“Do you even know who the Oracle was, Ryland? She wasn’t some ancient spider, addicted to power. She was one of the Old Gods.” I swallowed down my horror and she nodded, as if pleased.
“That’s right. You and me and Var were marked by one of those monsters before Anaria killed them. So if you think, for one minute, I’m afraid of going in there”—like the weapon was an extension of her arm, she used the knife to point toward the door—“and face whatever’s waiting for us…you don’t know me at all.”
Her lips crashed hard into mine, stealing every thought in my head, swallowing the growl rising in my throat. One hand went around her throat, circling that delicate column as I fucking feasted on this female whose taste had been my own personal wet dream for too long.
And this…
This is fucking heaven.
The press of her lips on mine was the balm to my starvation, every sweep of her tongue was the answer to my prayers.
I devoured every carnal detail of this moment, the desperate little pants exploding between her lips, the way her hardened nipples scraped through my shirt, her fingers tearing open my waistband, nails scratching skin before slipping between my legs and cupping my balls, wrapping cold, clever fingers around me with a dark laugh.
Then my brain stopped working altogether as her teeth closed on my bottom lip, tugging painfully as she slowly withdrew, challenge in her eyes. “That’s for caring enough to try to stop me, not that you would have succeeded.” She ran her hand up my cock, one rough, claiming stroke that had me groaning. She ran her thumb through the bead of precum, my balls tightening as my whole body surged toward her demanding touch.
“And that’s just a taste, Ryland. I’m done dancing around. The first chance I get, I want you inside me. I want…”
“I know why we didn’t run into any guards at Gravespire.” Thank the gods, Varian’s voice preceded him as he reappeared, gasping and bent over, hands braced on his knees as he caught his breath. We burst apart, rearranging clothes, my cock throbbing.
We used to be faster at this, I thought, catching her eye with a grin.
Out of practice, she seemed to say back, tucking her braid down the back of her coat.
“Gravelock’s here, with a full contingent of his soldiers, which is why Gravespire’s unguarded. If we want that chance, Ryland…this is the time.” Varian’s gaze bounced between Lyrae’s flushed cheeks and my obvious erection, then narrowed on me. “What thefuck, Ryland?”
Lyrae wasn’t looking at either of us. She was measuring that messy trail of footprints, her grin terrifying. “You two goand get the Triune. I’m staying to help Rooke. If Gravelock came here for his blood…”
I had a hundred arguments I wanted to make, but she was right.
We couldn’t pass up this chance, and again, I thanked the gods Gravelock hadn’t brought the Triune with him, which meant Rooke wasn’t dead…yet.
“The only good thing about this is, he didn’t bring the relics,” she went on, already way ahead of me. “Varian’s right. This is the only chance we’ll get, and I’m not wasting it. Neither should you.”
Before I could say another word, she darted through the doors. I made it one step before Varian cut me off.
“Let her go, Ryland. She can take care of herself. We’re going back to Gravespire. Besides, do you think I’m letting you go in there and continue…whatever the fuck this was?” He flapped his hand at me, shaking his head like a disappointed uncle.
“We had a deal. The next time you’re not cutting me out, you fucker.”
25
RYLAND
This time, the silence inside Gravespire felt almost encouraging, as if the temple was daring us to press our luck.
Varian and I moved silently as ghosts, easily retracing our earlier steps, reaching the massive door within minutes. The runes pulsed faintly, alive with ancient power, bleeding into the stones around the door.
The carved faces glared, like they wanted to scold us for trespassing.
“There’s not a single guard,” I muttered, hand resting on the hilt of my blade, as if steel would do me any good. “Which means they’re all on the island.” Fear stabbed me with a pointed blade, poking holes in my resolve. “We shouldn’t be here. We should be with Lyrae.”
“I’m telling you, she doesn’t need saving, Ryland. You start treating her like she’s made of glass, and this is over before it begins.” Mid-stride, he turned around and faced me.
“She’s not the wide-eyed girl you remember who needs you to protect her. She’s our equal. Fuck, she’s more than our equal. Don’t make the mistake of treating her like anything less.”
“I was just…” I dragged my hand through my hair.He was right. Of course he was right. “That’s a fucking hard thing to ask, Var.”
“Well, make some godsdamned effort, because she won’t go for being treated like some damsel in a tower. Give her some credit, she knows what she’s doing, Ryland.”
