“Which is why,” Amelia drew out with a tight smile, interrupting the ramblings that had caused a cloud of doom to settle over the room, “Kieran and I will be talking about the prophecyaloneand in more depth tomorrow. The book of prophecies has a lot of valuable information, but she deserves to hear about it and digest it in a place that isn’t a room full of strangers.”
I felt Kieran’s energy dimming as I watched her eyes fall to the floor, pulling her hands out of Ronan’s and my grasps to fiddle in her lap.
They thought they could just withhold her affinity from her for a week, all so they could decide she’s a part of a prophecy that sounded like it could end in her death…Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to fucking fly with me.
Kieran seemed frozen in her chair, lost in her mind with all of this new information. I decided to ask the one thing that mattered right now and acknowledge she had a choice in this, since everyone just seemed to assume she was going to take this path.
I shoved to my feet, biting out, “And what if she decides she doesn’t want the pressure you’re placing on her?”
Amelia’s lips pinched together as she nodded, apparently not shocked by the question in the least. Her tone was solemn as she gazed at Kieran, “Our worlds, both in Alfemir and here with the humans, will end. She—along with everyone else—will perish.”
“This is absolute bullshit,”Kieran cursed, storming down the path toward the house, as I followed closely behind her.
The meeting had been adjourned with instructions for Kieran to meet Amelia at her home tomorrow morning to discuss the prophecy further. As soon as my darling's feet left the administrative building, it was like she suddenly found her voice again. I, for one, loved to hear it, beautiful curses and all.
I always wanted her to know that she was the one in control here—when it came to all of us pining for her affection, when it came to this rebellion trying to force her into being their hero, and when it came to literally any other facet of her life. After living a life in a prison where I had literally no say, I was feeling particularly aggressive over ensuring Kieran never felt an ounce of that same helplessness.
Ronan, his rude creature, and I followed her the entire way home. For once, I was overjoyed by the fact that Gabe wasn’t around. Steele staying behind with the council hadn’t been a surprise, but Gabe doing so was Suddenly, what side he was on wasn’t so clear.
Kieran stormed up the stairs of our house and turned toward us, her voice loud and filled with frustration as her hands flew out. “I finally got an affinity—finally!Then I’m told that there’s a prophecy hanging over my head, but once again, I’m leftwaiting on details because they think I can’t handleanything.But apparently if I don’t do well enough, then everyone will die. Yeah, that’s fair.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Beauty,” Ronan reminded her, echoing my own sentiments as she groaned and shook her head, clearly not agreeing. She turned and stormed into the house. Still, we followed behind, though we hung back and watched her head up to her room.
“I’m going to make her some dinner and bring it up,” Ronan explained quietly before walking toward the kitchen. I nodded in understanding of his need to care for her.
I glanced at the stairs, feeling a tug on my chest. Part of me was unsure if she would want anyone to follow her or if she preferred to be alone. As I thought of the endless days spent alone in my cell, left alone with my rage, my feet moved on their own accord. My legs ate up the distance between us, and as I got to the third floor and pushed open her door, what I found waiting for me in her room was entirely unexpected.
Kieran laid face down in bed, and a sound that was definitely a scream emerged from her, being muffled by the pillow her face was pressed firmly against.
I tilted my head, wondering if her tactic was a useful one. Usually when I felt upset, I just…I just killed the people responsible for it. I supposed being in a new environment called for a new method. Perhaps this was the way I should handle my anger. Expressing my emotions the way she did never occurred to me, but maybe I needed to give it a go. I could always just conjure a pillow to me if I wasn’t in a bedroom…
“Does that help?” I asked curiously, approaching the large bed as she seemed to deflate into it.
Kieran turned her head to rest her cheek against the pillow, narrowing her gaze on me. “Bastian, I really don’t want anyone in here right now. I just want to?—’
“Be upset on your own?” I mused while coming to sit next to her, the mattress dipping slightly with my weight. “The thing is, I don’t believe that you want to be alone, and even if that was the case, Darling…I don’t care.”
Kieran let out a growl of annoyance as she grabbed a pillow and threw it at my face. I easily batted it out of the way, and she muttered, “Jerk.”
There was no real heat to her words, and I could already sense the shift in her mood from our interaction, filling me with confidence that I’d done the right thing. My smile grew at the very slight amusement filtering into her eyes, so I pressed my hand against my chest, asking, “What about whatIwant, Kieran? No one ever cares what poor Bastian wants.”
Her eyes filled with curiosity as I moved further onto the bed, laying on my side to face her, pleased when she also rolled to her side. She relented, only rolling her eyes a little as she asked, “Fine, what doyouwant, Bastian?”
I couldn’t help but notice the way her lips looked as if they were pouting at this angle and the way her breasts pressed tightly against her form-fitting shirt. More than her stunning appearance, I took a moment to bask in the determination I felt in her aura. Despite everything the meeting this evening had thrown at her, my girl was still ready to fight, andthatwas the most attractive thing I’d ever witnessed.
A desire for her burned within me, and while I was in uncharted territory with these feelings, I still had a semblance of an idea of what to do.
“Glad you asked, Darling.”
In a quick movement, I tugged her forward before rolling us so that she was underneath me. I cupped her jaw with one hand, relishing the fact that I had effectively trapped her beneath me. Surprise parted those plush lips for me at the perfect moment,and I didn’t overthink the moment, moving forward to press my lips against hers.
I had no idea what the hell to expect—it was my first kiss, after all—but from the moment she pressed into my touch, I knew I would want a thousand more of these kisses.
Kieran molded to me so damn perfectly, and a pretty sound came from her throat as I sunk my hands in her hair. I lowered my body closer to hers so I could capture her curves against my harder frame. I was so incredibly full of desire for this stunning creature, but I couldn’t find it in myself to rush the moment, taking my time devouring her sweet lips as I trailed my tongue against her bottom lip. She gasped out my name, and the sound of it on her lips drove my need higher.
When I finally pulled back, I examined her flushed cheeks and a soft smile that was meant for me and me alone. I found myself so incredibly overwhelmed by a wave of emotions. I didn’t…I didn’t deal well with emotions, and I had absolutely no idea how to start to process the intensity of what was going on inside of me right now.
Instead, I listened to the pounding of my heart, feeling as if it was beating purely for her as my magic tried to brush over her skin possessively. It was invisible, but it was an extension of myself, as real as any other part of me. It wanted to claim her as ours.
