Page 10 of Empire of Wrath and Ruin
But it wasn't enough, not for the part of me that remembered what mating should be among our people. Courtship. Conversation. The slow building of trust and understanding between two souls who would spend eternity together. Instead, I had taken her while she fought me, letting instinct and shadow-whispers override everything I had been taught about honour and decency. She had been willing, reaching for me as I had reached for her in the darkness, but to stake my mating claim on her without her consent, that was unforgivable.
She stirred slightly, and I found myself holding my breath, memorizing the way the light played across her features. How little I truly knew her. I knew her body now, every curve and hollow, every spot that made her gasp with pleasure. But I knew almost nothing about her mind, her heart, her dreams.
In our brief travels together, we had barely scratched the surface. She was intelligent; that much was clear from the questions she asked, the way she observed everything aroundher with sharp attention. She was brave, having survived the arena and everything that followed. But what did she fear? What made her laugh? What did she want from life beyond mere survival?
These were things that should have been explored during proper courtship, walking together through the mountain paths, sharing meals and stories, learning the shape of each other's souls. Instead, I had rushed toward possession like a starving man toward bread, and now I would have to learn these things while she remained bound to me by magic rather than choice.
She will learn to love you,the shadows assured me.The bond will see to that. Already she softens toward you.
Perhaps. But I found myself wanting more than magical compulsion. I wanted her to choose me, to look at me with something warmer than resigned acceptance. The irony was bitter—I had everything I thought I wanted, and yet it felt hollow without her willing participation. I was hers now, for all time. At least until the Veyr-sha claimed me. But would she be mine? Would she learn to forget these others that had marked her? Could someone forget those they were fated to be with?
I watched as her eyelids fluttered, wondering what dreams visited her. Did she dream of me? Of the Empire she'd left behind? Or of someone else entirely—perhaps the dragon rider whose name she'd called out in her fever dreams?
The thought sent a spike of possessive rage through me that I struggled to contain. The shadows stirred within, feeding on my jealousy, whispering that I should wake her now, claim her again, ensure she remembered exactly who she belonged to. I pushed the urge away, disgusted with myself.
"She is not a possession," I murmured to myself, to the shadows inside that urged me to claim her once again, to rip her from dreams of other men with the force of my cock slamming into her pussy.
But the shadows were wrong. No matter what magic bound us together, she was still her own person with her own will. I had to remember that, had to honour it, or I would become the monster the Empire believed all Talfen to be. My eyes traced the outline of her body beneath the furs. The possessiveness I felt wasn't entirely the shadows' influence—it was mine as well, a primal instinct that had awakened the moment I recognized her as my mate.
I rose silently from where I'd been sitting, moving to the small table where a pitcher of water waited. I poured myself a cup, drinking deeply to cool the heat in my blood. The morning air was crisp against my bare skin, but I barely felt it. The bond between us kept me warm, a constant awareness of her presence even when I wasn't looking at her.
The shadows coiled restlessly within me, unsatisfied with my restraint. They had grown stronger since I'd claimed her, feeding on the raw power of the mate bond. I closed my eyes, focusing on pushing them back into the dark corners of my mind where they belonged.
The mountain air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and snow from the peaks above. Our settlement was coming alive below—children running between stone houses, women hanging laundry on lines strung between posts, men carrying tools toward the forges or weapons to the training grounds.
My people. My responsibility. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on that duty rather than the woman sleeping in my bed. I was the strongest of all the shadow mages, and whatever dark ending that meant for me, right now I had to be strong for my people, or they would fall against the Empire that marched for our deaths. The weight of what I had done settled heavier as another realization crept in. No Imperial citizen had ever been permitted to see Thal'Zereth and live. The very stones of this city were secrets worth dying for, and I had brought her here withoutconsulting anyone, driven by nothing more than possessive need and shadow whispers.
Would the elders even allow me to keep her? Or would they demand her death to preserve our hidden sanctuary?
The thought sent ice through my veins. I had to speak with them before she woke, had to plead my case while I still could. Rising carefully from the bed, I padded to the small adjoining chamber, relieving myself and washing the scent of our joining from my skin with cold mountain water. My reflection in the polished metal mirror showed hollow eyes and sharp cheekbones made sharper by sleepless nights, but there was something else there too—a satisfaction that bordered on smugness.
She is ours,the shadows purred.They cannot take what is ours.
But they could try. And if they succeeded...
I returned to the main chamber where Livia still slept, her breathing deep and even. The sight of her sprawled across my furs, marked by my touch, sent heat pooling low in my belly again. But I forced myself to focus, extending tendrils of shadow magic toward the wooden bed frame.
The bonds I created were silk-soft but unbreakable, wrapping around her wrists and ankles with careful precision. She didn't stir as the shadows positioned her arms above her head, securing them to the carved headboard. Her legs I left free but tethered, able to move but not to leave.
For her safety,I told myself as I adjusted the restraints.The city is dangerous for Imperials. She could wander into the wrong district, say the wrong thing...
But even as I justified it, I couldn't deny the dark thrill that ran through me at seeing her bound and waiting in my bed. When I returned—and I would return victorious, I had to—she would be here, ready for me to claim again.
I left quickly, before temptation could override necessity.
The temple loomed before me like a monument to ancient power; its black stone facade carved with symbols that seemed to shift and writhe in my peripheral vision. Each step toward the entrance sent echoes of whispered voices through my mind, the accumulated voices of generations of shadow-touched who had walked these halls before me.
Home,the darkness crooned.You belong here. You have always belonged here.
But even as the shadows welcomed me, I felt the familiar unease that came with proximity to the Sanctum. The darkness here was older than memory, deeper than the mountain itself. It had shaped me, moulded me, given me power beyond imagining. But it had also taken pieces of my soul with each lesson learned, each ritual performed. And now, with Livia bound to me through magic I barely understood, that darkness felt hungrier than ever.
I bypassed the main chambers where younger acolytes would be beginning their morning meditations, taking instead the winding stairs that led to the upper reaches of the temple. The High Gardens were Aytara's sanctuary, a place of beauty carved from the mountain's crown where she could think and plan away from the oppressive weight of the shadow magic below.
The climb was long and steep, but I welcomed the burn in my muscles. Physical exertion helped quiet the whispers, gave me something to focus on besides the dark currents flowing through the temple's foundations. By the time I reached the final landing, the voices had faded to a barely audible murmur.
The gardens took my breath away, as they always did. Carved from the mountain's peak centuries ago by masters whose skills had been lost to time, they formed a series of terraced levels that stepped down from the temple's highest point. Water cascaded from tier to tier in carefully designed waterfalls, fed by hotsprings deep within the mountain that kept the pools warm even in the depths of winter.
Flowering vines climbed the carved stone walls, their blooms in shades of deep purple and midnight blue that seemed to glow with inner light. Trees that had been shaped by generations of gardeners provided shade and structure, their branches heavy with fruits that grew nowhere else in the known world. The air was sweet with the scent of exotic flowers and the mineral tang of the hot springs.
