Page 133 of The Mirror in the Mountain

Our talks had lasted late into the night, and I had been relieved when we had been able to retire. Bash led me down the newly painted hallways to our rooms, the sage green a welcome change. He had taken it upon himself to bring bedding from Imyr—its citrusy scent alone went a long way in making it feel like home.

I hadn’t needed to refuse to take residence in the room Aviel had once trapped me in, since it was still a pile of fire-scorched rubble. A hole remained visible from the exterior of the castle, where Alette had saved me. But the library down the hall had survived the flames, to my relief. I hadn’t yet decided what to do with the tower when the reconstruction was complete, but I had already made the stoneworkers promise to keep the scorch mark on the floor as a testament to the one who had put it there.

After all, it did look better scorched.

While refurbishing Morehaven had hardly been our top priority, we had found ways to make it our own. Carpet now covered the marble floor I would never forget the cruel coldness of; blues and greens and shadowy grays slowly taking over the endless white. While certain hallways and some specific spots still summoned a flash of residual terror when I passed, those places were becoming fewer and farther between. Apparently, banishing the ghosts of the past was sometimes as simple as a fresh coat of paint.

On the days it wasn’t so easy—old fears shivering down our bond as I imagined a harsh breath on the nape of my neck—Bash would lift me onto Nisa, and we would ride out over the ridge. Breathing in the fresh mountain air as we trotted together through the patches of earth that had once been gray and dead, now slowly being reborn in the early throughs of spring.

While it seemed strange to call Morehaven home, it was slowly becoming it. Though I had a feeling anywhere could be, as long as myanimawas with me.

Bash’s voice broke through my reverie. “I probably should’ve given you this before dinner, but I didn’t want to share the look on your face.”

I looked behind me to see Bash holding a familiar dark sword. One I thought had been lost forever in the cave far below this castle. My mouth dropped open, and I felt his amusement,its reflection almost bubbly across our bond. Just as I knew he could feel my shock and joy like it was his own.

When Bash handed Nightshade to me, I nearly wept as I unsheathed it, taking in the blade I was sure had been lost. My darkness wrapped around it lovingly as I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of its handle as my grip tightened.

I had missed it in my hands.

“It was the only thing I found intact down there, besides the mirror,” Bash murmured. I could feel his satisfied contentment increase as my face broke into a smile.

“You went?—”

“I wanted to be sure,” Bash cut in grimly. “It was one of the first things I did when we moved in. The sword took a bit to repair after the way it melted in the blast.”

“I never thought I’d see it again.”

I sat on the bed, my fingers trailing up and down the flat side of my blade as my darkness latticed around it in overlapping patterns.

Peace or no, I had no doubt I would find the need to use this sword again. The thought didn’t scare me, not with my family at my side. And despite all that still needed to be done, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.

Fleetingly, I wondered where I would be had I never found this realm. Had I never found myanima,our friends, my not-so-deceased brother. If I hadn’t discovered my long-denied magic, so much a part of me now that I didn’t know how I used to breathe without it. I wondered where I would’ve ended up if I hadn’t learned exactly who and what my parents were and the sacrifice they had made for me. Even if I had always known how much they loved me.

I was so lost in my own head that I barely noticed a shadowy wisp wrap around my ankles, jerking my legs out from under me so I fell back upon the bed. A prickle of need I knew he could feelstarted low in my belly as more wisps trailed up my thighs in lazy strokes, exposing me to him as they pushed my legs open wide.

Teasingly, I pointed my sword at him.

Bash smirked. “I’ve always preferred you with a blade in your hand. Reminds me of how we first met.”

His fingers reached up to toy with the delicate ribbon draping across my collarbone, leaning over me to trail kisses down each golden thread. My sword dropped to my side as I arched against him, needingmore.

“This dress is torture, hellion,” he groaned, brushing his lips against the exposed skin between my breasts. “Take it off for me.”

His shadows were already pulling it higher, and I nearly laughed aloud at their urgency. Like we didn’t have all the time in the world now.

“Only if you promise to make me scream,” I acquiesced, watching his eyes darken in a way that had nothing to do with the shadows swirling within them.

Laughing lightly at Bash’s groan of impatience as I started undoing each tie, Bash began to help me in a way that only served to distract us both, his mouth pressing against every new section of exposed skin.

He twirled one of the ribbons around his finger, letting the edge of it brush against my peaked nipple. The light, teasing touch made me moan. “I’m not sure what turned me on more tonight, the way you so effortlessly commanded everyone, or the fact that you were wrapped up like a present. All I wanted to do was bend you over your throne and rip these off one by one.”

I gasped as he sucked my nipple into his mouth, his tongue swirling against it. “It’s not too late to make that a reality.”

His laugh was low and husky. “Oh, I absolutely plan to make that fantasy come true for us both. But not before I get you off first.”

Bash pulled my dress off completely, his shadows having undone the remaining clasps and ties without me realizing, leaving only the silver-star necklace gleaming between my naked breasts. He yanked off his jacket, then his shirt, my mouth going dry as he revealed the defined muscles of his stomach. His hands moved to his pants, and my eyes trailed down the hard, vee-shaped lines leading the way to the uncomfortable-looking bulge tenting them.

I whined deep in my throat as his fingers paused. He smirked, then complied with my wordless plea, his cock thick and wanting as he stood completely nude over me. A bead of come glistened at the tip, and I leaned forward with the intent of licking it off.

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