Page 84 of The Princesses of Ruin
“Kaz,” she mumbles through my assault. “I love you.”
I eat her words, swallowing them down deep into the pit of me. It’s only made me hungrier for her. Starving. I need to hear her come. I need to know that her body still loves my body.
I push my thumb into her hip and change her position so her clit is striking me with every thrust. This changes her tune. There aren’t words anymore, but a sensation I can feel. Her presence surrounds me, raking invisible claws down my mind. I let her flay me open and she crawls inside.
Finally, I’m sated. The dire hunger is fulfilled and pleasure rocks through my core. I heave deep, groaning breaths against her lips as I spill inside her again, and again. The wetshlickof her grinding down on me gets louder. I ride the wave of ecstasy to the point of pain, not caring if I die chasing her release, too.
She breaks our kiss and holds my face, staring at me with such intensity that I can see the universe through her golden eyes. Stars are born and die inside her. Gods rise and fall. Worlds are swallowed by fire and darkness only to explode anew.
Alyse’s eyelids flutter shut, and she cries my name to the ceiling. The air around us trembles. Her legs squeeze my hips. She screams, her back arching as she rides me harder and deeper.
Just as quickly as she came, she’s curling into me. She nuzzles into my chest and I clasp her there. I love the beat of her heart and the pant of her breath. I love the sweat soaking the hair at the base of herskull. I love the gentle swell of her belly against mine and her thick thighs cradling me.
“Kaz,” she whispers, her voice shaky with fear.
What is it, my love?
“I…” She sighs, holding me with conviction. “I love you more dearly than anything in all the realms on all the worlds.”
Her words hint at the immense weight she’s been carrying. The nine hells is not a euphemism for the ways a dead man can be tortured, but a reality. There are nine realms of the Underworld, each one layered on this realm. The Overworld, the place of the gods, is tenth, and Gaien is last.
Zephrom explained it to me, and I didn’t believe it, but…
It’s obvious Alyse can sense the life in other realms. The voices of every soul, living or dead, their thoughts and dreams, their pain, are hers to know. The darkness that surrounds her, the distance in her eyes, it all reveals the burden of her knowledge.
I pray my distraction was enough to quiet them. I pray that I’ve brought her as much comfort as she’s brought me.
“You have,” she whispers.
We embrace for another moment. I release her, clean her, kiss her, and help her dress in fresh clothes from our pack. I wriggle back into my flight suit, for I need to hunt. Alyse begins setting our camp for the night, and I seal her into the ice cave to keep her warm and safe. I’ve pushed hard enough on the walls to compact the snow to a point of stability. Shewillbe safe. But I won’t go far.
I’ll never go far from her.
My soul.
My reason for being.
I dart off into the growing darkness in search of our offering, praying it’ll be enough to soothe a dragon. Alyse knows the will of the gods and the weavings of fate; she wouldn’t lead me astray.
I flip down my magus goggles and begin the hunt.
Chapter thirty-two
Alyse
The chatter of the fifteen realms bombards my thoughts as we fly. Always when we fly. The air is thin. Fewer creatures. The screams of pain and despair from the lowest realms of hell are loudest when we fly, easier to hear. All the worst, filthy creatures of the other mortal realms.
I could latch onto Kazimir like I’d done last night, crawl inside him and hide from my own mind…but it scars him. Hurts him. The pain it causes rakes across my insides, but once we’re together, it’s the greatest, silent bliss. Just he and I, forever.
The temptation to use him like a shield is strong. Instead, I persevere because I know I can.
Kazimir turns us toward the cave entrance, a massive den of glassy stone crystalized blue with a sheen of frost. It’s nice today. There’s still a chill, but the sun is shining, creating rainbows of color from the shards of ice and snow.
Kazimir tosses the bear corpse down to the landing before the mouth of the cave. It hits with a solidsmackthat rings of shattered bones. Blood sprays across the ground and I sense the dragon wake.
Great one of the sky, we come to you with an offering of meat in hopes of having the honor of your counsel.
Agrumbled yawn echoes through the cave entrance below us.“Did I not say I would kill you next we meet?”
