Page 43 of A Clash of Embers

“I never said IlovedLeo.”

His eyebrows raised as he tilted his head looking at me like I was something to decipher. I watched as the flare of warmth in his eyes burned out, smothering him, leaving a vacant look in his eyes as he spoke.

“Your room is down the hall on the left. Fresh clothes are waiting for you. We have somewhere to be this evening, so you’ll need to clean yourself up.” He scoffed slightly with his parting words. “Gethisstench off of you and don’ttry to escape. You know what will happen if you do.”

I ripped my arm from his grip, shoulder-checking him as I walked down the hallway to the room that was deemed mine. There was a sliver of me that wanted to turn around and look at him. To see if he wasreal. If he even truly existed, but I knew he was watching me.

When I walked into the room and closed the door quietly behind me, I leaned against it. I thought I had moved past this. I thought that I wouldn’t be controlled again. I told myself that I wouldn’t be emotionally charged and here I was, leaning against anotherprisondoor, crying. My cry quickly evolved into angerand when I finally opened my eyes, I gasped at what I saw, ceasing all the tears.

The dress was a white, flowing train, with a bodice that was tied with flowers intricately woven throughout. It wasmydress. I stood with wobbly knees as I approached the painting. If I could just touch it. To know it was undeniably what I thought it was.

My fingertips dragged across the texture of the dress, as I continued to study the person that wore it. It wasme.He captured who I was in that moment, the anxiousness, the fatigue, and the interest. The look of a woman who knew better but couldn’t help herself.

I knew the Evander under the curse loved to draw and paint, but I couldn't understand how a man who wasthisevil,thisterrible, could still have a pull on my heart. He wasn't Evander. He was Eros. And that was what he would forever be to me.

The black satin dress was draped across my shoulders and chest, exposing my large breasts more than I'd like to. The satin clung to my every curve, something I knew the old Evander would love.

I strode out into the living room of Eros's home to be surprised that no one was in there. I wondered what powers I could use to get me out of this utter disaster, but a sigh caught my attention.

Turning to look over my shoulder, I sawhim. He was dressed in a suit made from what could only be explained as the night sky and his wings were a complete contrast to it. The stark white wings were large and strong as he walked towards me, tucking them in slightly to adjust his stride.

There was a serious internal battle going on inside of me. I had failed at my task of capturing Eros. Instead,Iwas the oneto be captured, by choice, nonetheless. And the worst part about it was that a small delicate part of me was happy that I was. I needed to know who this man was so that I could close this portion of my life and move on.

“Where are we going, Eros?”

His eyes widened, his steps closing the space between us.

Fuck me.

I knew I had to have some self-control but there was something about him that I couldn’t escape. He was the man I had made solemn vows to, he was my husband, my mate, but he was evil incarnate. There were too many unknowns between us for me to react the way that I do with him.

“Do not call me that. I am not that name to you.”

I tilted my head looking over his face, searching for any open part of him that would give me insight into his weaknesses.

“Okay,Ev. Where are we going?”

His smile turned into a wicked grin, the one that I had grown to love under the curse.

“We’re going to a party. An important one and it is vital that you understand something.” He placed his finger under my chin lifting my face up to look into his eyes before he continued. “The people here think that I have taken you from your 'people'. You won’t challenge me here. If they think I have captured the most powerful being in Darthium, they will understand how important having me as an ally is."

I nodded as he encompassed my hand in his. A shock went through me, but it wasn’t the power of him; it was of a memory—simpler times when it was just us being husband and wife, and now we were the dark and the light.

When we stepped outside, a large man was standing at the foot of the stairs. He had no wings, but when I studied him closer, I noticed a slight bit of fangs protruding from the corners of his mouth. He was wearing a dark navy suit and I noticed he wasbuilt strong and muscular with black, salt and pepper hair pulled tightly away from his face.

"This is Lachlan, my second in command. He will ensure that you stay by my side this evening. Just in case you want to try anything that would be too risky."

I nodded in greeting because I didn't know him. I didn't want to say, ‘nice to meet you’ because what if it wasn't ‘nice to meet him’? Maybe it was the complete opposite.

We walked down the steps and Eros released my hand. He moved behind me as I heard the ruffling of the feathers attached to him. He slid his hands to grip my hips, and chills spread across my spine at the warmth of his rough touch.

“You and I will fly there, and Lachlan will...walk. I’ll pick you up and you’ll wrap your arms around me. It isn’t far,” he said.

He turned my hips to the side and picked me up, cradling me into his chest as he forced my arms to wrap around his neck. We were so close I could see the emerald eyes staring into mine and that formed a pit in my stomach with uneasiness. Not because of him, but because of myself. I knew I couldn’t even trust my own actions around him.

“Hold on tight.”

Then we were off. I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see how high above the ground we were and I wasn’t going to know. I clasped my eyes shut tightly ensuring they wouldn’t open.

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