“There are amassing quite a following. Rumor has it that Vespera’s new kingwill be the first to ally with them,” he continued, muffling my noise of disbelief. “With him, comes the Rune Master and the entire force of the Mage Academy.”
“What is your point?” Solace spat, her ire returning in full force.
“You are dreadfully outnumbered, even with the addition of Samyr’s army.”
“We aregods,” Solace haughtily responded.
“Nearly mortal now, yes?”
The room descended into a quiet so fast and so complete I swore I could hear the thumping of Razia’s heart.
“Why . . . how do you know this?” Kaos whispered.
Razia held up a hand. “That is not important.”
“Then, please tell, whatisimportant about this little meeting?” Solace waved her hand impatiently, and he dropped his palm.
“What if I told you there was a way to create dual Mages? Ones that could rival the power of Vespera and the godlings?”
“Old magic. Runes,” Kaos stated, and Razia nodded. “That knowledge died off centuries ago. The only two with that power left alive are our sister and her daughter. Both of which, as you so pointed out, are allied with our enemies.”
“That is where you’re mistaken. There is a small community in the Far North that still practice the ancient magics.”
“And why would they help us? We eliminated their kind centuries ago,” Solace’s impatient voice snapped across the space.
“Because I have something they desperately need to continue their rituals,” Razia said with a shrug.
“And what is that?” Solace breathed, voice tremoring with hope.
“The blood of an unAwakened child blessed by a god.” Razia’s smile spread wide across his face, but it did nothing to ease the glinting hardness of his deep-brown eyes. I nearly shivered at the sight.
There was something not quiterightabout him.
“And how would you know of that?” Kaos intoned, attempting to appear unaffected and failing spectacularly.
Razia’s grin only spread wider, though it still never reached his soulless eyes.
“I was one of them, once. And my . . . daughter was their conduit. Before I sold her to Lord d’Refan, of course.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rohak
“Asacrifice was made for you, Child of Fate. Use it well,” an unknown voice rippled through my mind, a hesitant whisper like the barest breeze that gently rustles new spring leaves.
It stirred something within me, a recognition of sorts that blipped into existence before fading just as quickly. I tried to hold onto it as long as possible, but it was like grasping at strands of smoke.
My hands clenched around something soft and yielding, as if my fingers were trying to pull those words back. But instead of understanding, I was met with the feeling of a body beneath my hands.
The rough callouses on my palms rasped against delicate skin as I gently roused from sleep, mind hazy and thoughts sluggish. It was warm here, wherever I was, with this body pressed tightly against mine. Their deep breaths puffed against my neck, heating the skin and the blood beneath. Their fingers tensed and relaxed randomly against my bare chest as if they were reaching for something in their dreams.
Who am I holding?
I tried to pry my eyelids apart, but the effort was too great. Something in my body demanded I keep them closed for just another minute, to bask in the darkness before everything was brought to light.
Leaning into my other senses, I obliged. My fingertips moved gently across the person’s bare skin, their body mirroring my own nakedness. Long swoops over their sides indicated full hips and the edge of small yet firmbreasts. Goosebumps erupted over the woman’s skin in response to my touch, and I swore I heard a soft moan as she slept.
The undulating pathway of her bare form was soothing; something about running my hands over her flesh settled the rapid beating of my heart while sending all of my blood south, straight to my cock. Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my brain where the rational part of my mind was currently trapped beneath this haze, I knew that I should create space between us, at least enough so that our hips weren’t flush together. But something else insisted I pushcloserto the woman, my erection bending to slip through her thighs so my shaft was resting against her swollen and wet lips.
