Page 188 of Visions & Shadows

“Dear Awo,” Brenna gasps before she and Queen Mya rush to the children.

Ares quickly hands the baby over to Queen Mya, then he glances at Alchera.

“Next time you pull a stunt like that, I’m staying behind with you,”I hear him tell her.

“Thank you for everything, Ares,”she replies, her tone soft and grateful.

He nods before disappearing again.

I feel a twinge of pity in my chest for my cousin because I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to find his way back to the light.

Queen Mya comes to place her hand on Alchera’s shoulder, then says, “Go with Raighne, sweetheart. We’ll talk once you’ve had time to get settled.”

Alchera nods, her features tightening, and I feel as everything she’s experienced today overwhelms her.

Wrapping my arm around Alchera’s shoulders, I guide her out of the castle, and every time one of the villagers notices her, I shake my head at them so they won’t approach us.

She needs time to recover before I’ll allow her to interact with anyone, and after almost losing her, I also need to be alone with her because the echo of despair still clings to me.

I wish I could shimmer like Ares.

Walking is taking too long for my liking, and I stop to sweep her up into my arms. The moment she holds onto me, I begin to run, and not even a minute later, I storm through our front door and kick it shut behind us.

Sinking to my knees, I engulf Alchera with my body that’s shuddering from the hell I experienced when she severed our bond and died.

“I’m so sorry,” she cries as she clings to me. “I couldn’t let you die.”

Unable to speak, I enter her mind and force my way through her until I find her soul.

I engulf her entire being until there’s nothing between us and let out a groan from how good it feels to be one with her again.

Blindly, my mouth finds hers, and the kiss is filled with overpowering love and need.

“Never again,”I growl as I climb to my feet and carry her to the bedroom.

She nods as she desperately kisses me back, and once we’re in the bedroom, I let her stand on her feet so I can hurriedly strip her of her clothes.

We move with desperation, and when we fall onto the bed, the need to be inside her has my cock entering her with a single hard thrust.

The moment I feel her discomfort, I take it from her, and my body starts to move, the pace feverish and rough.

A light begins to shine between us, and I can sense the moment Alchera’s able to hear my thoughts and feel what I feel.

The kiss is out of control and wild, my hips moving fast and hard.

Completely connected, our souls and bodies fused as one, I say,“Without you, there’s no me.”

“I’ll never risk us again,”she promises, her nails digging into my back as I keep hammering into her.“Us. Forever.”

I rest my forearms on either side of her, framing her face with my hands as I continue to make love to her with an intense need only she can satisfy.

My mouth devours hers, and I get drunk on the taste of my woman, the pleasure too powerful to fully process as it seizes our bodies.

Even though my pace slows down as our orgasms tear through us, I can’t stop thrusting inside her.

Our kisses turn from wild to deep and soulful, and as day turns to night, I can’t bring myself to stop loving her for a single second.

I have no idea how much time has passed when Alchera breaks the kiss to breathlessly say, “We need to get up.”

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