Page 125 of Yearning For Her

“Fealty. Loyalty. Submission.” Lachlan’s brows fell low, and he narrowed his eyes as he raked them over Kian. “You.”

The darkness that had always lurked within Kian roared in response, awakening like a dragon crashing out of its den, spewing flame into the sky and spreading its shadowy wings wide.

Freedom was an illusion more dangerous and powerful than any glamour ever cast by a fae. It wasn’t real, not in this realm or any other. There was no escape from those who desired power and control, no escape from those who sought to dominate and rule.

Kian’s eyes returned to Willow’s. He understood suddenly that her fear and concern was not only for herself—it was for him. With a fucking knife to her throat, she was still worried about Kian, about his life, about his safety.

Nostrils flaring, Kian filled his lungs with a burning breath, locked it inside, and forced himself down onto his knees.

Lachlan’s eyebrows twitched up, and his expression slackened with surprise before he grinned. Laughter bubbled from him, slow and disbelieving at first but quickly becoming dark and heated, confident, triumphant. And his charm flowed out with that sound, striking Kian like waves battering the shore.

“A mortal…” Shaking his head, Lachlan forced Willow onto her feet. “Obstinate for centuries, and a mortal is what finally brings you to heel. You refuse my every offer, reject me, spurn me, only to bind yourself with this?”

Keeping his hold on Willow, Lachlan kicked the stool aside and walked forward. She clutched his arm, stumbling and straining to match his gait while keeping her head back to reduce the pressure on the blade against her skin.

“As I have told you time and again, we are as gods in this realm, Pale One.” Lachlan advanced toward Kian, Willow firmly in his hold. “Even the lowliest of us stands as a prince amongst these humans. Together, we can be the masters of all. Imagine the feasts you might have shared in if only you’d taken my hand?”

Kian’s wings shuddered as he held himself back from leaping to his feet, as he forced his arms to remain down at his sides, as he swallowed his pain and fury and let it coalesce in his gut. “I cannot say I’ve mourned the lost opportunity. You feed on obsession. On terror, pain, and sorrow. Is it any wonder that we’re looked upon as leeches if you are considered our paragon?”

“Oh, Kian.” Lachlan chuckled as he came to a stop before him. Keeping an arm around Willow’s neck, he released her hair, lowered his hand, and brushed his fingers down Kian’s cheek. “Pleasure is sweet, but I’ve more refined tastes. It would benefit you to broaden yours. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be strong. To be proud. To accept what we are. It’s long past time for you to shed these childish rules of yours.

“These mortals are as cattle to us. They are sustenance. What I take from them is no more consequential than what food they stuff into their faces. And they have such a plethora of flavors to offer.” Lachlan glanced at Willow, grin widening. “So, so much…”

“You have me now,” Kian said through his teeth. “Leave her be.”

“Are you mine, Pale One?” Lachlan’s features darkened, but his eyes grew brighter. The fullness of his magic bore down on Kian. “If you are mine, give me your name.”

That power was so heavy, so thick, strong enough to steal the air from Kian’s lungs and crush him…

“Your true name,” Lachlan said, his voice hardening as layers of magic wove through it.

Kian clamped his jaw shut. He didn’t collapse under that weight, didn’t look away from Lachlan. And though he’d doubted his ability to resist Lachlan’s magic in the past, he somehow knew he could resist it now. He was no longer afraid of it.

Lachlan scowled and caught Kian’s jaw in hand, tipping his head back. “Defiant even now.”

“Please, don’t hurt him,” Willow breathed. She let out a choked sound when Lachlan tightened his arm around her throat and glared at her.

“Without this mortal, I don’t have you at all. That’s why I’m going to keep her. Though I can’t say I’m not excited by the prospect of a beautiful toy that doesn’t break quite so easily. And her lust… I saw her appeal even before I knew you had claimed her. Did he give you his true name, mortal?”

Pressing her lips into a tight line, Willow averted her eyes from Lachlan’s hungry gaze.

Lachlan bared his fangs. His magic swelled, making the air itself tremble. “Tell me his true name.”

Willow’s skin paled further, her brow creased with strain, and her nostrils flared with a heavy breath. But she didn’t open her mouth, didn’t speak a word.

“His name,” Lachlan growled into her ear.

She met Lachlan’s gaze again. Defiance shone in her emerald eyes, cutting through her fear, her stress, her suffering. “No.”

Lachlan chuckled. “You haven’t marked her, but you’ve made her yours all the same, haven’t you, Pale One? Somehow your bond has made her resistant to my charm… Just another thing for me to test. I suspect that resistance has its limits. When it comes to mortals, there’s always a limit, and it is usually so quickly found.”

His red eyes returned to Kian. “But you haven’t accepted that truth yet, have you? Not when it comes to her. Is it because you cannot see, or because you refuse to?

“These humans are like leaves. So numerous, so fragile. They sprout and grow in a matter of heartbeats, and they fall just as quickly, swept away on the autumn breeze before they crumble to dust. Granting immortal life to one of them will not change their nature. You should never have given them any more thought than you would to a leaf on the forest floor, Pale One.”

Kian shifted his gaze to Willow. Every moment since he’d met her stood out in his memory with startling clarity, so much brighter and fuller than the countless moments that had preceded them. Even now, she was radiant. Lovely. Even now, she was her… She was his.

“And their brief lives hold more beauty and meaning than you will ever know, Hollow Prince,” Kian said. “You are a parasite, stealing emotions from the very creatures you so loathe to fill the void inside yourself, but it will never be filled. It will consume you.”

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