Page 112 of His Darkest Desire

“Only empty if I make it so,” he whispered through the tightness in his chest.

“What do you mean, magus?” Flare inquired.

“Merely thinking aloud.” Drawing upon his magic, Vex ran a hand across the book. His palm tingled as the pages straightened and the creases disappeared, as the binding resecured itself, as the marks on the cover healed. When it was done, he gently closed the book, carried it to the shelf, and set it in its place.

He collected another tome and repeated the process, and another after that. One by one, he picked up the books, repaired the damage he’d done, and returned them to the shelves. A bit of the weight lifted off Vex’s shoulders with each piece put back in place. A bit of the pressure in his chest eased. Little by little, the library recovered.

Shade and Flare followed him, casting their soft light on everything he touched. Though they could not aid him physically, their presence was enough. Vex could only wish that he had reached that understanding many years before.

When the last book was finally restored and returned, Vex again surveyed the library. Everything looked just as it had before he’d torn it apart, but nothing felt the same. It felt…warmer. Fuller. Somehow, everything fit together better now, as though all the books—the same books that had always been here—held more promise, more wonder.

A snare closed around his heart and cinched tight, pulling on it. His legs itched with the need to move, and the muscles of his back ached with a yearning to fly to the one place he needed to be more than anywhere else at that moment—at his mate’s side.

“It is well past time I attend Kinsley,” he said, striding toward the door. Each step came quicker than the last, until he was quite nearly sprinting for the exit.

Fire swept through his veins, sweet and sweltering, only hastening him further.

He needed to claim Kinsley so she would know that he was hers, whether free or bound by the curse.

But first…I must right the wrong I have done her.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Kinsley sat in the dining room with her chin propped on her palm as she twirled the bottom of the wine bottle around and around atop the table. Her head was light and fuzzy, her skin warm and tingly, and her sex still pulsed with echoes of pleasure.

But nothing could dull the pain in her chest, in her heart. Nothing could distract her from it.

So, she’d turned to raiding the cellar, where Vex stored his wine. Perhaps the alcohol could spare her by providing the oblivion she so desperately sought.

Kinsley brought the bottle to her lips and tipped it back, taking another long drink of the sweet wine. When she lowered it, she hiccupped.

“I ruined everything, didn’t I?”

Echo drifted closer, casting their ethereal blue glow on Kinsley as they brushed a tendril of ghostfire over her arm. “You ruined nothing.”

Kinsley sniffled as her vision blurred with tears. Her eyes were puffy and tired from crying, but as much as she’d wanted to just curl up in bed and sleep away her pain, she couldn’t. Every time she’d closed her eyes, she’d been haunted by the look that had been on Vex’s face, by his anger…

God, his anger.

That had led to her current plan of drinking away her pain. Except it wasn’t working. “He’s going to hate me. He’s going to cast me aside. What use am I?”

The wisp dimmed, their flame reminiscent of a candle sputtering out. “Do not speak so, Kinsley. The magus does not hate you. He cannot hate you.”

“But he will. I’m worthless to him now.” Kinsley scrubbed a hand over her cheek to wipe away her fallen tears.

For so long, she’d felt…defective. Oh, how she hated that word. But she’d been unable to see herself any other way after Liam had left her.

She’d given everything she could to Liam, but she’d been unable to give him the family he wanted.

He’d made her feel incomplete. Like less than a full person. And though she’d known deep down it wasn’t true, that poison had crept in and festered in Kinsley’s heart.

How could it not have, when Liam was supposed to have been the love of her life? He’d been her best friend, her childhood sweetheart, her husband, the one person she could trust above all others, who was meant to make her feel cherished, safe, important.

Liam had claimed he loved her even as he’d broken her heart. Claimed he loved her while he watched her crumble to pieces, while he walked away to a new life.

Laim said he loved me, but I just wasn’t enough for him.

Why couldn’t she have been enough?

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