And certainly not in front of an audience that includes my ex and a pain in the ass kraken.
The Forest of Lir was well within our access, but that did not mean many people came here. Anyone with a true sense of self preservation understood that.
Unless you want to be unfound for... reasons.
There was nothing and no one out here but us at the moment, but I had a keen sense ofdéjà vutelling me it was only a matter of time before the true keepers of this realm and forest would no doubt show up to search for the newly awakened Fae who had revived an entireforest.
As I tore my gaze from Violet, the light around us flickered like an old light bulb in an ancient sconce, and I could sense something powerful was on the horizon. I needed to make sure Violet was okay, and that meant getting the hell out of this enchanted forest. And as much as I hated to admit it, perhaps I wanted Norman and Wanda out, too. Lord knows they’d find a way to make the situation worse if I didn’t get them out, even though I desperately wanted to leave them in this forest for the wolves to devour like the idiots they truly are.
“Leave now,” I ordered them.
Wanda protested.
“We are indanger,” I growled as I flashed my gaze at the two of them, dressed in soaked clothes, with looks of confusion and concern on their faces.
“And as much as I want to leave you here, I am not a fucking murderer. So do as I say, andleave now,”I ordered once more.
Wanda looked as if she wished to protest, but I watched as a tentacle slid around her shoulders, pulling her close.
“Come on, my little seastar, let’s go home,” he said, his voice solid, but carrying an edge of disdain.
He didn’t like taking orders from me.
But he listened, nonetheless, as I watched him guide himself and Wanda out thorough the path we’d all arrived us, the ley lines beneath us all lighting up like lasers in the ground.
Violet pressed her palm to my neck, her fingertips brushing the edges of my hairline, soothing whatever raged inside of me.
Taming the monster within, if only for a second. Her bright eyes searched mine, all aglow and spectacular.
She’d been out cold when I found her, and I could feel the weight of her magic like an entity all its own around her. She had awakened all right.
And as the forest sang its praise, I got the feeling we’d only just seen the beginning of what she could do.
What she is capable of.
“We need to get you somewhere safe,” I grit out through my teeth. My psyche was reeling from my memories, my body rippling with energy—with lust and anger—and my heart was practically spent from the rush of adrenaline that was keeping me able to function.
I needed to get us the hell out of here, somewhere we could both think, and adjust...
I watched as her lips turned back to their natural shade of pink, as her color started to come back, focusing on warming her. The way she looked at me stirred something deep within the depths of my darkness, as if this... whateverthiswas between us, some bond of fate, was all I’d ever need to sustain myself from here on out.
The words fell out of my mouth, even though I’d never truly said them aloud to anyone. But looking back at Violet, I couldn’t help but feel their truth.
“And you are myanam cara,”I said as if moved by some spirit within me, some magic I’d never known until this very moment existed within myself.
And with that, I didn’t think twice as I scooped Violet into my arms and rose from the ground, my wings spreading out, preparing for flight.
“Oh my stars...” she said as she slipped her arms around my neck, her eyes widening at the sight of my wings spreading behind me.
She closed her eyes, her body shaking as I slid my hands underneath her thighs, my fingertips squeezing into her warm, supple flesh.
Thoughts of grabbing that flesh while I feasted on her delicious nectar formed in my brain, awakening the monster inside of me once more.
I swallowed, pushing back against the overwhelming desire tofeaston her lust, on her arousal and her undeniable magic that was calling to me like a moth to a flame. I knew it was what I needed, her lust.
I was already running low on power and energy, with having to fight my own demons and channel my reserves for flight and transport with another person.
It would be the easiest thing in the world to open myself up to her power, her lust. She smelled like heaven, and I knew her lust would taste just as divine. But that was the problem. If shesmelledthis good... I feared with Violet, I would lose myself.
