Page 74 of A Blightress of Wrath
Ididn’t know much, but right then,Iknew her.
Ididn’t know our future, her limits, or my role to play in the fight to come, butIknewSae.
Iknew the shape of her lips.Iknew the sweetness of her tongue as it brushed against mine, deepening what she’d started into something from which we’d never recover.
Neveronce in my life wouldIheal from this kiss, the roam of her hands along my neck, the press of her body against mine, the taste of her on my tongue, her breath leaving her lungs so beautifully in rapid succession, matching my own.
Shelifted herself further, the sound of her shoes dropping to the stone the only sound after the hurried range of our breath, the parting of our lips only to meet again, hungry, demanding, both of us discovering for the first time what it really meant to be kissed by someone youknew.Someoneyou’d met every summer in a forest that lived and thrived in its paths that led to yellow fields and golden sun.
ThatwasSae.
Aglorious sun in a blue sky, lighting the world in her brilliance, her clever words, and playful laugh.
Igripped her waist as her fingers shifted through the back of my hair, pulling, scraping, urging me to give her more, take more, become more with her.
Shefinally broke from my mouth, tilting her head back to breathe, still pulling herself closer, wrapping her arms around me asImoved my lips across her jaw, down her neck, willing to bury myself within her skin, never parting, never experiencing another winter without her warmth.
Thesmallest moan lifted from her lips and sent me reeling, struggling to pull back from her asIshould.
Clarityhit me like a punch to the gut, andIbroke from her embrace, my lips just as swollen as hers.Istepped back, touching my mouth, my body urging me to go back. “I’msorry,”Iwhispered, watching her struggle to regain her breath, same as me.
Sheshook her head, her chest heaving, a smile spreading across her red lips. “Don’tbe,” she said, breathless.Sheshook her head again and stepped forward in a laugh. “Howcould you be sorry forthat?”Hereyes glittered and she touched her own lips, a wicked smile underneath her fingers.
Iregained my breath and said, “I’msorryIlet it get that far.”
Shescoffed. “AsifIwasn’t the initiator here?”
“Saelyn?”TheBaron’svoice rose through the hall behind me, andIturned, ever the soldier in her army, ready to hear my next command.
Saesighed and shuffled to where she’d dropped her shoes, farther away thanIrealized we’d moved in our kiss.Shepressed them to her chest and walked to the door of her rooms. “Goodnight,Thevin,” she said, pressing her red, swollen, and obviously kissed lips together and opening the door.
“Goodnight,”Ireturned, barely audible, but loud enough for her to hear as she twisted her lips in a coy smile.
“Beready at dawn,” was all theBaronsaid to me, no doubt noticing my lips in the same condition, my face flushed just as well, and my hair run through by the long, beautiful fingers of her daughter.
Inodded once, turning across the hall, shaking, utterly destroyed, living on a cloud, the grin rising within me asIallowed it for just a few moments more beforeIopened the door to my rooms and let that memory stay with me for the rest of the night.
Chapter36
Saelyn
KissingThevinwas allIwanted to think about.
Iwanted nothing more than to fall into bed, smiling at how natural it had been to reach for him, pull his hands around my waist, and taste his lips.
Tootired to explain howIloved him but feared losing him,Ichose instead to just be with him.Nowords, no heavy burdens of wrapping our heads around how much our friendship was changing—just my lips on his.Mybody pressed to his, and his hands…
Itook a heavy breath in an attempt to chill my heated blood and bring my heart back down from where it soared in the revelation of everything we could share in the future.
Mymother shuffled to her room, exhausted, pulling at the disheveled braid she’d woven across her head and letting her long white hair flow down her back.
Ihadn’t known her hair matched theBlightress.Ididn’t expect to see their similarities—powerful women dressed in black with long white locks and red shades on their lips.Whilemy mother’s eyes were almost always black,Icouldn’t explain the variety of colors that came from the eyes of theBlightress.
Ihurried out of my gown, stepping into a midnight blue nightgown that had been left for me.Iknocked on my mother’s door and at her quiet answer,Istepped inside.
Shesat at the small desk, tracing her name over the carved wooden boxIknew played a song about the sun and the moon.Shewiped her eyes before she turned to me, andIwas surprised to see their bright emerald hue returned.
Ihurried to her, falling on my knees and taking her hands. “Mama?”Isqueezed her cold fingers, all my anger for what she hadn’t told me gone.Ididn’t know where to start or what she had left to share with me, soIwaited for her reply.
