Page 39 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

“Let me hold your hands,” he said more urgently. “Unless you want to burn this inn to the ground.”

My shocked jolt had me pulling back, wanting to ask any number of questions, but he gripped my hair and held my head in place.

I reached up and held out my hands for Bael to hold onto, as Scion guided me to go faster. Electric tingles coursed through my limbs and I arched my back, meeting every thrust with a soft moan. It was as if his touch was setting off an explosion inside me, and I couldn’t tell whether it was madness or pure ecstasy coursing through my veins.

My breathing turned uneven, and Bael squeezed my hands so hard it was painful, as a final wave of pleasure crashed over me. I screamed silently, my vision going white as my legs shook uncontrollably.

Spurred on by my release, both men spilled inside me. I swallowed hard, and then finally slumped forward against Scion’s chest.

Bael reached out to pet the top of my head. I felt the soft brush of his fingers through my hair, and a tingling sensation spread down my scalp. “You’re perfect, little monster.”

I felt Scion suck in a deep breath and hold it. I didn’t dare to even try to look at him, afraid of what might happen if we saw too much in each other’s eyes. Instead, I closed my eyes and listened to the frantic sound of all our hearts beating out of sync with each other.

An intense feeling of contentment washed over me, and in that moment, two things became incredibly clear:

First, that I would never be able to choose between them because both were wholly and completely mine; my mates. Myeverything.

And second, I had to leave them.

16

LONNIE

THE INN, VILLAGE OF FORLORN

Adim light seeped in through the dirt-caked window of the small room, casting a faint glow on the dusty floor.

I lay on my side, squashed between Bael and Scion on the creaky, narrow bed, our limbs tangled together. Bael spooned me from behind with his arm securely curled around my waist, while Scion faced me with his arm draped over my hip, our mouths so close I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I breathed deeply, trying to give the impression I was asleep, even as I counted every second that passed.

I was counting down the time remaining until I had to leave them.

Though the scene earlier was meant to bring some awareness to Scion, it had done far more for me. Everything came into sharp clarity—the curse, my role in it, my feelings. I had to escape tonight or I never would.

It was ironic, really.

I’d spent so much time worrying that they were going to kill me, and now I was leaving to avoid the reverse. If I stayed, one way or another, they’d die, and I couldn’t let that happen. Still, my heart ached every time I thought of leaving.Just a few more minutes.

Bael stirred behind me, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck as he murmured soft words in his sleep. My heart swelled and I struggled to catch my breath as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. My time had run out.

Ever so slowly, I unraveled myself from their arms and slipped out of bed. Padding on tiptoes across the cold wooden floor, I barely breathed, afraid the slightest sound would wake them.

I’d left my muddy boots by the door, but didn’t dare stop to put them on. Picking them up in one hand, and grabbing for Bael’s abandoned cloak with the other, I slowly eased the door open.

It made no sound, but still, I paused and held my breath. Stepping into the dimly lit hallway, my ears strained for a creak of the bed or an angry curse from Scion. No such sound came, and I let out a shaky sigh of relief before continuing down the hall, careful to avoid any loose floorboards.

I didn’t have any firm plan as I stumbled down the rickety stairs, two at a time, and burst into the dimly lit tavern. I supposed I should have spent the hours lying awake in bed deciding where to go—what I was going to do next—but no such thoughts had broken through the fog swirling my mind. I was so focused on leaving, I hadn’t worked out what I would do next. I hadn’t even had time to be afraid yet, to worry what might be waiting for me alone in the forest.

I supposed it didn’t matter.

I’d never had much of a plan for my life—my future—before the princes came into it. Why should that change now that I was leaving them?

The streetoutside the inn was desolate, not a single soul in sight as I paused to sit on the front stoop and lace up my boots. The air smelled of rain and damp earth, and I sucked in a heavy breath before standing and wrapping Bael’s cloak around my shoulders.

Suddenly, the world stretched wide before me.

I looked right, then left down the dark street, as if an idea might spring out of nowhere and present itself to me. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. I supposed the only thing to do was to keep heading north.

The moment that Ambrose Dullahan suggested my mother might be alive back in the midst of the battle at the castle, I’d known that the first place I should look for her was in the valley where I’d grown up. Not only had Scion once mentioned that my mother had been sent to Aftermath as a prisoner, but mother had grown up there. She was more familiar with that province than anywhere else in Elsewhere, and I felt certain that if she could not return to be with my sister and I, that’s where she would’ve gone.

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