~ MELEK ~
Every night we were in the city, Yilan walked the shadows in an attempt to use the mediums to divert the powerful Neph. They were always difficult, nervous hours for me until she returned.
I knew I couldn’t forbid her to do this—knew weneededher and Diadre to do this—but every moment she spent out from under my eyes, was a moment I struggled to breathe. When she couldn’t even reach me in the link, it was torture. Add to that, she sounded sad, and so angryall the time… I worried that one night she’d lose her shit and take a risk. I also knew she’d be so fucking angry with me if she heard me thinking that way, that I kept my mouth shut.
Thankfully, a few nights after we’d been to the caves with Jann, I was elated. A new round of troops had arrived, and made it safely to the caverns. This group included Kavros and more Centaurs, as well as a good chunk of the Nephilim we’d left traveling behind us to gather more support. For the first time, I calculated our chances to overwhelm the Neph fightersin the city. We were already developing strategies for how to place them so they could enter the city from different directions, though it would be at least another week.
Still… While I wasn’toptimistic,I carried less dread than I had for weeks.
But the thrill came when, right before Yilan returned from her forays, Hever appeared. He was making inroads with Lucifer, and had been called to a meeting, so our planned gathering tonight was postponed to morning.
Which meant I had a couple of hours with my mate, and no responsibility.
I tried to remember the last time that had happened at any time except the dead of night, and couldn’t.
Sure, it was late, but we’d been going to sleep far later.
I actually smiled when I picked Yilan up for her to shroud us, so we could fly out of the city.
‘Was that asmile?’ she asked, surprised, as I carried her through the wall—something that still gave me goosebumps—and launched from the balcony outside.
‘It was.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘You’ll see,’I said, suddenly determined to be mischievous. She’d expect good news about the war, or someone who’d arrived that we would be happy to see. I hoped she’d be pleasantly surprised to find out I smiled for a reason that had nothing to do with blood or fighting.
She continued to guess as we flew. I grunted, or gave her no clues, so she was frustrated—then I began to descend towards earth early.
‘What’s wrong? Has something—’
‘Nothing. I just want to show you something.’
Her instincts kicked in then, because she went quiet and did nothing but wait. That mademyinstincts crackle. My mate never didnothing.
When I dropped us through the tree canopy, and landed as quietly as I was able, it was still a short distance to the pools. The trees were thicker there, and I didn’t want her to guess.
When we finally broke through the thick trees to reveal the warm, damp earth, and the steaming mineral pools deep in the forest, Yilan froze in her tracks.
She stared at the water—it glowed a pale white-blue even in the dark, because of the minerals in it—then snapped her head to stare at me. “What are you doing?”
I smiled again. “Our meeting this evening was postponed until tomorrow morning. Everyone at the palace thinks we’re needed in the caves. Everyone in the caves isn’t expecting us until the sun is up. We haven’t had an easy hour to ourselves for weeks. I want to spend some time remembering what, and who, I’m fighting for.”
She blinked. “If we have time, maybe I can catch another of the Advisors—or we could—”
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me, shaking my head. “Yilan, listen to me. This is the only hour we’ll have for who knows how long. We’re in the middle of nowhere. The only thing out here are bhoars and weynuts trees. We’realone.No interruptions. Do you remember what it was like last time we could be alone, and not worry about discovery or interruption?”
Her brows pinched over her nose, but then her eyes began to hood. My smile got broader. Then I leaned down to let my lips brush her ear as I whispered, “I’m going to strip you naked, carry you into that water, wash you, then bring you back out and lick every last drop from your skin, before I make you sweat and start the whole process again—that is… if you’rewilling—”
I hissed as my mate grabbed the lapels of my shirt, yanked me down into a kiss, and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
When I jerked back, she smiled. “Next time, tell me before we fly, so I cananticipate.”
Then she climbed my body, like a squirrel up a tree.
~ YILAN ~
The moment I had my arms around Melek’s neck and my tongue in his mouth, he held me against him as he lowered us to the ground, pinning me down in the grass, his hands cupping my head, his fingers fisted in my hair, as he took my mouth desperately.
