Page 63 of The Fallen Kingdom

Kiaran exhales in a shuddering breath, then rests his palm on my cheek. “Trust me.”

As he bends in closer, I can see the hunger in his gaze. His pupils are dilated like a predator ready to attack its kill.

Then, with aching softness, he presses his lips to mine.

It takes all my effort to stay still, to stop myself from pulling him closer. My fingernails bite into the skin of my palms.Stay still. Don’t move. Don’t breathe. Don’t even think. I know his control is tenuous. I sense it when his lips tremble against mine. In the slow, deliberate way he breathes as if he’s trying to keep calm.

For us, it’s a chaste kiss. I don’t know how such a simple touch leaves me shivering, but I’m not the only one.

Kiaran’s fingers trail down my wet coat, a touch of fire through the cold material. Then his hand slips underneath to find my waist, fingers brushing the skin where my shirt and trousers meet. My mind whispers a simple word.Yes, I think.Yes.

Claws slash across my back, ripping through the fabric and deep into my skin, and I cry out. But my instincts don’t fail me. I twist out of Kiaran’s arms, raise my palms, and unleash my power.

Stay, I command with all the force of the Cailleach.Be still.

The Morrigan in the wraith’s body thrashes, sloshing water everywhere. Her sapphire eyes flash with rage and disgust. “Filthyhuman.”

“This filthy human has you trapped,” I say. “MacKay.” When he doesn’t move to strike, I glance at him. “MacKay?”

A soft curse escapes me.

He’s staring at me—no, not at me. At my back, where the Morrigan slashed her wraith claws through my skin so deeply that I can smell my blood mixing into the water.

Kiaran’s lips part. Then I see the small flash of fangs descend over his teeth. When his eyes meet mine, the normally bright, uncanny lilac of his eyes is shadowed by something darker.

Something ravenous.

“There it is,” whispers the Morrigan. “My beautiful Unseelie curse.”

“Shut up,” I say sharply.

Already, the energy to keep her corporeal is taking its toll. I’m growing lightheaded, dizzy. My temples pound, and dots flash across my vision. My human body can’t take it and I’ve had no chance to mend since last using my powers. I’m afraid that if I move to kill her, I’ll black out again.

Trust him. Trust him.

The Morrigan comes closer, straining against the limits of my powers. She senses an opportunity. “I can read his thoughts. Shall I tell you?”

“Stop.” My vision is fading.

“He’s fighting between his feelings for you and his will to survive. Which do you think will triumph? Do you think he can go against what he was made for? WhatIdesigned him to do? My curse always wins.”

His hunger will always win out. Always.

“MacKay,” I say, his name barely a whisper as I fight to stay conscious. “Look at me. Listen to my voice.”

Are you Kiaran or Kadamach?

He’s closer, moving through the water like a great shadow. It makes him seem bigger, more formidable. Even with his powers bound, Kiaran isn’t human. He’s a creature of darkness, fae in every way. That Unseelie in him that I always saw lurking beneath the surface is no longer hidden.

And the focus of his attention—of that towering build and those deep, dark eyes—is me. There’s nothing in his gaze to indicate that he sees me as anything other than a means of his survival.

Trust him. Trust him.

His name is on my lips, a pleading whisper.Look at me. Come back to me.

The Morrigan laughs.

Trust him. Trust him.

---