Page 106 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
The washroom it is.
I’ll pounce on him once he lets go of my hand.
“Svenn, I have to tell you something,” I whisper to his lips.
“Go on. You can tell me anything,” he says, his voice thick and raspy with need.
“You’re my ma—”
A warning snarl suddenly rips out of Svenn’s throat. The vein in his temple bulges as he stares at the entrance of the enclosure. I fight the stream of anxiety as I follow his gaze to the door.
Cedwyn’s dark hair appears a beat after. The young squire takes in the state of us briefly.
Svenn releases me, his body roiling with tension at the boy’s presence. I wrap my hands around my wet nightgown instinctively.
“The council demands your presence, Your Highness,” Cedwyn finally says. “They need to discuss the attack from last night.”
I blink at the knight, still breathless from my kiss with Svenn.
“I’ll be there,” I tell him curtly in one breath.
The squire is either very brave or clueless because he lingers a while longer. His eyes make a slow movement, studying me up and down.
A deep growl resounds from Svenn. “Why the fuck are you still here?”
Whatever look that’s playing on the vampire’s face finally chases him away. I let out a sigh once the boy is gone.
“Wait here. I’m going to kill that piece of shit,” Svenn grits through his teeth.
“Don’t,” I breathe out with a small smile, planting my head on his cool shoulder to calm the heat rushing through me. The interruption leaves me feeling frustrated, but I am suddenly reminded of what Svenn did outside.
It’s brutal and violent. The work of a creature driven by pure bloodlust. He had dismembered the orcs like dolls. My heart finally made space for something else other than the fear of losing him.
Svenn reads the emotion in my eyes. “What I did at Tavan fortress was worse. That carnage you see out there doesn’t even cover the tip on it.”
I take a careful breath, then another.
“But I promise you, none of them were innocent, Rhianelle,” he adds frankly.
He swallows nervously, waiting for me to process my feelings. “This is what I am. And now you’ve seen me.”
That’s not all he is, I almost say. I have seen him. He’s capable of good too.
“I will never tell you what to do, Svenn. But don’t ever repeat this brutality for my sake ever again,” I tell him with the firm voice I use in court. “We do not desecrate the bodies of our enemies in Aelfheim.”
I hold his gaze.
For the first time, I find remorse swimming in his eyes. If not for the death of the orcs, then for disappointing me. “I understand, Nel. Forgive me.”
I latch my hands around the back of his neck, pulling him close to me. Our mouths fuse once again, but this time the kiss is sweet and tender. I dive my fingers into his hair, tugging them at the roots. He groans into my mouth and I feel it everywhere. Svenn loves it when I show how much I want him. He loves it when I’m desperate for him.
Svenn smooths his hands down my back, gripping my thighs to hoist me up. The movement surprises me and I laugh against his lips. “Svenn!”
He wraps my legs around him as he grinds me into the wall and kisses me again until I’m breathless and panting.
The last ruins of the brick walls I constructed around my heart crumble like sandcastle from a crashing wave. It never stood a chance. Not when the god of chaos and destruction himself comes knocking.
We slowly part and his eyes fall heavily on me. Something passes between us in that gaze, igniting a fire in my heart. The flame spreads through my body, making me ache for him.
