Page 105 of Shade of Ruin

It doesn’t take long before the air gets colder and wetter. The wet air clings to us, soaking our very expensive clothing, and I realize what’s happening. We’re in the clouds. No one will see my shadows or Cole’s flames if we go above the clouds. And it’s so much closer to Draenyth.

“Almost there,” he grunts with another wing flap. “And then I get to see you. All of you.”

An instant later, I find myself standing in that shattered landscape of Cole’s mind. It’s different. Where flames and sharp edges had ringed the obsidian tower before, soft shadows and smooth stone lay. There are still bands of flame and razor edges, but so much of it has been worn away and soothed.

I walk toward that black stone tower, and each step feels right. More right than I can remember anything else.

Whispers on the wind soothe me. The black stone tower looms ever closer as the mix of cool shadows and warm summer breeze pushes me onward. One step at a time, I see that the ground is different here. Not smoothed bymyshadows. Not ringed in painfrom flames and sharpness. There’s a darkness here that feels so much darker than me.

So much more powerful.

And that black stone… feels familiar. There’s another scent in the air. Salt and cedar. The Shade.

I reach out to touch the stone, to feel the inky blackness turned solid under my fingers. And it all disappears. Instead of that terrible landscape and beautiful tower, I’m staring into Cole’s eyes. Bright orange and glowing in the darkness. All around him, his skin catches fire and then it puffs out of existence.

Just like at the ball. Except that this fire is not cold, and waves of heat roll off. “Take off your ring,” he whispers. “There’s no need to hide what we are here.”

I look around and see that we’re not on the mountain. We’rein it.Hidden in a cave far above the clouds, the mouth a few yards behind me. “I saw you,” I whisper. “What is the tower made of?”

Cole’s eyes hold me in their gaze. “The future. The only thing that’s kept me from giving up on the world. On everything. But we aren’t talking about the future tonight, Maeve. Your rule; not mine.”

I smile at him and raise my hand. Small strands of shadows run from my fingertips to the floor of the cave, a spider’s nest of darkness pooling at our feet. He takes my hand and slowly slides the silver ring off my finger. In an instant, the floor is covered in that darkness. Like the day we’d gone far from Draenyth to train with shadows, and I’d first found that obsidian tower in his mind.

Cole holds the ring up and puts it on a rock outcropping, somewhere that wouldn’t be disturbed. “Safe and sound.”

His words are a distant memory when he moves to kiss me. Unlike in the ballroom, the flames that roar around us don’t burn white hot. Flashes of brightness flicker in the darkness, and I realize that he’s tasting me and testing me. He nearly lostcontrol in that ballroom. Here, he’s just as focused as when he’s in battle.

Except that those glowing eyes don’t want to destroy me. They want to consume me.

His lip curls up, and like so many times while we sparred, flames explode around him, but I don’t pull away. Right now, there’s no separation between us. The world may be burning, but I’m safe in his hands.

Because right now, we aren’t two separate people. The betrothal bond connects us in a way that no human could ever understand. His lips press against mine, but it’s so much more than that. He pulls away, and the flames on our skin disappear.

“That’s a neat trick,” I whisper as I realize that instead of taking off my dress, he simply burned it away. Along with his clothes. “But what if I liked that dress?”

He smiles at me, his gaze roaming over my naked body. “Then I’ll have another one made.” The words come out as an afterthought as his eyes linger on my bare skin. “Perfect,” he whispers. His hand reaches out, and I stare into his eyes, watching him take me in. It starts at my cheek and slowly moves down my throat. His fingers tighten around my neck for just a moment, showing me his strength, and I don’t pull away, standing tall for him. I stare into his eyes just like I did the very first night I met him.

I could move. I could do the same thing he’s doing to me. I could reach out and explore his body, but I’ve already done that before. I’ve felt his skin when I walked the terrible landscape of his soul. I’ve run my fingers over him.

But no one’s ever touched mine like this. When his fingers move to my breast, my nipples harden at his touch. His touch is soft, nothing like the way he normally is. Nothing like the way he’s touched me while he’s still mostly asleep.

Don’t hold back,I whisper through our bond. He tenses at the words, and his hand tightens around my breast. His breathing changes, and the flames that have flickered in and out of existence fade away.

And my shadows come alive. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he says. His hand releases my breast and slowly moves down my side. I don’t know what to say. My body’s craved his touch since the very first time he carried me.

Where his flames had sent the world into so much light that I’d been nearly blinded, my shadows surround us, blotting out the rest of the world. And yet, I know exactly where he is and what he looks like. That darkness is a part of me. No different from my hair or nails.

Cole doesn’t need to see when he can feel me. His hand moves lower, slipping between my legs, and I can’t stop the moan that escapes my lips. “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

An answer to any hesitation he could have. I can’t stand it any longer. This distance between us. Shadows flow under and around me and lift me toward him, pressing my breasts against his chest, and I run my hand through his hair, my fingers tightening in it as I press my lips to his again.

This is what I’ve wanted. This is what drives my shadows from me, and now… now, I understand.

His finger slips inside me, and my head leans back. A desperate moan. I close my eyes, and it somehow all becomes more. The shadows cling to me, holding me and supporting me as Cole’s finger slowly slides in and out of me. His lips make a trail of kisses from my lips to my throat.

I don’t understand how to handle all the sensations. Like that first day in Draenyth, I feel overwhelmed by it all, and yet, I don’t want to hide. I want more. Cole’s teeth graze my throat, and another low moan escapes me.

He slowly pulls his fingers out of me. After all these weeks of being desperate for him, I beg, “Please don’t stop. Please.”

---