glinting as bright as treasure. It must be a male, since impressive spikes curve from his back.
