Page 258 of Emylia

His back was a work of art—rippled muscle carved by survival, not vanity. Every inch of him had been forged by fire, and I couldn’t stop staring.

There wasn’t a single part of him that hadn’t adapted to the wild, the war, the weight of the world. And I wantedallof it.

“Don’t make me come and get you, Princess,” Maalikai growled over his shoulder.

I didn’t have a choice. Either I hardened up and got in the water—or Maalikai would drag me in himself. Or worse... he’d follow through on his threat to stop giving me exactly what I craved. And while I doubted he had the restraint to resist me, I wasn’t about to tempt fate.

In a single motion, my clothes joined his in a crumpled heap. I straightened, standing tall in nothing but the two wisps of silk, teasingly insubstantial, channeling every inch of Goddess energy I could conjure. When I stepped forward, Maalikai looked up.

The intensity of his gaze hit me like a physical blow, stealing the breath straight from my lungs. His usual playful smirk was gone—replaced by pure, unfilteredhunger.

That look? It was a sin.

All-consuming, devouring, the kind of heat that left nothing untouched. It was like being flayed open by a dagger made of fire, except I begged for him to flay me.

A flush rose to my cheeks—and lower—as his eyes devoured every inch of me. I took a step into the stream, gasping as cold water licked at my skin. Frost replaced fire, burning in its own savage way. I welcomed it. I needed the shock—the balance—because inside, I was still unbridled fire.

I waded in deeper, letting the glacial water bite into me, subduing the wildfire that Maalikai had ignited. Then, with one last breath, I plunged.

The water snapped around me like glass. But it grounded me. The ache in my chest, the want clawing under my skin—it dulled for a moment. Just long enough for me to catch my breath.

When I surfaced, water streamed down my face. Ripples broke around me in concentric waves as I caught sight of him—standing only feet away.

My serenity didn’t stand a chance.

He was already moving. His body, sun-warmed and radiant, was a Gods-damn contrast to my frozen limbs. Heat radiated off him like a furnace, teasing across the surface of my skin.

He was fire.

I was ice.

A hurricane meeting a volcano.

Destructive. Cataclysmic.Inevitable.

He didn’t say a word. Just stepped into me. His chest pressed against mine, and the sheer contact sent a gasp tearing from my lips. Nerve endings I didn’t know I had lit up like lightning. He reached for me—fingers threading through my wet hair, brushing it back behind my ear. The simple act was tender. Reverent.

It undid me.

“You are so beautiful.”

Shame bloomed in my chest, sharp and bitter. I dropped my gaze. He was wrong. I wasn’t beautiful. Not like him—flawless, dangerous, carved by fate and fire.

Compared to him, I was chaos. Raw. Uneven.

“I mean it,” he whispered, lifting my chin with a finger until I had no choice but to meet his eyes.

And what I saw there wrecked me.

There was no pretense. No smugness. Justtruth. Devotion. That primal pull that said I wasn’t justwanted.

I washis.

And fuck, when he looked at me like that? I almost believed I was worthy.

Heat flushed my cheeks, but I didn’t look away. I couldn’t. The world had narrowed to this: me, him, the icy water around us, and the fire roaring between our bodies.

I needed a distraction. Something to break the tension. To stop my soul from unraveling beneath his gaze.

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