Page 24 of Court of Aether and Shadows

Instead, I found myself stepping forward to meet him, drawn by a force I couldn't explain and didn't want to resist. It was a tad alarming, with how intense it was, but this underlying need to not run away from what felt like destiny screams to be compelled.

To give in and allow myself this pleasant gift.

We met in the center of the room, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

His scent enveloped me – thunderstorms and dark forests and something uniquelyhim. It was intoxicating, making my head spin and my knees weak. Every nerve ending was alive with awareness, my body hypersensitive to his proximity.

"My little Songbird," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that I felt in my bones, and his voice was so much more human. It wasn’t tainted with that heaviness of power that would echo down to my very soul.

If this was in the realm of my dreams, I may have missed the predatory depths of his tone, but here, in this vibrating instant, I felt more connected to him than ever.

That he wasn’t only real, but that we could potentially be on the same level.

He reached up to cup my face in his large, clawed hand. The touch sent sparks of pleasure shooting through me, and Icouldn't help but lean into it as a whimper escaped my parted lips.

Everything was so real. So vibrant and true. It almost felt too much, but then again, it felt…right.

"You're getting stronger,” his praise leaves me ecstatic. “Learning to bridge the gap between worlds."

I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the feel of his skin against mine. When I opened them again, I found him watching me with a mixture of pride and hunger that made heat pool low in my belly.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered, voicing the question that had been haunting me for weeks. My voice sounded breathy and foreign to my own ears.

So vulnerable with feminity I normally never allowed to grace my limbs, let alone my tone of voice. I’d gotten so used to doing things to make me as manly and emotionless as I could, or else I’d never be taken seriously in the underground.

But here…with him…I could be soft and tender. Could let my eyes seek his undivided attention and allow my body to react to his masculine presence with sexual vigor.

His thumb brushed across my cheekbone in a surprisingly tender gesture.

The contrast between his obvious power and this gentleness was intoxicating.

"You're awakening," he said, his voice deepening with something that sounded like pride. "Remembering who you truly are. What you're capable of."

I searched his face for answers, drinking in every detail.

The sharp line of his jaw, the full lips that promised both pleasure and pain, the slight points of his ears that marked him as something other than human.

"And what is that, exactly?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Who am I in this world?"

A small smile played at the corners of his mouth, equal parts tender and predatory. His hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my hair. The gentle tug sent shivers down my spine.

Does this man — shadow being of power — realize such simple things would have me on my knees in a heartbeat? I can only imagine doing a glimpse of the sinful deeds we perform at the root of my dreams.

"You are mine,"he said, his voice deepening with possession and that dangerous depth that returns to reinforce what my shadow prince enjoys revalidating.

The words should have angered me, should have made me want to pull away and assert my independence, but goodness, they do something different.

Instead, they ignited a fire in my blood, a yearning I couldn't explain.

"My queen, my warrior, my other half. The human world may have claimed you for a time, but your true heritage is calling you home."

His words stirred something deep within me, a recognition that both thrilled and terrified me. I thought of Elenore's tales of the Fae, of humans who could cross between worlds.

Was that what I was?

The idea was both exciting and overwhelming.

"I don't understand," I said, frustration coloring my voice. My hands came up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my palms while admiring the beads of sweat that continued to fall along his chiseled chest. "These dreams, these visions...they feel so real. You…feel so real,” I take a second to inhale and exhale his divine yet seemingly forbidden scent. “But how can they be? How can any of this be real?"

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