She frowned slightly.
“You started a forest fire a few hours ago.” I reminded her gently. “And that was before your power really started to surge.”
Her gaze dropped. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” I said, crossing to her slowly. “But until we reach The Spire, I need to keep you safe. And that includes keeping the rest of the realm safefromyou.”
Her lips trembled just slightly. She looked fragile in that moment, for the first time since I’d met her. But I knew better. She was forged from stronger stuff than most. She just didn’t believe it yet.
I reached out and touched her chin, lifting her face toward mine. “I’m not afraid of your power,” I said softly. “And I won’t let anything hurt you.”
Her eyes shimmered with something I couldn’t name. “And what if I do?” she whispered. “I need to learn how to control it.”
“I’ll teach you. Until you learn, I’ll protect you. Nothing will hurt you, Cleo. I give you my word.”
Her gaze dropped to my mouth. She wanted me to kiss her. And I—I burned for her. The relentless darkness within, silent. Watching. Waiting.Hungry.
I stepped closer. The air between us thickened, charged with something deeper than magic. She should step back. Retreat. Tell me to fuck off and keep my distance.
She lifted one hand and rested it against my chest. Moved closer. Tilted her head to look up at me with a level of trust I hadn’t earned. She was too young. Too innocent. Too pure for a black-hearted mage like me.
“You should go to bed,” I murmured.
“I’m not tired.” She licked her lips and I locked my knees so I wouldn’t move.
“You’re playing with fire. You smell like temptation. I’m only a man.”
Her lips parted. “I’m on fire, too. I need you.”
I didn’t wait any longer. I cupped her face in both hands, lowered my mouth to hers, and kissed her like it was the only thing keeping me alive. This kiss wasn’t like the one in the woods. This one was slow.Devastating.
A caress of lips. A brush of breath. A slow press of my mouth to hers until she sighed and melted into me like she’d been waiting her whole life for this exact moment.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
I slipped one hand to the small of her back, the other tangling in the damp silk of her hair. She fit against me like the missing half of a soul I hadn’t realized was broken.
The fire—the magic—inside her responded instantly. A warm pulse of golden light spread through her skin, sinking into mine. It didn’t hurt—but it lit every nerve with electric heat.
I deepened the kiss.
She made a sound—soft, wanting—and I was lost.
Her mouth was sweet and hot and demanding. She kissed me like she needed it to breathe, like she was just as starved as I was.
I couldn’t stop. Her body was soft curves and glowing power, pressing against every line of mine. My hands moved withoutthought, mapping her through the thin fabric of her gown, learning her shape like it was something sacred.
She didn’t pull away. Didn’t ask me to stop. Her nails dug into my shoulders. Her breath hitched as my mouth left hers to trace a line down her throat.
And still—still—I held back. Barely.
Because if I didn’t, I’d take her right here, right now, and there would be no going back. No pretending this bond wasn’t real. No denying she was already carved into my bones.
I pulled away slowly, resting my forehead against hers, breathing hard. “Have you ever been with a man?”
Her eyes fluttered open. “No.”
Something primitive—madness—clawed to life inside me. She was mine. She would always be mine. Only mine.
