Darion scoffed under his breath, but he could hardly deny it.
She smiled and went on. “Seb and I made an . . . arrangement. He is a good, loyal man with his own ambitions. I wanted a child and he wanted a large temple and lofty post. It was a transaction that worked for both of us.”
“Did Soraya know he was her father?”
Selene shook her head. “He kept that secret for me. I wonder sometimes if things might have ended differently if she’d had a father in her life. I kept so much from her, thinking I was protecting her--shielding her from future heartaches. I did everything out of love for her. That love ended up destroying many lives. None worse than hers.”
“Tell me what happened,” he gently coaxed.
“Soraya and Cassianus secretly fell in love. They hid it from me, from everyone, for a long time. Eventually, she became pregnant. Being of my line, she was able to breach the island’s veil without detection. One night they fled together. They returned months later, she carrying Jordana in her arms. The deception hurt me more than I wanted to admit, even to her. I lashed out in anger, calling for Cassianus’s execution. Soraya begged me for mercy. Finally, I agreed--but on one condition. She had to give him up and take a mate of my choosing from the court.”
Darion swallowed, hearing the remorse in Selene’s voice. Her pain was raw, even all this time later.
“Soraya refused. She was so angry with me, so bereft at the thought of losing Cassianus. I didn’t know how deeply they loved each other. I had never known that kind of love myself to recognize it in them. After placing Jordana in the palace nursery, Raya went up to her private quarters and set a terrible fire. It consumed the entire tower.”
Darion exhaled a low curse. “The east tower.”
Selene nodded. “No one could put it out. It burned for hours and hours. If I could’ve reached her, I would have saved her with this crystal. I would have sacrificed myself and the rest of the realm for the chance to heal her, but she made sure there was nothing left of her to save.”
Tears welled in Selene’s eyes then spilled down her cheeks. Darion gathered her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she wept against him. He placed tender kisses to her brow, gently swept away the hot tears that dripped off the tip of her nose and chin.
“Jordana hates me now too. She’ll never forgive me for the deaths of her parents, or for taking her away from her beloved Nathan like I did.”
“Jordana’s not someone who hates,” Darion assured her. “Jordana’s heart is too giving and open. You’d see that if you told her everything you just shared with me.”
“I’ll never have that chance. I won’t ever be able to make up for what I’ve cost her, or to see Jordana’s happiness for myself.”
Darion lifted her face on the edge of his fingertips. “I will help you find a way.”
He didn’t know how he might accomplish that yet, but as he kissed her, he was determined to make it happen.
Selene drew back then, and Darion watched as the gray cast faded away and the pearlescence of her skin returned. The blue veins vanished, and a soft glow limned her from head to toe.
Extricating herself from his embrace, she stood as gracefully as ever, her strength restored. Carefully, she placed the crystal back atop the pedestal, where it hovered on its own power just above the marble surface.
She turned back to face him, her expression sober, hesitant. “Now you know all my secrets. Including the location of the realm’s crystal.”
“Your trust is safe with me, Selene. You are safe with me.” He stood too, then stepped toward her. “I give you my word that you can trust me.”
He reached for her hand, which she held lightly fisted at her side. Uncurling her fingers, he spread open her hand where the soft glow of her inner power revealed the teardrop-and-crescent-moon symbol nestled in the center of her palm.
“Only a woman with this same mark somewhere on her skin--this Atlantean mark--can form a blood bond with a member of the Breed,” he told her, tracing the outline with his finger. “Atlantean and Breed have always had this connection. Our worlds may have started off at war, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Tell me you trust me, Selene.”
She swallowed, her eyes lifting from their joined hands to his solemn gaze. “Yes. I trust you, Darion.”
He smiled slowly, bringing her palm to his mouth. He placed a kiss there, his lips lingering as a fierce desire rolled over him.
Selene stepped into his arms and then her mouth was on his.
Darion lifted her up, hooking her legs around him as he carried her out of the crystal room and into the chamber where her large bed waited. He placed her on top of it, then slowly peeled off her silken clothes and delicate sandals, pausing to trail his mouth over every inch of her skin.
His own clothes came off more hastily. Selene helped him get free of them, their hands moving urgently, lips seeking each other in breathless impatience.
When he finally entered her body, he sank as deep as he could go, reveling in her soft, hungry moans and tiny gasps as they began to move together. His arousal was a wild demand, making his fangs punch out of his gums and hisglyphspulse with dark colors.
Mine,he thought as he watched Selene spiral toward release.
The silent declaration became a mantra, a wish, a promise.
