Page 129 of A Serenade To The Elf Queen
“What does that mean?” I ask, a little breathlessly.
“It’s my venom.”
“You said it has healing abilities…”
“It does other things too,” he says with a heave.“It gives you the ability to hear me in your mind temporarily.”
“I thought I was going mad in the dungeon,” I mutter absently.
“It also makes you more sensitive.”
I pause at the new information.
“Like an aphrodisiac?”
He nods.
So, when you kissed—licked—my head…”
“A small amount but yes,” Svenn admits.
It was no wonder I was as horny as a rabbit despite the threat of the Ashmedai. I was ready for him to take me on top of the altar in the middle of the forest.
“It doesn’t feign attraction though,” he quickly adds.
“I know.” I wanted him then, venom or not.
He cocks a bemused eyebrow. I suddenly remember how I kept on coming nonstop on our wedding night. I was on the verge of losing my mind. It’s all the venom’s fault.
“You’re the one who cheated.” I narrow my eyes. “Next time I’ll—” I stop short.
There won’t be a next time.
Svenn has told me as much. A little sadness looms over my heart knowing I’ll never have that again.
“It’ll be flushed out from your system soon. But the site might continue to feel… numb and sensitive for several days,” he says, struggling to find the right word through the necklace. “You’re free to punish me in any manner you like.”
I glance up to look at the man again.
Something akin to remorse flashes in those dark eyes. It’s the most human expression I’ve seen him make. Svenn feels bad about this morning.
He doesn’t have to. The wound on my hand has completely healed without a single mark.
“It wasn’t you,” I whisper to him. “You were possessed by a curse.”
“I was fucking weak for falling for that. You don’t have to make excuses for me,” he says, turning his gaze from me.
That hollow look on his face touches a deep part of my heart. This is a person who has had everything ripped away from him. But he doesn’t want my pity.
“Instead of retribution, can I have something else?” I ask with hope.
“Name it.”
“Can it be anything?”
“Anything.”
“I want a wish,” I say with a deep breath.
