He was hiding something from me. I could sense it. But I didn’t want to know what it was. Not if it was another half-formed vision. The anger that had been simmering under my skin boiled over. “Yes, by all means, go speak with Sir Gavin!”
“Donotdo anythingrecklesswhile I’m gone.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it,Your Grace.”
I tried to spin around, but he caught me by the wrist again. Holding my gaze with fire in his blue eyes. “You are myeverything. Trust that I know what I’m doing.”
He wanted to keep me safe. But safety wouldn’t break the curse on my necklace. And neither could the Dark Witch he wanted me to see. Only a true-born Prideaux could. A fact he didn’t know andcouldn’tso long as I was beholden to Mama’s necklace. I needed to solve this problem myself. I had to harness my powers to break the curse.
Before something in me brokeus.
Chapter 3
L’Appel
CLAIRE
Once he was gone, the room fell painfully still. I stayed where I was, staring at the door. Tears burned in the back of my throat. The old ache of feeling stupid and small and cast aside for my uselessness crept in, but I refused to give in to the sadness. It would do nothing for me now.
Instead, I paced back and forth, arms crossed, silently replaying the entire fight, until my attention landed on the large windows that ran along the farthest wall of the bedchamber.
Earlier, I’d sent a raven to Seraphina, my little sister, carrying a note and coin, along with my wish that she leave Prideaux Hill and join me here at Château Rose. I hoped she would open her eyes and see that the hate Mama had raised us on was a lie. Or, at best, not the entire story.
Beyond the glass, the snowy mountains rose jagged and dark against the fading twilight. Cradling the demonic relic against my heart, I pressed one palm against the window and drew in a deep breath. Holding the horn made me feel likeanything was possible. And when Bastien touched mewhileI was touching it, power coursed through me.
But my husband had decided he wouldn’t risk anything that might result in an heir. I understood his fear, mirrored it with my own. Having a real family was a dream I’d never dared let myself hold. I was meant to grow old at Prideaux Hill, tending to the ravens and the graveyard ghosts. But now, I had a husband. I had magick. And I wanted my own family. I blew out a breath that fogged the glass. If only he’d stop treating me like a breakable girl andlistento me.
A warm breeze rustled through my hair, and I had the strange sense that I was being watched. But that was silly. I pushed it aside. Only… the feeling persisted. Someone orsomethingwas standing behind me. My heart racing, I turned, ready to confront my husband about his mulish behavior, but found the bedchamber just as empty as it had been moments ago. Save for my two wolves, who were by the fire.
“Bastien?” I whispered, but no answer came.
I turned back around with a huff, facing the windows once more, determined to come up with some way to remove this necklace on my own and make my magick work, when the sheep’s horn beganvibratingagainst my breastbone. I nearly dropped it in surprise, but an unseen force ensured it stayed in my hands. Pulses of demonic energy raced through my body. Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and basked in the heat it produced. In the magick it was giving me.
I begged the demonic relic to fill me up with power that couldn’t be taken away. “Please, Damien,” I whispered, not knowing how to pray to the God of the Underworld. “Make meunbreakable.”
I didn’t get a response, not that I believed I would, but something in me softened. My limbs grew limp, and suddenly the horn felt too heavy to hold.My grip on it slackened, and it slid down my stomach, gliding through a line of fresh perspiration, halting just below my belly button.
My breath stuttered. Heat blossomed in my cheeks. My pulse pounded loud enough that it shook the bloodstone Bastien gifted me. It wasn’t just magick that was building inside of me, butpleasure.
Once again, I had the sense that I was being watched. I spun around, pressing my back against the cold glass, ready to confront whoever was there, but no one was. Save for my wolves. The white one was asleep, or pretending to be, and the brown one was standing guard, watching me intently. I let out a nervous laugh. That was it. It was just the wolf. No one was here.
I told myself to put the horn away, but it continued to vibrateinsistently, as if it knew exactly where it wanted to be. I moved it a little lower. Then lower. Feeling equal parts embarrassed and reckless as I let it brush against me. Justthere. Right where I’d wanted Bastien to be. And when I did, intense pleasure whirled through me, like I was melting and breaking apart at the same time. Bastien’s lips and tongue had been world-changing, but this was something else entirely.
I pulled it away, knowing what I was doing was wrong. This wasn’t what demonic relics were used for. I had a husband. I had no business doingthis. And yet, I was intrigued. Bastien had stoked a desire that had nowhere to go. Now the fire inside me had taken on a life of its own, demanding a conclusion. Demanding release. And the horn had an answer.
I told myself I was only curious. That this was nothing more than testing the relic, exploring how its energy moved through me. The lie was just enough to quiet my own judgments. I glanced around the doorframe to ensure I was still alone, then tentatively brought it back, allowing the vibrating horn to touch me again.
The pleasure came stronger this time, rippling through me until my knees threatened to buckle. The sheep’s horn was smooth on one side and ridged on the other. I slid it back and forth,back and forth. The more I teased myself, the wetter I became, until the horn was damp and slipped easily through, parting me until its vibrating tip brushed against the soft spot Bastien taught me about.
I sank to the floor, my back flush against the glass. I didn’t know what kind of power this was, but if it could dothisto me, I was enthralled. My legs fell apart on a slow sigh, and I let myself explore the sensations. I worked it in a circle, twisting it so the ridged side slid against me, which felt even better. After only a few moments, I was ready to come apart.
I pulled it away, giving myself space to breathe, to savor the torment of being close without tipping over the edge.
Then, madness overtook me. A half-formed thought. With my eyes shut, I guided the tip toward my center, to the place Bastien had claimed. My hips shifted forward without permission, my body answering before my mind could object, and gently nudged it inside me.
Stars exploded behind my eyes. I sucked in a jagged breath. I should stop. I knew that, but it felt too good. It felt too right. I urged it deeper, letting it buzz against that warm spot inside me. I surrendered to the wrongness of it, to the way my body opened without hesitation, welcoming the magick building inside me. My free hand slid to my clit, fingers rubbing in tight little circles as everything else spun wildly out of control.
I thought of Bastien. Of the way his eyes blackened before he bit me. Of the way he slid into me. I wanted him right here. I wanted his hard thrusts. I wanted to watch his face as he unraveled with me. I wanted to feel him dripping out of me.
