A sharp exhale drifted from his lips when we finally pulled away. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked…lost. Like he didn’t know what to do with me. I probably looked a little dazed myself, licking his taste from my lips, wanting more.
Then I watched him pull himself together, until his expression was neutral, until the grip on the back of my neck loosened and then drifted away. I could still feel the warmth pooling in my belly from his kiss, even though it was an inconvenient time to feel the urgency and merciless press of desire.
“Let’s begin,” he said gruffly, stepping back before rounding toward Samryn’s head.
It was a whiplash of sensation. Hot and then cold.
Once I regained control of my breath, however, I knew it was for the best. “I’m ready.”
When I felt Alaryk’s familiar touch of magic rising in the staticky air between us, my own responded. How easily I could summon it now, as if I was feeding off Alaryk’s power. Unlike lastnight, it felt like a tight ball in my chest—firm, with no soft edges—which threatened to leak out.
I reached out my hand, pressing it against Samryn’s flesh, and envisioned the rivulets of magic tracing the edges of his tipped scales, seeking, searching. Looking for a way inside.
And when it found one, that ball inside me loosened, becoming thousands of little threads that went searching inside the cursed creature, though they were all connected to me.
It was easier this time. I could delve further into him, but I knew that was because I’d already cleared a pathway. I picked up where I’d started, dragging in a deep breath, readying myself, preparing for a long night.
And then I began.
“Lean on me when you need to,” came Alaryk’s voice. “Use me. I’m here.”
I trusted that he would be as I slowly sank into the tangle of decay, bracing myself for what I might find.
Chapter 26
AMAIA
When I woke next, there was the taste of blood in my mouth. My eyes felt tight in my skull. And a pounding headache made me wince, made me feel like a vise was squeezing around my temples.
“I’m here,” came a husky voice next to me.
“How long?” I whispered, my voice scratchy.
“Not long,” Alaryk assured me quietly, and I saw the bright blue of his eyes reflected toward me in the darkness. “I brought you back a couple hours ago.”
Relief whistled through me. Maybe I was getting more accustomed to clearing the remnants of the curse from my own body. Or maybe it was Alaryk’s magic, which I remembered now. Bright and warm, I’d wielded his strength to help me hack away at the curse inside Samryn. I thought we’d made progress…but I couldn’t remember much else.
We were lying in his bed. His warm flesh was pressed against me. I never would’ve thought Alaryk Arn’dyne to be anuzzlerin bed, but he had me wrapped up in his arms, solid and secure. If I hadn’t been in pain, it would’ve felt lovely.
Behind him, on the small table next to the bedside, I saw thefamiliar blue smoke rising from the little pot. I wondered what it was but didn’t have the energy to ask.
“Let me try something,” he murmured.
“I don’t know if…”
I felt a sparking along my skin. His magic. He was funneling it into me, a mere touch. “Take it,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to my temple, which throbbed beneath his lips. “See if it’ll help you.”
Surprisingly, I latched onto that little morsel he offered me, clasping onto it like it was a gift. My own magic rose with it, stoked to life, though it felt like a mere smolder compared to the roaring fire it usually was at its peak.
Gradually, the pain in my temples faded. The muscles in my body loosened, no longer so tight that it felt like a large cramp within me, knots where bones were.
“Better?” he murmured after long moments. He probably felt the way I’d begun to relax in his arms.
“That’s…pretty amazing,” I settled on, whispering out the words, bright relief mingling with my awe. I feltgood. “Does it hurt you though?”
“Weakens me, yes, but it doesn’t hurt me,” he told me. “I have a deep well of magic I keep, so don’t worry about me. I only want to help you.”
“Thank you.”
