Page 99 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

I whirled around and found his face inches from my own. “What are you?—”

He pressed his fingers to my neck, and I realized with a jolt my hair had fallen away from my tattoo. I tensed, waiting for him to ask about it again. But his next words had nothing to do with the mark.

“You didn’t ask me why I saved you today.”

I swallowed hard, completely captured by his closeness. The way he smelled, the stubble on his jaw, the intensity in his dark eyes—all of it trained on me.

“Why did you save me today?” I asked quietly.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of a world without you in it.”

My heart raced. “I understand. Your loyalty is to your crown, and I’m?—”

“No.” he moved closer, and I retreated until my back was against the door and his chest pressed against mine. I was trapped, and I never wanted to be free again. “This has nothing to do with loyalty. Or duty. Or prophecies.”

I started. “I don’t?—”

“You do. But it doesn’t matter. Because in that alley, none of those were the reason I saved you.” He cupped my neck. Gentle. Reverent even.

“Then why?—?”

His fingers tightened and I remembered his words from the other day.If you put your hands on me, I expect you to make it count.As if he could read my mind, awareness flared in his stormy gaze.

My breath hitched.

His mouth crashed onto mine, and I forgot everything else as pleasure erupted inside me. His hands found my hips, and he gripped me tight. One of his arms snaked around my waist, and he hauled me against him, my feet nearly coming off the ground as he held me flush against his body. His tongue coaxed my lips apart, and I opened willingly, caring only that he’d finally given me what I wanted.

He tasted like spice and woodsmoke—a combination that invaded my senses until there was nothing but the feel and taste of him. Nothing about the kiss was sweet, and I only wanted more of it. More of him.

I lifted my hands to his chest, running my palms up the contoured planes and hard muscles that rippled beneath his tunic. Then I gripped his collar, pulling him closer as I strained to press my body more tightly to his.

From deep in his throat, he growled, and a thrill of pleasure shot through me. I’d never felt more powerful than I did in Rydian’s arms.

He broke the kiss as suddenly as he’d begun it. “Fuck,” he said, his breath ragged, his eyes glazed.

I was pretty sure I was in a similar state, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. His eyes found mine, and whatever hummed in their depths, it sent a shudder through me, half-pleasure, half-fear.

“I don’t have room for this,” he said quietly, and disappointment speared through me. “But if anyone attempts to touch you, I will kill them for it.”

A thrill pulsed inside me at his declaration. Promises of violence and bloodshed on my behalf shouldn’t have excited me, nor should they call to my magic so deliciously. But I couldn’t deny that they did. Though, something pulsed inside him too. A darkness that felt almost like mine. Almost. Not quite.

Then he released me, the pulse vanishing with his touch, and I felt strangely alone.

“He’ll be looking for you,” he said. “And I can’t let him find you here. As much as I want to.”

Reality crashed over me like ice water. Callan. My fiancé. But just as quickly as I remembered him, I decided. “I’m not going back.”

His expression hardened. “Yes, you are.”

I shook my head. “Why? Callan is not the warrior he claims to be. His army is withered and dying from loss of magic—a nightmare he condones. And he has no intention of holding up his promise to help me find a cure for my people. What reason do I have to return to him?”

If I thought Rydian would be reasonable, the hard-set determination he wore now crushed that assumption. “You’re in more danger than you know.”

“Because of the prophecy?” I watched as his gaze slid away. “How do you know about that?”

“I’ve always known,” he said quietly.

“How?” I demanded, but he didn’t answer. I huffed, angry at the secrets. The lies. But it didn’t change how I felt about remaining with Callan. “If you know about the prophecy, then you know what I’m meant to do. But I can’t stay here?—”

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