She clasped her hands—hands absent of jewelry. “As do you.” Shock was etched into each of her features—features I shared with her, except everything about her was more refined.
I bit back the caustic retort that rose to the tip of my tongue.
“A guard said that someone with your name had arrived,” she went on, sending the figure beside me a quick, uncertain glance. With his face hidden, she had no idea who stood there. “I didn’t think it was true.”
“It was.” I fixed a tight smile on my lips. She would have questions, too, but where Ezra’s would’ve been driven by curiosity, hers would’ve stemmed from the belief that I’d failed.
And I didn’t want to see that fill her expression once the surprise faded. I didn’t want to hear it in her voice.
I’d heard it enough throughout my life. I truly didn’t need to see her. Hear her. Look upon her again. And I realized that was a blessed relief. “I came to speak with Ezra, and I have. Now, I must leave. Excuse me.” I sidestepped, giving her a wide berth as I put one foot in front of the other.
“Seraphena.”
I stopped, my eyes lifting to Nyktos. I saw nothing of his face, but his displeasure was becoming what he’d spoken of outside: a tangible entity, unseen but felt. Slowly, I faced her.
“I…” She cast a nervous glance in Nyktos’s direction. “I didn’t know Tavius was planning to do what he did—”
“That does not matter.” Nyktos spoke, lowering his hood.
My mother gasped as she stumbled back, her hand fluttering to her chest. She dropped to her knees, the lavender gown pooling on the floor as she placed a shaking hand on the marble. “Your Highness.”
His lip curled with distaste. “You had to know that your stepson was capable of harming your daughter, and yet…you did nothing to prevent it.” Eather crackled from his eyes. “His death was not the only one owed that day. The fact that you still breathe is due to a grace you do not deserve.”
She paled to the shade of my hair. “T-thank you,” she said, trembling.
“Do not thank me. It was not I who saved your life. I wanted to take it. To put you where you belong, beside that bastard of a mortal you would’ve crowned King,” Nyktos said, essence rippling over his skin. “It was yourdaughter. For reasons unbeknownst to me, she told me no. That is who you should spend the rest of your undeserved life thanking.”
Chapter 23
Hours after returning from the mortal realm and spending the better part of the afternoon training with Bele, who had been more than happy to knock me on my ass repeatedly, I was utterly, gloriously exhausted.
The edges of Nyktos’s hair tickled my cheek as his lips grazed my brow, his heart pounding as fast as mine. Biting down on my lip, my nails skated over the coiled muscles along his spine, my back arching as he shuddered above me and deep inside me.
His raw, heated groan as he joined me in finding release sent a burst of rippling delight through me, nearly as potent as the waves of pleasure I’d experienced only moments before.
And that was a…a new discovery for me—the ecstasy that came from the knowledge that he was just as satisfied as I was. It wasn’t like I hadn’t cared if my previous partners found pleasure or not. It was that I, well, I never thought about it.
So maybe Ihadn’tcared?
But I did when it came to Nyktos.
His cool fingers smoothed my damp hair back as he dropped a sweet kiss onto my forehead. My heart gave a silly little leap.
He eased away from me onto his side, and I immediately missed the feel of him.
Nyktos was quiet as his hand drifted over the curve of my shoulder, along my collarbone, and then lower, over the peak of my breast. I, too, was quiet as I lay still, allowing him to explore. Reveling in it.
The rough pads of his fingers danced over one puckered nipple, drawing a quick breath from me before he moved on, tracing the swells and dips of my body. Finding it somewhat odd that his touch could heighten my senses, driving me to the brink while also providing such soothing calm, my eyes fluttered closed, and my thoughts drifted in the silence.
Our trip to Lasania was at the forefront of my mind. Knowing that Ezra more than had things together was such a relief. I turned my head toward Nyktos slightly. “I know you probably think the trip today was unnecessary.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Really?” My eyes opened. Soft, buttery light from the nearby lamp cast a warm glow over half his face. “Because I…I think I knew—no, Ididknow that Ezra would be preparing no matter what, even if Holland hadn’t said anything. But I had to make sure.”
“I understand.” Thick lashes shielded his eyes as his gaze avidly followed his fingers. “And I also understand that maybe you just needed to see her.”
My chest warmed and swelled. Thatwaslikely what had driven my motivations. Because some part of me, a deeply rooted dread, feared that I wouldn’t get a chance to see her again.