Auriel slid his hand down my side, finding the hem of the tunic he’d just put on me. He bunched it between his fingers, rucking it back up as his hand slid against my bare skin, sliding higher until his hand cupped my full breast. A second later, he was fumbling with the binding, sliding his hand beneath, his scarred and callused skin left me whimpering, and then mewlingwhen his fingers squeezed my nipple. Pleasure rippled to my core, heat gathering in my chest, warming me from inside.
I bucked and my ankles unlocked, heels digging into the mattress as I lifted my hips up, meeting him thrust for thrust as our tongues tangled.
I was soaked, maybe more so than I’d ever been. My underwear was drenched, my arousal sliding down my legs, and I didn’t know how much had been from my confusion with akadim Rhyan, and how much had been purely because of Auriel.
Tightness coiled tighter inside me, and I slid down the waist of his pants.
Auriel cried out, “Asherah. Asherah.”
I stilled, my body going cold. Because I had my answer. It wasn’t confusion over my encounter with Rhyan that had pushed me to this brink, this need. To this desperation to touch and be touched. To taste and kiss and fuck. And it wasn’t because of Auriel either—not exactly.
His eyes widened, and he pulled his hand out of my shirt, immediately shifting his weight off of me, eyebrows furrowed with concern.
“You’re kissing her, aren’t you?” I asked.
He squeezed his eyes shut, gasping for breath, his chest heaving, and he rolled over to the side, sitting completely up, his jaw tightening.
I scooted back, and sat up across from him.
“I wasn’t,” he said quietly. “I was kissing you. But also …” He rubbed his face. “Also her. Because you are her. You’re you, you’re Lyr. You’re both to me. And from my perspective, when I’m able to sit back and see things from my immortality, there’s no difference.” He smiled sadly. “But there is for you, isn’t there?”
My eyes welled with tears, my chest tightening. “I was kissing Rhyan.”
He sighed. “I know. It’s okay. Come here,” he said, patting the blankets next to him.
I shifted over, my body craving his warmth still, and he wrapped his arms around me. We sat like that, not speaking, not moving, for several minutes. Until the tears came again and Auriel remained by my side, holding me, rubbing my back, and making quiet shushing sounds in my ear until I was done crying.
Night fell around us soon after, and I confessed everything to Auriel. Everything I’d been unable to vocalize while he’d taken care of my wounds. I told him about the structure of the cave, the way Rhyan ruled over the others, and how close they were to uncovering the green shard. His shard. The way I could feel it, and the way it made the entire cave shake and shudder.
His eyebrows furrowed, listening intently. I could practically see his mind memorizing the layout I’d described, formulating a plan. And then upon his urging, I confessed everything that had happened intimately to me with Rhyan. The things he’d said. The things he’d done. The way he’d hurt me.
Auriel was silent as he listened, a quiet fury pulsing in his aura, his hands fisting in his lap. He looked ready to fight the akadim, to murder him, but he remained still, letting me continue.
When I was done, he sighed, but as he took my chin in his hand, his touch was gentle. He coaxed my eyes back up to his. “Lyriana, what I’m about to say to you is important. And I mean every word.” He took another deep breath, his mouth tight, like he was fighting back his own emotions. “You were brave. And you were strong. You were strong for every second you were there—stronger than most would have been in that situation. Stronger than most could have dreamed of being.”
I sighed and cast my gaze down again, my cheeks flaming.
“I didn’t feel brave. I was afraid.”
“Lyriana, look at me.” I looked.
“Thatisbravery. Fighting back even though you’re afraid, even if you might lose. You fought back, and you kept your mind. You did the right thing,” he said, his voice firm and commanding. “You couldn’t have done anything differently under the circumstances. You were smart, you survived, you saved his life, but most importantly—you saved yours. From the moment you were taken, I was out of my mind with worry. I was fighting my way to you—using everything I had. Nothing could have stopped me from reaching you. But you know what? If I hadn’t been there?” He shook his head, his eyes sparkling with pride. “You would have gotten out on your own. You found a way to escape. You didn’t even need me until the end. You’re so much stronger than you know.”
“But the shard,” I said.
“Isn’t lost. We know exactly where it is. Even if he doesn’t know what he has on his hands, I guarantee you he’s keeping it—he was wearing it for a reason. And I’d bet my eternity that he’s keeping it close, very close. The same way he’s hoarding your other possessions.”
I started to realize how naked I felt without my armor, my chest plate, and my weapons. My tools. My protection. Over the last few months, they’d truly become parts of me.
I bit my lip, gesturing at my body. Even my belt was gone. “He took everything.”
Auriel shook his head, and slowly, he reached for me, his hand settling carefully over my heart. “Not everything.”
I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding and then warming against his touch. The light inside me had woken. The red light of the Valalumir, the other half of the red shard in Rhyan’s possession. A golden glow began to emanate, making the tan of Auriel’s skin shine. It had started to warm when his hand wasin my shirt before, when he was teasing me, pleasuring me. But here now, his hand still and directly over my heart—it had fully awakened. Pulsing, and flickering with flames.
“You see,” he said, taking my hand in his. “So here’s what we’re going to do. Nothing tonight. You’re injured. You need the time to heal. I’ve done all I can, now your body will do the rest. As for me, I need a few hours to gather more weapons, find you some armor. Then tomorrow night, at sunset, we go back to the cave.”
“And do what?” I asked. “Knock on the door? Announce ourselves?”
