Page 55 of Blood of Two Crowns

My throat caught on emotion.“Thank you.”

However, since seeing Malekai’s name on my arm, my mind had spun, trying to find memories that weren’t there. Still, every time my fingers brushed across that scar, I felt some sense ofinner knowing that things weren’t quite as they appeared to be. The fact that I couldfeelthe love radiating from that mark was a constant source of stability for my unravelling mind.

The question leapt from me without any prior thought.

“Do you trust Azrael?”

The male flying beside me snapped his gaze to mind as if surprised by the question. “Not even with a butter knife.”

More of my anxiety lifted as I chuckled as his gaze lingered on me. “My name is Asterion.”

Drenched in gore and caked in soot, Asterion and I took in the remains surrounding us. Malovada had been reduced to rubble, and my belly was full to the point of bursting.

“I think I drank too much…” I heaved a sigh, cut off by an abrupt belch. I clapped my hands over my mouth as embarrassment licked up my cheeks and neck like flames. “Oh, gods. I’m so sorry about that. I think it’s all the demon blood… Gives me indigestion.”

Asterion’s mouth twitched for a fleeting moment before splitting into a broad grin, and helaughed.Though I hardly knew him, I had a strong feeling it was a rare sight. It transformed his handsome but forbidding features into somethingdivine.

And contagious.

My own laughter erupted, easing every muscle in my body and making affection blossom for him in my chest.

When was the last time I’d laughed like this?

Our eyes met through our shared laughter, and I felt a seedling of friendship planted firmly between us. Something inside my soul seemed to say, ‘I know this person.’

Our laughter slowed, and Asterion opened his mouth to say something, but the presence of foreign magic cut it short. Our gazes snapped to the doorway behind me before we shared a knowing look. I had to stifle my groan as I turned to greet our enemy.

I desperately wanted a bath.

A male appeared in the doorway of the decrepit building we’d just raided. The same one I’d seen challenge Azrael in the street when I’d first arrived.Erius.

He grinned wide at the sight of me, his smile unnaturally bright against his dark skin. “Hello,not-consort.”

Thoroughly exasperated, I patted my belly. “Look. I’mstuffed.Gorged, in fact. So unless you feel like spending the rest of your days collared and in a dungeon already packed to the brim with the denizens of thisAkash-forsaken place, I suggest you preoccupy yourself elsewhere.”

Erius burst into laughter. “A collar?” Another burst of dark, raspy laughter. His voice sounded as if the flames of his belly had permanently singed his vocal cords.

The building around us burst apart like an explosion as his form shifted into the epic beast of lore lurking beneath his skin. Staring down at us and grinning with razor-sharp teeth as long as my legs, the baritone of his voice echoed in our minds. “I’d fuckingloveto see you try and put a collar on me.”

Asterion growled from beside me, and I couldn’t help but be awed by his true form. Glinting, gold, twisted horns rose from his head, making me wonder if they were actually metal. Gold armored plating protruded from his skin. His golden, iris-less eyes, normally dark, began to glow as if lit within by a burning star. However, none of that is what had my jaw plummetting to the floor. A black void began to emanate from him. Broken chunks of plaster, wood, and cement slid across thefloor towards him to then be reduced to ash before disappearing entirely.

I stumbled backwards against the gravitational pull tugging me towards him, my long braid streaming in front of me.

I gaped, the drakonati half-forgotten. I’d never witnessed such an astounding gift. I had only ever heard of it existing on one occasion… The primal of light. An entity so old and long forgotten that I couldn’t even recall her name.

“Very impressive, Asterion, but is killing me worth killing your only friend?”

Asterion’s scowl deepened, and his lack of response had realization washing over me. Erius chuckled, watching as I stumbled backwards again when the force of his gift had my feet sliding against the floor, dragging me towards him.

All at once, as if by the flick of a switch, the void around Asterion left, and his glowing and golden features dimmed.

Asterion gave me a heartbreakingly apologetic look.

“You can’t control it…” I breathed as my braid slapped back down against my body.

Asterion’s eyes fell to the floor in shame.

Erius hummed. “Such a pity. Ialmostfeel guilty.”

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