Page 108 of The Shadowbound King

A crow swooped through the open window and landed on the table. It hopped once, cocking its head and pinning me with a purple stare. Then it fluttered into the air and formed into my husband.

“I’ve got plans for you,” he said, coming to me and taking me in his arms.

My heart sped up. “Oh, really?”

“Mmhmm.”

The doors swung open, and Andrin strode in. “Oh, good,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I was looking for you two.” When he reached us, he tugged me from Rane’s arms and kissed me until I was breathless. Then he slid his mouth to Rane’s in one smooth movement and gave him the same treatment.

Desire flooded me, heat building between my thighs. Their kisses were always a contest of sorts, their tongues flashing and their powerful jaws working against each other.

“You seem happy,” Rane panted when Andrin finally released him. “And…leafy,” he added, plucking a small, green leaf from Andrin’s braid.

“I am,” Andrin said. “Vivia and I visited the coast today. We counted over a hundred new trees.”

“Edeloaks?” I asked, my heart lifting.

He nodded as he plucked another leaf from his hair. “They’re thriving.”

Relief washed over me. No one, including Andrin, had known what to expect after the Edeloak ceded its power to me. With the Kree beating in my chest, the ancient tree was just a tree like any other. In the days following Othor’s death, Andrin had worriedthe Edelfen might take decades to recover. Trees grew slowly, and the forest had spent two centuries suffocating in death and shadow.

Then Rane suggested I walk the forest paths with the Edeloak’s staff in hand.“You’re the Kree now,”he’d said,“and awerek. If anyone can heal the Edelfen, it’s you.”

He was right. The forest blossomed with new growth. More importantly, the shadows were balanced with light.

“I passed Embrun and Ginhad on my way in here,” Andrin said now. He raised a brow. “Something about cake?”

I sighed. “It’s Ginhad’s fault. We wereso closeto naptime.”

Andrin and Rane exchanged a look.

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t be angry at Ginhad, sweetheart,” Rane said. Snagging my arm, he tugged me against him. “He was just follower orders,” he added, his hands sliding over my hips to grip my ass through my gown.

My breath hitched. “Whose orders?” I breathed even though I knew the answer.

Purple eyes twinkled. “Ours.” Rane swept me into his arms and carried me into the bedchamber, where he and Andrin made short work of our clothes. Then I was nude in the center of the bed with Rane’s mouth between my thighs and Andrin lavishing attention on my breasts.

“How long have you been planning this?” I gasped, my fingers sliding through Rane’s hair.

He lifted his head, his mouth glossy with my arousal. “Mirella, we neverstopplanning to fuck you.”

“Mmm,” Andrin said, swirling his tongue around my nipple. “It’s a standing plan.”

“Well”—I moaned as Rane thrust his tongue inside me—“I’m not complaining.”

Andrin sucked harder, sending bolts of pleasure-pain streaking through my chest. Rane replaced his tongue with his finger and moved his mouth to my clit. Tonguing me just the way I liked, he brought me to a swift, sobbing orgasm.

As the pleasure ebbed, two sets of strong hands maneuvered me. Still twitching from my release, I found myself straddling Andrin with Rane’s hands around my waist.

“Sit down, love,” Andrin rasped, one hand around his swollen shaft. I moaned as Rane lowered me onto him, my body stretched and filled.

“That’s a good girl,” he murmured, reaching up and thumbing my damp, stiffened nipples. “A good wife, taking your lord’s dick so well.”

“I think she can take another,” Rane said, pressing his lips to my nape. He traced his tongue over his sigils that had darkened over time. And in a twist that never failed to bring tears to my eyes, the marks were solely his. I was Andrin’s queen, but I wore Rane’s symbols, as if the Edeloak had known Rane needed something that belonged solely to him.

I was happy to belong to him.

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