Anything was better than the hurt.
Without thinking, I reached into my boot, ripped the dagger from its sheath, and hurled it at his smug face. He sidestepped it last minute and released a surprised laugh as the blade embedded in the wooden windowsill behind him.
Snapping his face back to me, he rapidly closed the distance between us. His hand wrapped around my throat, pulled me up from the chair, and led me across the room. He turned me around, so my back was flush against his chest.
We were facing the mirror.
“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to kill me, little storm. I thought you would’ve learned that by now.” He tsked, harshly biting down on the mate mark. My eyes slid closed at the feeling and I arched into his touch. “Watch how your body reacts to me.”
I cracked my eyes open to see my hands gripping his thighs. His gaze burned into me, soaking in my reaction to him. The image set my body aflame. At my arousal, his pupils blew wide and he inhaled deeply at my neck.
“Your fight is useless when you crave me this much.” He slid a hand down my stomach, his fingers splayed, pulling me tighter against him as he ground into me. “You ache for me, just as I do for you.”
He tightened the grip, momentarily choking off my breath before releasing me. I stepped away from him, grinding my teeth.
“I only told you because I felt like you should know,” he said tightly, turning and sitting back in the chair.
Taking a deep breath, I returned to my own chair and my gaze snagged on the desk behind him. Everything I’d discovered while he was gone came crashing back to me, crushing the anger.
“There’s something I need to tell you too,” I said with a sigh.
Rogue leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, eyebrows pulling together.
“I’ve been here before, after we… you know, before you left.” My cheeks reddened and he smirked. “I didn’t know whose room it was at first until I saw the crest on the bed. Alden had explained what that symbol was before, so I recognized it.”
He nodded, urging me to continue.
“Well, I found his desk and there were some journals inside, one of them detailing his power and some parts of his reign. Towards the end, he started to mention a draig.”
The smirk slid from his face.
“He wrote that they found a maid from Adrastus’ estate and she explained why he was attacking the nearby towns, that he was looking for his mate… so that he could pass on his shifting ability.”
His gaze dropped to his hands knotted in his lap and guilt fluttered in my chest.
“That’s not it, though. He…”
Rogue glanced up with pained eyes and I hesitated, the words caught in my throat.
“He what?”
“He fathered a son before you with another Fae.”
Rogue’s mouth fell slack and he blinked rapidly, shaking his head.
“No, someone would’ve known. There would’ve been talk,” he insisted. “Let me see the journal. Where is it?”
“It’s in my chambers, but before you read it, you should know… Someone did know. Two people, actually. Alden and some man named Ewan. It says that Vaelor ordered them to never speak a word of it to anyone, for the child’s safety.”
“For the child’s safety?” He scoffed, running a hand along the scar on his neck. “Of course.”
I winced at his words as he stood and strode to the door, smoke trailing behind him.
Chapter Twenty Four
Ara
Following behind Rogue, I expected him to go straight to my chambers, but he veered left instead, entering the library.