I lifted her and carried her to bed, lay her down so I could strip off my clothes. With one flick of my wrist, I sealed the door with death magic, the most powerful spell I knew, one that would suck the life from anyone who managed to force their way past the metal locks and thick wood.
Naked, I knelt and pulled her toward me, kissed my way from bare ankle to knee. Inner thigh to?—
Her hands fisted in my hair as my mouth closed over her sensitive clit. I devoured her sweet pussy, fucked her with my tongue, worked her until her back arched off the bed and she cried out, her inner walls pulsing with her first release.
She was virgin. My cock was not small. I needed her wet and ready and begging. Even then, I would use my magic to ease my entry, take her pain. I wanted her desperate for me.
Moving up her body, I tasted the soft swell of her belly, the soft underside of her breast. I slipped two fingers inside her core, working her as I worked her nipples with my tongue. She tasted divine. Better than I’d imagined. Perfect.
The dark magic inside me pulsed against my skin like ocean waves crashing against rock and sand, flowed into her sensitive breasts through my lips, into her tight pussy through my fingertips. I wrapped my darkness around her, through her, made sure she felt me in every cell, every breath.
I felt her body stiffen, the air in her lungs freeze. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders in both need and demand as her body responded, her orgasm seizing control of her like a wildfire blazing through dried paper. She came apart in my arms as I claimed her mouth and slid my cock deep.
Balls deep, I froze, used my magic to tease the walls of her pussy, make sure she felt no pain. Only pleasure.
She shuddered and lifted her legs. Wrapped them around my hips. “Why did you stop?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t think you can.” Shelaughed,her inner muscles squeezing me in unexpected ways. “I feel your magic. Mine is burning through me, too. It’s making me crazy. I can’t stop. I need more.”
Void take me. Her words unleashed an animal. I thrust hard and fast. Deep. Shoved her knees up over my shoulders so I could fuck her harder. Her hips rose to meet me with every thrust until she was writhing on the bed, her freshly bathed body covered in sweat that glistened in the candlelight. So sweet. Tasty. Perfect. I leaned over so I could run my lips over her shoulder. Her neck. Taste what was mine.
I took her mouth, and her body exploded with pleasure, her cries pushing me over the edge with her. I filled her with my seed, my soul, my darkness. My magic. My release roared through every cell, every nerve, from head to toe, consuming me until there was nothing but her body, her scent, her hot, wet pussy wrapped around my hard length, her delicate hands fists in my hair. Until I wasn’t alone.
My kisses slowed, became exploration. Gratitude. Contentment. After long minutes, she sighed. “Is it always like that?” she whispered.
“No. Never.” I tilted my hips, moved inside her, just to hear her gasp. “That was madness.”
“Was it us?” she breathed. “Or magic?”
“Maybe both.” I rolled over and pulled her with me, her head nestled under my neck, her hand on my chest, right over the place where my heart struggled to beat with this new rhythm.Herrhythm. “Sleep. The ship leaves at dawn.”
I pulled the blanket over her, oddly satisfied when she molded herself to my side and promptly fell asleep.
8
~Cleo ~
I stoodat the rail of the ship, my hands resting on smooth, salt-slick wood, the wind tangling strands of my hair and whipping them across my cheeks. The sun was rising behind a veil of pale clouds, the sky painted in gold and soft gray, and the sea rolled beneath us in endless swells of shifting blue.
Nearly a full day at sea, and I was still not used to the motion. That wasn’t what unsettled me. I could feel something in the air. A low hum beneath the surface of things. A tension just beyond sight. Or maybe that was justme.
I tightened my grip on the railing, staring out at the horizon. The waves shimmered, calm and endless, but my magic pulsed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat—nervous, electric, coiled.
Something wasn’t right. I was starting to wonder if it ever would be again.
I wore a gown Devin had bought for me before we left port—dark blue with silver embroidery, light as air but cut to flatter my body in a way that made me feel...seen. Beautiful, even.The bodice hugged my waist, and the skirts flared in a cascade of motion with every gust of wind. My hair was pinned back in loose waves, and my boots were new, fitted to my feet like I’d been born to wear them.
I hated it.
Not because it wasn’t beautiful. It was. Everything he gave me was.
But because it wasn’tmine. Wearing it felt like playing a role in someone else’s story. A noblewoman. A magical heir. A warrior’s fated bond. I didn’t know how to be any of those things. I’d never felt like more of an imposter. Everywhere I looked, I felt eyes watching me. Whispers from the crew. Side glances. Suspicion. Hunger.
Was it my imagination? Or did the sailor who’d offered me tea this morning stare a little too long at my throat? Was the fae wind-caller’s smile a little too predatory? Was all the attention due to the fact that I was female, traveled with a Death Mage, or because they wanted to use my magic for themselves? I almost wished Devin had never found me, never told me the truth.
The truth about my ancestors had gutted me. They hadn’t just been hunted. They’d been tortured. Slaughtered. Their blood used in dark rituals to twist magic into something evil. Starborn hearts burned in temples to open rifts in the Veil. Children drowned for the strength of their screams.
