Page 162 of Born for Silk

Fucker.

His distress floods the atmosphere above me, and nothing is more dangerous than the fear of losing someone you love.

I should know.

I feel feral.

“She will be fine, Sire,” Turin Two consoles, and my sharp stare hits him as if his words are unwelcome. They are not. I only have one feeling—volatile—and that cannot be calmed, soothed, or?—

A click comes from the door.

Turin Two inhales hard and pushes it open, lunging into the building, but not before Odio descends like a giant shadow, the sound of his sudden decline a riotous clap of feathers.

I reach the door just as the winged giant does, turn around, and bulk to my full size, blocking the entrance. “Not yours, Odio!”

A screech punishes me and the air, and I swear I hear profanity in it. When I don’t move, he takes off shrieking, the sound assaulting the atmosphere, and returns to cut a red line in the sky above her wing.

I walk inside and close the back door.

Epilogue

Aster

I have only ever seen him like this once.

And that was at the abbey.

There is something incredibly stirring about my Xin De King—a being so huge, hard and sharp, skin sliced and stitched, arms threaded with veins so prominent they could have their own angry intent— appearing fearful and anxious.

He strides across the surgical chamber where the doctor is already opening my abdomen, a storm brewing behind his blue gaze, and I reach out my hand to him.

“My king.” I breathe, smiling softly.

“Pain?” He punches the word out as if it took every ounce of strength to get it through his teeth.

“None. The doctor used La Mu before the spinal needle. I feel floaty.”

La Mu isn’t something available to the general citizens of The Cradle. The wrong dose or part of the plant, can shrivel veins like a flaming bloom. The right part, in the correct dosage, can make you float and hum. Rome and I use it a lot when he takes me from behind, and I enjoy it so much more than I thought I would.

He presses my hand to his bare chest. Warm muscular skin shifts beneath my touch. I span my finger out, using the tips to stroke him, to calm him. Feeling the heavy beat of his heart, I smile because it is about to double in size.

He often says, ‘It only beats for you’. For me. That I am a single strand woven through every cell of his humanity, but that is about to change.

I won’t be the only strand.

I gaze across to the internal viewing glass where Tuscany, Paisley, and my Collective—Daisy, Ana, and Blossom— await, eyes wide with excitement mixed with concern.

A soft smile meets my lips. I mouth, “You’re next,” sharing the silent message between Blossom and Daisy.

Standing behind them, Lord Turin Two offers me privacy, but his furrowed brows reveal his anticipation.

This is his heir, too.

The quiet room is punctured by the sound of medical equipment and soft conversation between the Trade doctor and nurse.

My lower half feels heavy, warm, and numb, but for the occasional tugging and pulling. It isn’t a natural sensation. It feels as if someone is controlling my body.

A tear forms in the corner of my eye, adrenaline spiking despite the La Mu.

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