Page 67 of Burning Star

Which means he’ll have to take more fromher.

“What will happen to Sophia?” I ask, hoping he’ll answer instead of leaving me wondering.

“She’ll be weak, but alive. As for you… I’ll continue to only feed from you once a day,” he confirms my suspicion, his fingers trailing down my throat and lingering over his favorite spot to feed. “I like you strong, Zoey. Ineedyou strong. And when I drink from Sophia… I want you to watch.”

A dark thrill pulses through me.

“I need you to know that she’s only a necessity. That I’ll never want her as anything other than a meal, because everything I do is foryou,”he continues, rough and urgent, his fingers digging into my shoulders. “Do you understand? Do you trust me enough to do this for me?”

His wings flare, and his lips part slightly, like they always do when he’s thinking about feeding on me.

“I’ll watch,” I promise, reaching up to trace the sharp line of his jaw. “I want to see.”

“Good.” His eyes dilate with savage satisfaction, wind swirling around us, his breaths quickening. “Because I never want you to doubt, even for a second, that you’re the only one I hunger for.”

He closes the distance between us before I can respond, his mouth claiming mine with the same burning intensity he’s had since the night we said we loved each other and he carved his name onto my hip.

“You’ll be safe here with me,” he murmurs, scooping me into his arms and carrying me to the bed, pulling at my clothes in a desperate fervor as he removes them one by one. “I’ll have art supplies brought to your quarters. Books. Dresses. Anything you want.” His voice drops to a whisper that sends chills down my spine. “Because you’re mine until the stars burn out and the realms crumble into dust.”

I tangle my fingers through his silky hair, tugging just enough to make him groan.

“And I want every part of you,” I tell him. “Your darkness. Your hunger. Your love. Because if it’s for me, I want itall.”

Frost crackles across the sheets as he lays me down, his wings flaring with anticipation and desire.

“Say it again, Zoey.” His gaze burns into mine as he hovers on top of me, leaving a torturously few inches between my body and his.

“I love you,” I tell him, and he shudders, sinking into me in a fluid motion that steals my breath away.

“And I love you,” he says as he begins to move inside me, drawing a gasp from my throat as need for him burns through my veins, threatening to consume me in a single heartbeat. “You have every broken, brutal piece of me, and I’ll destroy anyone who tries to take you from me.”

“Make them bleed.” I move my hand up to trace my fingers across the base of his wings, and he presses his forehead to mine with a sharp inhale, as if I’m undoing him with each word I speak.

“For you, I’ll do anything,” he growls, and from there, the night dissolves into a blur of sensation—his hands, his mouth, and his wings enclosing me in a cage I never want to escape. He worships my body with a manic intensity, like he’s branding himself into my soul.

And far later, cradled in the arms of my night prince as sleep claims me, I know I’ve made my choice. I’ve chosen darkness. I’ve chosenhim.

And I’m going to stay with him—always.

RIVEN

“I didn’t thinkwe’d get here so… quickly,” Sapphire says from beside me, gazing up at the Winter Palace, its icy spires stabbing the dawn sky.

More specifically, at the windows of my quarters. The same quarters she broke into weeks ago, where I would have ended up killing her if she hadn’t been in her projected form.

“Me, either,” I admit, my sword drawn, ready for anything.

I needed more time to think this through. Everything that’s happened since Sapphire fell into my life has resulted in us stumbling from crisis to crisis, trying to survive day by day. I assumed we’d have time to create a more detailed plan before returning the Winter Court, but apparently, Anteros and the Lost Fae Temple had other ideas.

“At least the palace hasn’t changed,” I say, ice crawling over the snow beneath my feet. “Sharp, imposing, and ready to freeze the heart of anyone who doesn’t belong.”

Sapphire’s shoulder brushes mine, her water magic responding to my frost. “And do I belong here now?” she asks softly. “Or am I still the outsider you dragged through three deadly trials in an attempt to break my body and soul?”

“You’re the Winter Princess,” I remind her, guilt rushing through my veins at the reminder of how badly my trials hurt her. I will never, ever stop trying to make it up to her, even though there’s no way I possibly can. “Although, I’m unsure my father will see it that way.”

She glances at me, her smile tight. “If he tries to kill me, at least it won’t be the most traumatic thing that’s happened to me this month,” she says so casually that one would think she’s been having near death experiences her entire life.

Frost travels up the blade of my sword, covering it completely.

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