Mal's snarl was feral. It only delighted Phillip further. He’d missed her fire—her untamed, wild spirit. Seeing her now in fullfury made his heart swell. He had forgotten how exhilarating it was to be on the receiving end of Maleficent's wrath.
She sank to her knees. He let her. He didn't tell her that Aurora had taken over his mother's bedroom down the hall. The queen had had her bedroom sound proofed with a spell so as not to hear the lovers her husband brought into his bed most nights. Aurora wouldn't hear a thing.
She wouldn't hear Mal unbuttoning his trousers. She wouldn't hear his intake of breath as the woman who owned his heart released his cock from its cage of linens. She wouldn't hear his moans ofYesandMoreandGods, please, Mal,as the love of his life staked her claim on him with her tongue. And when he reached his peak and roared his release, Aurora was the last thing on his mind as Mal swallowed him whole—body, seed, and soul.
Blessedly, Mal gave him a moment to collect himself, and his breath, and rebuttoned his trousers before she lambasted into him again.
“A pigeon?”
Phillip chuckled, hauling her into his arms despite her writhing. “I didn’t want to break my word to you. I promised I’d be back tonight, and I wasn’t going to make it without sending word.”
“You also promised to break up with her. From the looks of things—like her trying to invite herself into your bed—you didn’t follow through.”
Phillip kissed Mal before she could say another word. His lips captured hers in a hungry kiss. She tasted like earth and wild magic and him. He’d missed this—missed the spark of her, missed that glowing light of passion between them, missed the way she met him with equal force, never giving an inch.
Mal bit down on his tongue, hard enough to draw a sharp hiss from him. It didn’t deter him in the slightest. If anything, itonly made him hungrier for her. He deepened the kiss, savoring every stolen second. When he finally pulled back, his chest heaved with breathless exhilaration.
“I think you were right. Aurora might’ve been the one who poisoned us.”
Mal rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his delayed revelation. “Of course I’m right. You’re just catching up.”
Phillip brushed a stray hair from her face, curling the wayward tendril around her horn. Mal shuddered at the contact. He wished he had time to lay her down on his bed and lick her from horns to toes. But they were on a ticking time clock now that Aurora was clearly suspicious. What else could she be with that failed seduction when Phillip knew—had always known—the princess had no desire for him?
“What’s the last thing you remember? The last day you saw me—what do you remember?”
Mal’s brow furrowed in thought, her expression shifting as she searched her memories. She looked vulnerable, as if the past and the curse still held power over her. Then, like a spark catching flame, her eyes widened.
“A spindle,” she said, the word falling from her lips like a malediction.
At the same time, Phillip breathed the same word. “A spindle.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The castle was eerily silent, save for the soft echo of their footsteps against the cold stone floor. Shadows stretched long in the dim torchlight, flickering as Mal followed behind Phillip through the winding halls. In the forests, Phillip always followed her. She was on his turf now.
The air was damp with the scent of old stone and the faint musk of smoldering candles. Every creak of the floorboards, every distant rustle made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Phillip’s castle had always felt foreign to her, a place where she never truly belonged. And now she was sneaking through it with the man who would be king.
They ducked into the shadow of a pillar, pressing against jagged stone as a guard’s footsteps echoed closer. Phillip’s body was tense beside her, his sharp eyes fixed on the passing figure. They waited, barely breathing, until the guard’s steps grew fainter and fainter and then he was out of sight.
“Do you ever get tired of keeping me a secret?”
Phillip blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question. His brow furrowed in confusion.
“I mean, here we are, sneaking around your castle. Again. It feels like I’ve always been this—this secret. Hidden away inthe shadows while you played proper princeling with the pretty princess.”
Another set of footsteps sounded from the opposite end of the hall. Phillip’s eyes flicked toward the approaching guard, then back to her. He motioned for her to be silent, to wait. Mal had had enough of waiting.
With a flick of her wrist, Mal sent her magic coursing through the air like invisible tendrils. The guard's breath hitched as a shimmering haze of pollen and spores encircled his head, glimmering faintly in the light. His eyes reddened and began to water. His face contorted with sudden sneezes and gasps. The allergic reaction overwhelmed him in seconds. He stumbled backward, clutching his throat as his strength gave out, and then crumpled to the ground, incapacitated, his ragged breaths coming in shallow gasps. Then silence as he slipped into sleep.
Mal lowered her hand and turned back to Phillip. "You were saying?"
Looking down at the guard, Phillip pressed his lips together. His brows rose as though to sayWhat else would I have expected?"As soon as we figure out what happened to us, as soon as we know why we were kept apart, I’ll make sure everyone who didn't witness me following behind you like a puppy as a child, who was unaware of my infatuation with you as a young boy, everyone who didn't recognize my complete obsession with you as a grown man, knows that I have some warm feelings toward you. I’ll shout it from the battlements. I’ll have it written in the stars if it'll make you happy."
Phillip's words poured over her like sunlight breaking through the tallest tree canopy. His voice was steady and deep, carrying the weight of a love that refused to bend or falter.
Mal held herself tall, her hands clasped behind her back, her face a mask of calm indifference. She willed her body to stay still, her sharp black horns crowning her head like a queen's defianttiara. Inside, her heart betrayed her. It hammered against her ribcage with a ferocity that mocked her composure, each beat louder than the last.
“You are the only woman I have ever loved, the only woman I’ll ever sit next to on that throne. But something?—”
