Page 77 of Nidev and Lyric

“You need to,” he warned in low dominance. “I intend to give you everything you need.”

God, her smile couldn’t get any bigger as she watched him create perfect squares of her food then set her fork down.

She stabbed three of them and brought it to his mouth. “Big bite,” she said as he stared at her.

He finally leaned in, taking it in one go, his gaze seducing her as he chewed.

“Very good, my beautiful King,” she said, eating her own bite before melting with a “Mmmmm, this is so good!”

****

Nidev couldn’t stop watching her. His woman. His queen. Hiswifeaccording to the Marsh Kings. Draped in his shirt like a regal mantle, drowning in his scent and the aftermath of everything they’d done to each other. She radiated satisfaction and something purer. Something that tightened around his chest with ruthless precision.

The serene expression on her face was almost terrifying to look at. It carried a promise so beautiful he feared even acknowledging it might break the spell. The kind of dream a man like him would never claim.

Butshehad claimed him. In ways no Binding Rite could ever express. And now, he found himself standing at the edge of something that seemed impossible.

“You’re going to spoil me,” she murmured with that soft, devastating smile of hers, feeding him another bite of pancake. “Making me breakfast, feeding me like I’m your queen.”

His lips twitched into a grin. “You are my queen. And you shall be indulged accordingly.”

She laughed, the pure sound cutting him. A pain had never felt more forbidden or more necessary. When she looked at him with such radiant contentment, it threatened to unmake him.

Ever since he prepared the little cottage for their Binding Ritual, her words from that night kept circling through his mind.

What if we brought your sister and my brother here?

He hadn’t been able to keep it filed away. It kept leaping from the confines of its neural cage, requiring him to shove it back in while he focused on healing Doo-nie. And for all his power, he now realized he’d been a coward. Deceiving himself into believing that protecting his sister from the world’s reach was enough. That holding her at a distance and fulfilling his dutyto her was enough. But that had been a lie. One he’d buried so deep he could no longer taste its bitterness.

Until Lyric. Until the very act of helping her unravel her own fears had revealed his own. He’d failed his sister and convinced himself she was safer without him. But the truth was, he couldn’t bear the idea of causing one more shadow in her eyes. Or the fact that he was the reason they were there to begin with.

And then came his Doo-nie’s liberation. It flooded into him like a torrent, shattering chains not just in her but him. Her freedom had unlocked his.

His gaze roamed the modest cottage, taking in the quiet beauty of it. The kind of beauty that whispered of possibilities. Of something that could last.

“What do you think of this place?” he asked, keeping his tone carefully casual. But even as he spoke, his fingers traced over her wrist, stroking the delicate skin as if tethering himself to her warmth.

She gave him a curious glance. “The cottage?”

“Yes.” His eyes swept over the room once more. “Does it suit you?”

Her gaze softened, the question stirring something deep within her. “I love it. It feels... pure. Hidden away from all the chaos. Like... a sanctuary where something beautiful could grow.”

The elegance of her words twined around his chest, squeezing with brutal tenderness. “A place that could be ours.”

Her gaze held his, a cautious light flickering to life. “You mean...?”

He took a steadying breath, letting the truth sharpen his voice. “You mentioned something before. About bringing your brother here to the swamp… and my sister.”

She stilled, her gaze now intent. Expectant. “Yes.”

“When you first spoke of it, I wanted to discard the idea. Bury it before it could fester into something I couldn’t stand to lose.” His fingers continued their slow, deliberate stroking over her wrist, his eyes tracing her features, the only map he would ever need. “I told myself it wasn’t possible. That she was better off away from…”

The truth cut a bloody path through him and he moved his gaze to the light filtering through the window. “It was cowardice masquerading as protection,” he admitted. “I buried myself in the illusion that my distance was a shield, rather than the fear of failing her. Again.”

Her fingers threaded through his, a silent encouragement.

“I think...” His voice dropped, thick with the weight of his own revelation. “Your freedom somehow bled into me. Made it impossible to pretend I was incapable of believing in something more.”

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