Page 99 of Beg the Night

My entire body tensed at the sight of it. Each time I saw his magic, I had a stronger reaction to it, a stronger attraction to it.

As if that string between me and this shadow had tightened, I was drawn closer.

Somewhere in the pull of his power, I moved my own hand and laid it on top of his palm.

It was quiet out here, no sounds but the chirping of birds in the distance and the rapid beating of my heart.

Want it bad enough.

I did want it. I wanted this more than anything. Sinner was right. We had no chance if I wasn’t using a gift. Sinner could wield death, yes, but I could too. We could do it together.

I wanted it.

He kept his hand steady beneath mine. Like a rock, unmoving.

Where we touched, a fire ignited and erupted up my arm. I fought the urge to step closer. To grip his forearm. To pull his body flush against mine.

Focus, Athena. You want him, but you want his power more.

I slowly lifted my hand from his.

And the shadows followed.

Between his palm and mine, the dark clouds spread, swirling and whispering, rattling wildly like an animal caged between us.

“It’s working,” I breathed.

“It’s working,” he repeated. “Now, more.”

Without his touch to guide me, my body buzzed. This close to him, power flooded me. Only now did I realize that my body’s reaction to him was so much more than lust. It was as if my power literally craved his.

I could wield his power.I could. I was meant to, that’s what the whole claiming was about. I had done it at the mansion, too. I had actually controlled his phantoms.

So instead of backing away, instead of closing myself off to that feeling of want, I leaned into it.

And the damn shadows followed.

I took a step back, and although it felt like fighting against a magnetic pull, the shadows followed. They wrapped around my arm, coiling up my shoulder and caressing my neck. “Oh my god,” I whispered.

He grunted, his lips ticked up on one side. “God has nothing to do with this.”

The shadows pulsed at the sound of his voice, but they remained coiled around me, wrapping me further in their darkness.

When I met Sinner’s gaze, he was smiling.

A rare smile. A real smile.

It was kind of freaky.

“Good,” he said. “Now pretend I’m your enemy and unleash them on me.”

Hours later,I had gotten the hang of basic shadow wielding.

I was also dripping in sweat, completely exhausted, and slowly losing my inhibitions. That last part was due to my prolonged proximity to Sinner.

My head tilted up to the sky as my knees dropped to the ground, and I caught my breath. Simple shadow movements had turned into intense combat training, which turned into fighting like my life was on the line.

In Sinner’s world, itwason the line.

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