Page 209 of Red Ruin

An invisible rope reaches up through the ground, through the ruined floor, all the way to the keep’s tallest tower, where two bodies struggle against my shadows.

Ah. I forgot.

But I didn’t forget, did I?

I’m still holding on.

For her.

“Let them go.” Iris tightens her grip in my hair.

I can’t respond, and I can’t obey.

Kyorgos hurt her.

“Let them go,” Iris repeats. She moves me away from her bleeding throat. As she presses our foreheads together, I can feel Trezzoran’s purr. He’s licking her wound.

Even then, I can’t let go of that last handful of power.

Iris stares so deeply into my eyes that she turns my world blue.

Her power glows.

“Remy.” Her voice is magnetic, with a seductive touch of hoarseness. “The king can reach you through Kevan. If he’s taking a host body, it’s not going to be yours. You’re mine.” Iris whispers against my lips. “Aren’t you?”

Yes.

She licks her blood from my lips and passes it into my mouth.

Then nothing else exists.

I let go of everything.

Finally, my muscles respond.

I drag her soft body against mine. Her pulse speeds, and her skin flushes. I graze down to her hips, digging into her flesh with a little bit of claw.

She makes a mewling gasp.

I capture the sound and tilt her head.

Pushing deeper.

Deeper.

She tastes so sweet.

Iris goes limp in my arms. She trembles with pleasure when my claw scrapes just behind her ear.

I control the kiss while she controls our silks, using my power to slice away the decay.

As my body warms, liquid with her lifeblood, the advantage tips to our side. Iris flays the last intruding thread.

“Yours,” I pull back just enough to murmur. “My love.”

With a whimper and a hot pulse at the center of her soul, Iris leaps. Her legs hook my hips. She takes my face in both hands and seals our lips.

I hold her tightly, carefully.

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