Page 68 of Hallowed Games

He leaned down, and he wrapped his palm around the back of my neck. Cold, perfumed air whispered over my bare skin…what happened to my cloak? I’d dropped it down to my feet, along with the rest of my clothes. I’d just stripped, right here in the garden. I was in my underwear again, nothing else. He was dangerous, yes, but I also wanted to wrap my naked body around his, to feel our bodies glow with heat.

Maelor’s mouth lowered, just over mine. He smelled like sin.

As my pulse raced, I tried to slow my breathing. Maelor’s darkening gaze brushed down over my bare shoulders, and his hand slid under the strap of my camisole. He pulled it down, and his thumb brushed over the top of my breast.

A small, sensual smile curled his lips, and liquid heat spilled between my thighs. His lips slid over mine at last in a light, teasing kiss. It was over too fast.

“What sister of the sun rules the night?” I repeated. Just as I was about to say moon, Maelor stopped me with a deeper kiss. My lips opened against his, and his body pressed against mine. Behind me, the damp rocks cooled my back. His tongue brushed against mine, gently teasing me. I threaded my fingers into his dark hair.

He could kill you, Elowen.

His hand moved down over my hips, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. As he cupped my arse, I moaned into his mouth.

He finished the kiss with a sensual nip to my lower lip. I whispered the chant, trying to remember the riddle.

Maelor pulled away.

“What sister of the sun rules the night?” I repeated.

His mouth hovered above my throat. “Her tears fall from fire and wavering light. And when her final tears are shed…” A wicked stroke of his tongue on my neck had me arching my back. Maelor’s knee pressed between my thighs, rooting me in place against the ivy-covered wall. His fangs raked over my jugular, and my thighs clenched around him.

With the cool night air caressing my skin, I tried to remember the danger I was in.

Deus Invictus…

“What was it?” I asked through heavy breaths. “When her final tears are shed?”

He raised his head and met my gaze. A dark smile curled his lips, and his eyes were pools of night. “As she dies,” he murmured, “they cut off her head.”

My heart started to race. I was going to fucking die here. Deus Invictus, Archon Magne.

When my candle went out…

“A candle!” I shouted. It was another moment before I realized I’d answered the riddle.

Shadows consumed Maelor, and I glanced down at the candle in my hand. I let out a long exhalation as I took in the flickering flame. Still here. Still alive.

The wax was spilling over my fingers, hot on my skin. How much time had passed already? Nearly a third of the candle had burned down, and darkness cloaked the night sky. Through the tree branches, I had a view of twinkling stars and a sliver of moon.

Maelor was gone now, but I was still half naked. I wondered if I should pull the cloak on again, but I had to stay focused on the candle. I shielded it from the breeze, staring at the little flames.

The sylvan perfume of aged wood floated through the air, mingling with lavender.

I closed my eyes and smelled sandalwood coiling around me. Maelor’s shadows brushed over me, thrumming along my bare skin.

I looked up to see him standing before me once again. Only now, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, either. In the moonlight, his finely cut abs and chest were sculpted with silver and shadow.

Deus Invictus, Archon Magne.

“Do you have another question for me?” I asked. “The second riddle.”

His gaze slid down me like he wanted to devour me. He bared his fangs, then flicked his tongue over the white points. He stood before me now, his magic humming over my skin.

“What a creature,” he murmured. He prowled forward, a faint smile on his lips. “You will be the ruin of me.”

“The riddle.”

Maelor traced his hands down my arms from my shoulders to my wrists. As he did, heat slid through my blood. When he reached my fingertips, he gripped my wrists and held them above my head.

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