Page 65 of The Dark Rises
My eyes flick to his. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. I can do casual, but I can’t fall for you and have you walk away.”
His eyes narrow, and he spits out, “There will be no casual between us. Intense. Consuming. Obsessed. Those are your only options. Do you understand?”
I raise an eyebrow at his tone. “Respect. Consideration. Love. Do you understand?”
“So, we’re in agreement?” His body moves in and out as he waits for my answer.
My body quivers underneath his. This certainly feels intense and consuming. He stops, and I loop my arms around his neck and pull him down for my kiss of surrender.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
He continues his slow torture, driving us both to the edge of madness before he lets us fall.
Lying together, the cool night air dries the sweat on our skin, and I reach up to push the dark silky strands back from his scruffy face.
“My turn.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MERI
Dawn is cresting the horizon when I leave Madoc and head to the dungeon to check on Leandra. The air is saturated with dark, disturbing magic, but Cormal is nowhere to be found. Leandra is lying limply on the bed.
Immense satisfaction fills me. “I’ve always admired Cormal’s ruthlessness.”
“Definitely a brutal bastard,” she agrees in a hoarse voice, likely from screaming most of the night. “He’ll do anything for you. Even make a pact with me.” Her chuckle is strained. “I had someone like that once.”
“No, you didn’t,” I correct her. “Denir is weak and pathetic. Nothing like Cormal.” I squat down to peer into her eyes. “Tell me what you want most in this world?”
A tear slips down her cheek. “You can’t give me what I want most in this world, but you can give me my revenge.” She slides a hand to the bed and raises herself halfway up to stare at me withswirling eyes. “I want to see his face when he realizes this is his end.”
“You want to go to the anniversary celebration,” I deduce. “Show him to be a fraud in front of everyone. Watch him lose the crown you gave to him.”
“Yes. And I want the world to know why I did it,” she admits with a strange expression on her face. “That is my price for removing the power from you. I want him to see the power and know it will never be his again. I want him to watch as I return it to Madoc, knowing he will wear the crown.”
“Will it kill her?” Cormal and Madoc ask in unison.
Startled, I turn to see them standing at the door.
She lifts a shoulder. “If the host is strong enough, it shouldn’t.”
They both start yelling at her, but I raise my hand to stop them. “The celebration is a month away. We have time to figure it out.”
She cackles and moves her head from side to side in an exaggerated way. “The public celebration is in a month. Denir’s real anniversary is in two days. He didn’t want to take a chance the crown wouldn’t accept him, so he had me place it on his head early. Only his court will be in attendance.”
Her words echo in the silent chamber. I glance at Cormal. He trembles with fury.
“Stop. It won’t do any good.”
He says nothing, only continues to shoot murderous looks at Leandra.
She eases down to the cot and turns away from us. Done with all conversation.
Madoc grabs his arm. “Come on. We need to pull together a plan.”
The three of us head upstairs to grab the others, including Rivan, and make our way to the war room. Ironically, I believeit’s the same room the cadre and their allies gathered in to plot Nyssa’s downfall.
Solandis waddles in and kisses me on the cheek. Her stomach is growing by leaps and bounds. Soon, the baby will be here. I hope I get to meet her. Or him.
