Page 54 of Shifting Hearts 1
Kieran’s hand slides to the back of my neck, anchoring me. His touch is reverent, but there’s heat beneath it, like he’s holding back a storm.
“Your bloodline was buried,” he says, voice low. “But mine carries the memory. If I knot you, Raven, it will wake yours. Not just power.Legacy.”
My breath stutters.
The mark on my wrist pulses in time with his. I feel the tether between us like a living thing; hungry, ancient,inevitable.
“And if I’m not strong enough?” I ask.
His eyes burn gold. “Then I’ll hold you through the fire.”
The prophecy surges again, louder now. Not words, but sensation, heat, wind, the taste of ash and lightning. It wants this. Itneedsthis.
Bind the blood. Awaken the flame. Burn the world clean.
I reach for him.
Not because I’m ready, but because I’mdonepretending I’m not.
SIXTEEN
Kieran
She reaches for me.
Not with fear, not with hesitation.
Withfire.
And I feel it, her pulse, her power, the prophecy thrumming between us like a second heartbeat. The mark on my back flares, answering hers. The bond is already forming, even before the knot, even before the bloodline binding seals what fate has already claimed.
“You’re sure?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
She doesn’t speak; she doesn’t need to. Her storm-dark, flame-bright eyes say everything.
I slide my hand to her waist, anchoring her to me. Her breath catches, and I feel the tremor in her body; not fear, but awakening. The fire inside her stirs, sensing mine. The sanctuary responds. Runes blaze. The air thickens.
“Once I knot you,” I say, voice low, “you’ll carry my legacy. My bloodline will wake yours. You’ll feel every ancestor, every oath, every exile, and they’ll feelyou.”
She leans into me, lips brushing my jaw. “Then let them burn.”
Gods.
I grip her tighter, the restraint I’ve held unraveling. The prophecy roars in my veins. My dragon claws at the surface, demanding release, demandingher. Not just to claim, but to bind. To seal. Toremember.
Bind the blood. Awaken the flame. Burn the world clean.
I lower her to the thick furs beneath her, pinning her there. The moon is rising, the sky darkening, the world around us growing still.
I kiss her, the taste of her mouth intoxicating, the scent of her skin overwhelming.
I run my hand up the inside of her thigh, teasing her, savoring her tremors. She grips my hair and tugs me closer, her breath mingling with mine.
I tear off our clothes and press her further into the stone altar, the cool furs contrasting with her scorching heat.
My lips graze her ear, and she shudders again. "You're mine, Raven. My queen, my mate,Mo Lasair."
I slide my hands behind her, cupping her ass. I lift her, her legs wrapping around me.
