Page 10 of Crownless King

I threw my arms aside, fully surrendering to him becoming undone. It was impossible to resist the hurricane of his unbridled passion. It swept me along, making my head spin and my body tremble.

Raising my hips, I pressed against his mouth, riding his tongue. He didn’t stop, didn’t even come up for air once, until I came. The orgasm rippled through every nerve in my body. My entire being seemed to dissolve on Voron’s tongue, melting with pleasure.

I reached down to touch him and raked my fingers through his hair. He lifted his head. His lips glistened with my arousal. His eyes shined wildly—black, impossibly wide pupils, rimmed with only a thin ring of silver.

“Voron,” I murmured, sitting up. “Come up here.”

But he jerked away from me, as if I’d slapped him. Letting go of my thighs, he pushed off the lily pad with force. Cutting through the glassy surface of the pond, he swam back to shore in wide, powerful strokes.

My body was still quivering with the aftershocks of my climax. My limbs felt heavy, weighted down by the languid warmth of pleasure flowing through my muscles. I wanted to have him next to me. I longed to have his arms around me.

I’d won. He’d given in and touched me, but it didn’t feel like a win. Despite being completely satisfied in one way, I felt robbed and bereft in another. I didn’t just want sex, I realized, I needed his time and affection, too.

I felt like cursing, and I didn’t hold back.

“What the fuck, Voron?” I yelled, watching him swimming away. “What do you want from me?”

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to the clopping of horse’s hooves outside my window. Careful to stay out of sight, I drew the curtain aside and peeked out into the yard.

Voron was on horseback, riding toward the gate of the estate. Magnus soared above him. A few larger figures with wings flew ahead—Alcon and several others of Voron’s trusted men.

He left Vensari without even saying goodbye.

At that moment I really hated him. Just as he wanted me to feel about him. Just what I should have felt for him all along.

ChapterFour

SPARROW

“Where is Alcon staying?” I asked Brebie at breakfast.

By the time I got up, she’d already eaten. But I’d talked her into having tea with me while I ate my breakfast. I was so sick and tired of eating alone day after day.

Since we were no longer in Elaros, with its strict etiquette and expectations, the lines between us were blurred. I was hardly a lady, and Brebie had always been so much more than a servant. In a way, she was in charge of all of us here, even of Voron. He would never cross her on purpose.

She stirred a third spoonful of honey in her tiny cup of tea. “Staying? What do you mean by staying?”

“Well, Alcon used to practically live in Voron’s rooms back in Elaros. And now, I don’t see him at all. Except for this morning when he came to get Voron.”

That was a long way around the one question I really wanted to ask. Where did Voron go, and how long would he be away?

“Alcon’s estate isn’t too far from here. About an hour or so to fly.”

“I didn’t know he had an estate.”

“All of Voron’s men are well off. Voron made sure of that.”

“So, the queen didn’t take their properties from them?”

She shook her head. “Voron took all the blame on himself, sparing them. Besides, the queen seems to be too busy to worry about your case at the moment.”

“What is she so busy with?”

Brebie glanced around her shoulder, as if expecting to see a spy there—a habit she must’ve gained while living in Elaros. She then leaned closer, lowering her voice to the volume of gossip.

“The queen is not happy being married to a breathing corpse, which King Tiane is right now. I’m shocked she hadn’t pulled that dagger out of his chest herself to send his spirit off and set herself free.”

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