Page 94 of Blood of Two Crowns

The scent of burning ambers and sea salt filled my nose, jolting me awake.Malekai.My eyes burst open to find Nakoa pulling his clothes off before climbing back into bed.

“You visited him.”

Nakoa gave me a silent nod, as he lifted the covers and slid in beside me and tugged me against his chest. Love, relief, andcomfortwashed over me as I buried my face between the twin boulders of his pectorals.And fuck if it wasn’t one of the most beautiful things I’d ever experienced.

All that was missing was Malekai… and Ataraxus.

I inhaled, drawing in Nakoa and Malekai’s scents as deeply as I could, sending a flare of arousal through me.

“How was he?”

Nakoa chuckled against me, drawing my gaze to his.

“Hallucinating.”

“What?”

“Lathrimos showed up. Gave him something called dendrata zou pollen.”

My consciousness, tied to this realm and everything within it, helpfully provided an explanation. Realization and hope blossomed within my mind. “He’s trying to help him shift back.”

“He mentioned something about karmic clearing and reincarnating.”

Pain lanced through my heart at the idea.Selfishly.

If Malekai reincarnated…

“It could be… Hundreds of years, potentially thousands before he returns if he chose to reincarnate.”

An even more painful and selfish realization hit me like a fucking boulder.

“And he might meet hissoulbound.”

My hands trembled as I gripped Nakoa’s arms, and he squeezed me tighter against him.

“I don’t know that he has asoulboundoutside of you. And me. And Ataraxus.”

I drew in a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I lifted my eyes to Nakoa’s.“What do you mean?”

Nakoa’s hand came up to caress my cheek. The action effectively soothed my tremors.

“Lathrimos said that I’m bound to him as well now. Since we fulfilled our bond... He wasn’t able to explain it, but he said he saw a tether connecting me to Malekai.”

My shock must have been blatant because another chuckle rumbled beneath my hands from his chest. A thousand questions rose in my mind, and I had no idea where to begin.

Nakoa’s thumb coasted over my parted lips.

“I love you,lohane thili.In this life and every life to come.”

A wellspring of emotion swelled in my breast. Again, he’d spoken the exact words that Malekai used to tell me. My brows drew together in confusion as my emotion swelled, andfuck,if I wasn’t exhausted from weeping.

“Malekai and I used to say that to each other.”

Nakoa leaned in and kissed the saline from my cheeks, murmuring against them. “I suppose it’s all Kismet then.”

His breath stole my words as my mind harkened back to Ataraxus’ words.“This is Kismet, Mareina…”

My love for Nakoa swelled in my chest even as a part of me longed for both Malekai and Ataraxus. I slotted my mouth against his, tongue seeking. His cock was already hard, pinned between us. I curled one of my legs over his hips and thrust towards him, aligning his length with my entrance, dripping with need. Nakoa groaned against my mouth, carding his fingers through my hair, fisting a handful of it at the back of my head.“Fuck, maha loha. You’re soaked.”

---