A short, sharp ping from the nearby glass threw me into action.
I stretched over and wrapped my hand around the nape of his neck. Kieran cursed under his breath as the shadows in Casteel’s flesh raced down the sides of his throat toward my hand. My skin tingled at the contact. “Kolis will not take my essence,” I told him, eather pulsing through me. “It won’t happen.”
The sudden whoosh of wings and the sound of fluttering feathers startled me.
“What the fuck?” Kieran gasped, ducking as black birds—ravens—filled the chamber.
Dozens of them.
They flew in tight, spiraling circles around one another, their glossy midnight wings cutting through the air and whipping it into a frenzy.
“You’re right,” Casteel said as a raven landed on his shoulder. Tiny bumps erupted on my skin as I saw the shadowy essence gathering around Casteel’s eyes and forming in the hollows of his cheekbones. Holland’s and Lirian’s warnings struck like a hammer as I heard the essence of death and…ruinin his voice. I tasted… “He will not lay a single finger upon you because I will see him turned to rot and ash first.”
“I know.” I threaded my fingers through Casteel’s hair, my heart pounding as Kieran pushed his chair back. The pinging had turned to a ticking, and then I heard a faint crack from somewhere in the chamber. “But you know what?”
The raven’s head turned exactly when Casteel inclined his. A faint silver glow ignited in the bird’s eyes as it let out a sharp, echoing call that vibrated the air. It didn’t sound even remotely normal as a new scent reached me, one that reminded me of damp soil and moss.
“What?” Casteel’s voice thundered, yet I didn’t see his lips move as another raven landed on the back of his chair.
I had no idea what was going on with the birds, but at the moment, it didn’t matter. Cas’s skin continued to thin, and silver gleamed under it around the deepening shadows. “You will have to beat me to it,” I said, curling my lips into a smile. “And I doubt you will.”
A heartbeat passed as I held my breath.
The ravens took off, their wings cutting through the air, as Casteel snapped toward me. He moved so fast I barely saw him shift before I felt his icy lips against mine. “Is that a challenge?”His whisper echoed through the chamber and my thoughts, stirring the essence within me. “My Queen?”
The breath fled my lungs. “It is.”
His chuckle was as dark as night. “We shall see.”
Before I could respond, his mouth closed over mine. All thoughts vanished. The way he kissed me… The press of his lips? It was hard, the sweep of his tongue demanding, leaving no option but for me to part my lips. Not that I would have chosen differently. A shiver whirled its way down my spine as the kiss deepened. His tongue curled around mine, and when his lips started warming, the eather drenching the air retreated.
A shudder ran through Casteel. “It’s a shame, if you think about it,” he murmured, catching my lower lip between his. “To be entombed for over a thousand years, only to awaken to be destroyed.”
My lips tingled as Casteel sat back, the last of the shadows fading from his skin. He picked up his glass and took a drink like…nothing had happened.
I lifted my hands to my lips, tasting…bone and ash.
Ruin.
Kieran stood, blinking several times as he stared at Casteel. “You level?”
“As a board,” Cas replied idly, but his grip on his glass was tight.
“Good.” Kieran stepped around the chair. “Because I need to ask what in the fuck was up with the ravens?”
A crease formed between Casteel’s brows. “What?”
“There were ravens,” I said. “Dozens of them. One even landed on your shoulder. Another on your chair.”
“You didn’t notice them?” Kieran asked, sitting again.
“No.” The frown increased. “I was somewhat focused on not caving to the overwhelming desire to level the entire city.”
As I stared at Casteel, no part of me doubted his words. I couldn’t even deny it to myself. I’d tasted the ruin on his lips. The Arae’s warning crept through my thoughts as I leaned back.
“Well, good thing you were focused on that, then,” Kieran murmured, picking up his glass and downing the wine in one swallow. Winter-blue eyes met mine. “Can you summon a flock of ravens?”
“I have no idea,” I said, picking up the biscuit Kieran had been eyeing and dropping it on his plate. He looked like he needed it. “But I’m going to be really annoyed if he can, and I can’t.”
