Page 50 of Daughter of Shadows and Ash

Oryn's fingers brushed my cheek like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. When his lips claimed mine, liquid fire coursed through my veins, igniting every nerve ending.

The mate bond exploded between us, a supernova of golden light and raw power that consumed everything else.

Reality narrowed to this single point in time, the taste of his kiss, his thoughts weaving through mine like threads of sunlight through shadow, our hearts finding their shared rhythm.

When we parted, his radiant smile outshone every star in the heavens.

His euphoria flooded our bond, a tidal wave of pure, golden love that threatened to drown my darkness.

The assembled court burst into celebration, their voices distant and hollow compared to the symphony of Oryn's joy singing through our bond and the guilty drumming of my heart.

Chapter 35

Iwas lost in a hazy dream when I felt a tender touch on my cheek, warm and intimate like the first rays of dawn. The warmth of his touch sent tingles across my skin, his scent—citrus and sandalwood—wrapped around me like a cherished memory. Slowly, I blinked my eyes open, the world blurring at its edges like watercolors in rain. Oryn's face came into focus, his golden hair catching the light like molten metal. The morning after our wedding dawned with a sweetness I never thought possible. The moment felt as fragile as frost on glass, as precious as the last star before dawn.

"Lor," he whispered, his voice ghosting across my skin. "I'm sorry to wake you, Love."

I murmured nonsense, fighting against the fog of dreams that clung to my mind. Oryn's thumb traced my jawline, and I melted into his touch. The vulnerability of the moment twisted something painful in my chest.

"I have to leave for a few days," he continued, his words drifting through my sleep-addled mind. "There's something I need to check at the war front." Dread coiled in my chest, even through the haze of sleep.

"Warfront?" I muttered, my brow furrowing slightly. Fear sparked in my thoughts, but sleep held me prisoner.

Oryn leaned down, pressing a lingering kiss to my forehead. "Sleep, my love. I'll return soon enough."

I felt his lips brush against mine, warm and inviting. I returned the kiss lazily, already drifting back towards slumber.

"Be safe," I managed to murmur as my eyes fluttered closed.

The last thing I registered was his silent retreat as Oryn moved away from the bed, taking his warmth with him. Then, sleep claimed me once more, pulling me back into its dark embrace. A voice in my dreams whispered that this farewell carried the weight of finality.

I jolted awake,my heart racing. The room was dark as a starless night, save for a sliver of moonlight peeking through the heavy curtains. Disoriented, I reached out, searching for Oryn's familiar warmth. My hand met cold sheets instead.

Reality slammed into me like a tidal wave. Oryn was gone, off to the war front. I was alone, the emptiness of his absence a hollow ache in my chest.

Sighing, I pushed myself up and fumbled for the lamp on my bedside table. The soft glow illuminated my chambers, casting long shadows across the bookshelves that surrounded me like silent guardians. My sanctuary, now feeling more like a prison of memories.

Unable to shake the unease that wrapped around me like a shroud, I slipped out of bed and padded across the room. Itrailed my fingers along the spines of my beloved books, drawing comfort from their course textures.

The night felt dead silent. No chirping crickets, no rustling leaves. Nothing but the weight of emptiness.

A whisper ghosted past my ears, so faint I thought I'd imagined it. I froze, straining to listen.

A sound sharp as a blade sliding through silk. Coming from outside my window. Through the moonlit glass, shadows danced across the castle grounds, too fluid to be natural. My eyes darted towards a leather tome on the shelf beside me where I had hidden a dagger just in case. Ice flooded my veins as another whisper slithered through the air, raising the fine hairs on my neck.

Before I could move, the window shattered in a spray of deadly shards. Figures cloaked in darkness slipped through the broken window, their faces nothing more than bottomless voids. I opened my mouth to scream, but a leather clad hand clamped over it, silencing my terror.

Iron like grips seized my arms, crushing them against my body. Before I could call my shadows for help, I felt a sharp pinch in my neck. I fought wildly, kicking out, but my bare feet found only emptiness. My legs lost their strength, everything began to blur. My muddled mind fought to stay coherent, to remember what's happening so I could get away. The intruders lifted me up like I weighed nothing, carrying me towards the broken window. The room spun like a twisted carousel, my vision darkening at the edges as whatever poison they'd used spread through my blood like liquid frost.

The shadows in my room writhed and twisted, responding to my panic even as my power slipped away. They reached for me with desperate fingers of darkness, but without my conscious control, they could only watch helplessly as I was taken.

Dark figures dragged my limp body through the shattered window into the bitter night air. My arms hung uselessly at my sides, my head lolling back as my muscles refused to obey. Could Oryn sense my terror through our mate bond, or had these creatures waited for the precise moment when our connection was weakest? The usual hum of our golden thread was deafeningly silent, like a snuffed-out star. They must have planned this, watching and waiting for the perfect moment when I was most vulnerable.

Panic clawed at my throat, trapped behind my captor's iron grip. My lungs burned for air, each shallow breath a battle against the leather-clad fingers crushing against my mouth.

Terror froze my blood. Our closed bond meant Oryn might never know what happened. He could return to find nothing but broken glass and my abandoned books, with no way to track where they'd taken me.

The poison spread deeper through my veins as they carried me into darkness. My last conscious thought was of golden hair and citrus-scented warmth, now impossibly far away. Then everything went black.

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