Page 55 of The Princesses of Ruin
“We, uh…” My gaze cuts back to the duskwalker. “He held me close and shared his warmth.”
The duskwalker’s golden eyes glow brightly. “Show me.”
I stutter. “It was a private moment, just for mates.”
“I have not experienced a mate.” He tilts his head in a curious way, gaze drifting between us. “Tell me what it is like.”
His words puncture the veneer of calming draught, and the entire wall I’ve built in my mind comes crumbling down. Instead of fear, the sensation of Alastair’s unyielding, unconditional love moves through me.
I suck in a breath and close my eyes. “It’s wonderful. The acceptance of who you are, exactly as you are. The feeling of belonging for the first time, even when you’re so different. The devotion you share, a willingness to do anything for one another—to kill, or die for him. The safety he gives me. In his arms, I know no fear but the fear of losing him.”
Alastair moves behind me. His hands slide across my hips and hold me tight. I rest my hands on his, reveling in the strong, warm skin of my warrior king. My throat burns with the need to kiss him and breathe him in. I resist, if only to spill more of my truth to this monster and hope that in the end he’ll be moved.
“It’s peaceful bliss, and a torrid storm. It’s a splendid feast when I’m near him, and aching famine when we’re apart. It’s the knowledge that only death will separate us for long, and even then, I would follow him into Nol’Ther’s embrace as soon as duty would allow.”
Hot lips tease my neck, and sharp teeth graze my skin.
“It’s torture.” My words come out as a moan, unable to stop the yearning building inside me. “The pleasure with him is unlike anyother feeling in the world. It’s abundant, he gives without restraint, but still I want more.”
More.
Alastair groans against my ear. “What’s happening?”
I swallow hard and follow his hands up to my breasts. “I don’t know.”
He grabs my chin and turns my head into his kiss. I succumb to Alastair’s ministrations, opening to him as his tongue pushes into my mouth. Gold light flickers behind my eyelids. My head feels airy and light, as if I’m drunk.
It feels so right. After months of the empty, sinking feeling of despair, finally there’s life. There’s love and light. There’s kindness and desire. It’s everything I want and need. Nothing more. Nothing else.
“Yesss.” The duskwalker’s husky voice surrounds us. “I want this. Ineedit.”
This is it, my opening. I pull back, and though Alastair is reluctant to let me go, he does.
I gasp when I see the duskwalker is towering over us, stark shadows across its furry features. Fear licks at the edges of my mind, but the euphoria of Alastair’s kiss lingers, making me bold.
“We can help you find it in return for a favor.”
“What favor?”
I take a steadying breath. “We have need of your antler, a portion of it.”
The duskwalker becomes very still as shadows envelop us, the firelight fading to a low glimmer. The glow of his eyes traps me, and though I sense Alastair’s hands on my body, it feels as if I’m being drawn into the creature.
“Done.” He raises a clawed hand toward my face. “In return for you as my mate.”
The world spins as I’m violently turned away.
“Mine,” Alastair growls, his wings emerging from his back as his body grows to shield me.
“You would deny me when the fate of your kind requires my cooperation?” the duskwalker asks, his voice a rumble of storm clouds.
How did he know this? I hadn’t told him about the ritual, or more than a few words about Ashai and the queen, never referring to them as the same entity.
The creature pulls back its lips in an attempt at a grin that makes my skin crawl.
“You think me stupid because I have the look of a beast and haven’t had your exquisite pleasures? Give me the princess, marked one, and I will let you leave here with your people’s salvation.”
“It’s not just my people,” I say, my voice desperate and pleading. “Ashai will scorch the land and sea, destroying everything.”
