“My apologies,Your Majesty,” he ground out through the pain that sliced through him. It didn’t matter how often she used her magic against him; it never got her the results she wanted, which only hurt him more in the long run.
Davina released her grip over his blood and fixed him with a hard glare. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling for you for hours. You know how I hate using my magic against you, Caius. Why do you make me do it?”
“I didn’t realize I had any control over you, Davina.”
“Don’t be snide. Where were you?” Her voice was weak, like every word had been drug over hot coals, searing her vocal chords with the strain.
“I was checking the borders. After you attacked your cousin, I wanted to be sure that our people would be safe from retaliation.”
Davina let out a strangled laugh that quickly shifted into a cough. “Don’t be ridiculous, she’sweak. She doesn’t have it in her to attack another court.”
Silence hung heavy in the air, prickling at the back of his neck as he waited anxiously for what would happen next, never knowing which way her mood would swing.
Surprise struck him when her eyes softened a fraction as she stared at him, the stormy gray that looked so similar to her cousin’s seeping through the crimson. “Have you seen my mother?” she croaked.
He hadn’t, but he also didn’t need to.
Davina’s mother was dying, and the moment she found out, Davina forced her mother into a blood bond in an attempt to save her life. But all that it had done was put her into a state of stasis. Unable to do anything on her own and prolonging a life that was supposed to have ended long ago. And if what their bond had done to him was in any way similar to what had been inflicted on her mother, there was no possibility in his mind that she was all right.
“I have. She’s dying, Davina.” The rage that he’d been so determined to keep locked down exploded from him like a geyser. “You’re killing her—killingme!” he yelled, his lips pulling into a snarl as he took a few steps forward before thinking better of it. He couldn’t get too close. Couldn’t risk her figuring out where he’d actually been. “Two people you swore that you loved, that meant more to you than anything in this world, and you’re killing us!”
Davina’s eyes shot wide, their coloring a red so deep it was almost black, as she glared at him. Caius ripped his tunic from his body, revealing the proof of what he spoke. “Thisis what you’re doing to us. We feeleverythingthat you do. Every joy, every pain,everything. Remember?” He couldn’t stop the anger that lit every word. He’d had it. He didn’t want to do this anymore.Couldn’tdo this anymore.
“I didn’t do that,shedid!”
“You attacked her fucking city, Davina! Murdered innocent people, innocentchildren! What did you think she was going to do? Roll over and let you take it? You need to stop this petty vendetta over something that happened before either of you were born. It’s notherfault that your grandfather chose her mother over yours.”
“No.”
“No?”
“I will not stop until she bows to me or is dead beneath my boot. She doesn’t deserve to wear that crown.”
“And you think that you do?” Caius scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief as he stared down at a wide-eyed Davina. He would regret having this altercation with her, of that he was sure. She didn’t take kindly to anyone disagreeing with her, and they always paid for it dearly.
When Davina didn’t say anything, he turned on his heel and stalked toward the door, speaking loud enough that his voice would carry without having to turn his head. “I don’t know who you are anymore, Davina.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Auraelia
Sunlight filtered into the room, its rays a gentle caress on her face, pulling her from the first restful sleep she’d had in months. Auraelia smiled to herself as memories of the night before flitted through her mind.
Sex with Daemon had always been amazing, but what happened the previous night was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. It was as if her senses had been opened wide, and she saw the world in color for the first time. She felt every sensation, every emotion, that Daemon had as if it had been her own, which only heightened the experience.
It was intimate.
Overwhelming in all the best ways.
World-shattering clarity that she never imagined would be possible if it hadn’t been for him.
Auraelia stretched, the smile on her lips spreading wide across her face, causing her cheeks to ache. There was a glorious, lingering tenderness between her thighs and a delicious warmth that seeped into her spine. As she relaxed, Daemon’s strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer, his face nuzzling into the space between her shoulder blades.
“Good morning, my star,” he mumbled as he trailed his lips along her spine and across her shoulders.
Auraelia hummed in response, then rotated around until she was facing him. “Good morning, my love.”
Daemon let out a self-satisfied hum as he pressed his lips to hers. “Say it again.”
