I inched toward the edge of Nelle’s nest, and she stalked me with quiet, predatory focus. Fur and cashmere brushed against my body as I shouldered my way through the rugs hanging like a curtain around the tall-framed bed. I rolled out from underneath, rose to my feet, and stepped into vibrant sunshine.
Nelle followed, rising to stand beside my bed—a godsdamn mess of rumpled rugs and furs spilling over its edge. She’d stripped it right back to the mattress, dragging the silk sheets and thinner blankets into her wyrm burrow.
Nelle stared back. Both of us were naked, and a sheen of perspiration coated her feminine curves, shimmering along her temples and the high cut of her cheekbones.
It was an unreasonably hot day, and the tower was a fucking baking oven. While Sage trotted eagerly to Nelle’s side, I braced my hands on my hips and shook my head to flick the limp locks of hair from my eyes, trying to get a firm grip on my muddled mental state.
I glanced over my shoulder, through the cut space of the tower. Judging by how high the sun sat in the sky, it appeared I’d slept right through to noon. Sunshine showered blistering heat into the room, along with the soft sounds of everyday life, footsteps, and chattering voices that flowed around the Keep. A trio of birds flitted across the azure sky, and the tinkling sound of ivory keys floated on the breathless current of a sultry breeze. Caidan was playing a mashup of modern songs on the piano in the music room. A favorite pastime of his.
Still trying to figure out what the hells was going on, I scooped up my boxer briefs and tugged them on before facing Nelle. “What’s up with you?”
Nelle tipped her head sideways, and her hair dipped and swayed over her breasts with the movement. Her elegant brows drew together with confusion, but she didn’t answer me. Instead, she copied my movements, stepping into her panties and sliding on a bra. As yet, she hadn’t uttered a single word. My focus honed in on the intensity of her gaze, fixed solely on me.
Her emotions beneath my flesh were unusually quiet, like a slow-moving brook, and I couldn’t quite read them. I closed my eyes, searching deep into my soul for the moonlit strands that bound us. It wasn’t like the time she’d fucked me stupid with us wrapped around one another in endless lust. This time, the resonance strumming down the lines of power was calm, comforting…happy.
Surprise jolted my eyes open, and my heartbeat stumbled with shock.
I couldn’t stop the wondrous grin, even if I wanted to. Nelle was happy, actuallyhappy,being with me. There was a sense of harmony, with warmth and affection flowing from her to me.
What the hells could have inspiredthatreaction toward me?
I’d fallen asleep right beside her. On her, if I remembered correctly. And kept her close. Andshe’d…?
An echo of sensation prickled my body where she’d stroked my arm gently, nuzzled my throat, warm lips murmuring against my skin as she’d petted and calmed me. She was the one who had banished the nightmare with tenderness. Maybe the influence she was under came from something deeper than physical attraction alone.
And me…? I analyzed the silvery threads of dark magic binding us. They were stronger now, brighter, and more potent,and there was a strange urge to push back, to lean into her andmakeher…
My breath escaped with a whoosh.
It slammed into me hard, exactly what was going on between us.
Impossible.
Yetentirely possible, especially with what we were to each other.
Nelle was under thesway.
The godsdamnedsway.
The reason for her surrender.
I paced idly around the room, running through the information I’d gathered through the years. What did I know?
Draxxon and Hamon had a mind link.
Which I didn’t. My mind remained empty of another presence.
The strange urge rising in me now was unmistakable—the tamer’s will was the mental pushback used to direct the wyrm in battle. As the harmony hummed between us, I knew Nelle trusted me implicitly.
I came to a halt. Nelle stood unnaturally still, watching me with big eyes. My gaze trailed over the coiled collar, partly obscured by the heavy mane of hair falling over her chest. Zrenyth’s magic supposedly bound the wyrm, nullifying its power. Maybe the wyrm wasn’t buried as deeply as expected. Maybe Zrenyth’s magic was fraying. But as I sifted through our connection, I didn’t detect the beast. Theswaywas with Nelle alone. She was bonded with her wyrm, and her traits, as I’d grown to know her, were much like the beast’s. Fiery and impulsive and quick of temper.
I knew I had to test thesway.
I raised my hand, palm up, focusing on the urge for her to reach toward it, but not touch. Then I pushed a mental command down the lines of power.
Nelle kept her gaze on mine as she lifted her palm to hover in front of my own. I lifted my other hand, and she followed, and when I leaned slowly to the side, she mirrored me, our bodies swinging in perfect unison.
My senses fixed on the music floating from the Keep. Caidan began playing a song I recognized, Lorde’s400 Lux, the upbeat tempo awash with a hint of melancholy. The song title was rather apt for a girl forged from sunshine.
