Light rushes through me as I receive their reply to my question.
You are our heart. Our infinite hope. A soul of truth bred from the stars.
Chapter Twenty
When the thin mattress dips, I turn, letting Roshan gather me into his arms, taking shameless comfort in the fact that his strong body is curled around mine.
“Are you all right?” I mumble blearily.
He kisses my forehead. “Yes. Sorry I woke you.”
“Where’s Aran?”
“Getting us some jadu. Try to go back to sleep.”
But as the warmth pools in my veins with our bodies lying flush, I don’t want to sleep. I want to forget about the mess we’re in. I want to calm the voices in my head. I want to feel something other than fear. I drift one hand down his back and under his shirt to the warm skin beneath. Dark eyes glint in the gloom. “Sura,” he whispers, “you need to rest.”
“I need you more.” My hands skim up to his pectorals, brushing over his broad chest and then down his abdomen to the trail of hair leading to the waistband of his trousers. I trace the edge of his pants around his backside and curl my nails into the firm rise of his buttocks. Sands, everything about him is sleek and strong.
Breathless, I burrow closer, feeling his length harden against my stomach, and I lift my face to his in silent plea. He doesn’t disappoint as warm lips cover mine. The taste of him is intoxicating, the velvetslide of his tongue a feeling I can’t get enough of. Roshan’s kiss is soft and tender as if he wants to reassure me that everything will be fine. But I don’t want tender, I want hungry and hard. I want to be breathless... mindless with passion.
I want to forget that I’m marching toward death and there’s nothing I can do.
Digging my fingernails in, I grind against him as I tease his lower lip and then bite it gently, drawing a husky groan from him. His mouth drags to my throat, a palm sliding up to cup my breast, and I can’t help the needy whimper that escapes me.
“Now, Roshan,” I beg.
His hands curve around me, unfastening and loosening, as we hurriedly rid each other of our bottom layers, aware of the fact that Aran could return at any minute. I’m already so wet that it doesn’t take much for Roshan to slip inside me. We both moan at the snug fit, when he angles my knee up over his hip for purchase and inches deeper, seating himself entirely. The position is shallow, but every time he rocks, he hits a spot that makes me quake.
“Fuck, you’re tight like this,” he growls.
Needing more, I roll to the side and take him with me so he’s on top. I wrap my legs around him. “Faster, Ro.”
He claims my lips again as he thrusts into me, making the small cot shake with the force of his movements. It’s nothing like the aqueduct when we took our time with each other. This is frenzied, as if we both need the physical reminder that we’re alive... that we have something to live for even if time isn’t on our side.
“Sura, I’m close,” he mutters against my mouth, his motions growing jerkier.
I feel my own climax coalescing as his pubic bone hits me just where I need it on each downstroke, and my legs start to tremble as white edges my vision. Jerking my hips upward, I chase the pleasureuntil it envelops me with the intensity of a shooting star rocketing across the heavens. Roshan comes, too, slamming as deep as he can go with a muffled curse, his body shaking. His weight collapses on me, but I don’t mind. Panting as we lie there, our racing heartbeats form a discordant melody. Not a single word is needed.
I wrap myself in his arms and his scent, imagining us in a parallel universe where he’s just a man and I’m just a woman, and happiness is a joyful possibility. But our moment of comfort is much too short as a slamming thud echoes down the hall.
“Roshan!” Aran calls out. “We need to go. The officer from the supply warehouse is looking for you. He claims he saw Suraya and what she can do. It’s anarchy up there. I have the jadu we need to summon a portal, but it’s just a matter of time before they find us.”
We lurch upright in unison, my head nearly crashing into Roshan’s as we both reach for our discarded clothing and yank it on. For a second, I can’t control my panic, and his harsh expression has my heart thumping into a frantic pace. “Why can’t we portal from here?” I ask Aran, opening the door.
“These crystals are too weak for the distance, and if the magic fails, we could end up somewhere we don’t want to be. Or worse.”
Roshan shudders beside me. “I’ve seen a man split in half from failed portal magic. For our best chance, we need to be out, under moonlight and starlight. They’ll boost the crystal’s power.”
Jadu is a finite resource, but given the source of my own magic, it makes sense that the stars and the moon might provide some enhancement. Finger-combing my hair, I walk to where Aran is cramming his belongings into a rucksack. He, too, looks exhausted and unkempt. “We can go that way.” He points to a dark opening at the end of the room that I didn’t realize was another tunnel. “That one leads outside. To the Dustlands.”
I lurch back. “TheDustlands?”
“It’s our only chance.” He glances toward the trapdoor. “It won’t be long before the men find their way here. They’re tearing the warehouse apart.”
I let out a hiss of frustration. “What’s the bounty? Gold?”
“Jadu,” Aran says, and my heart sinks.
