I want more.
I wanteverything.
She begins to pull away before I can take it.
I follow, desperate to own her next breath.
To consume her.
When she breaks the kiss, my demon shrieks, raging from the depths of my mind at the loss. Her pupils are blown wide with desire, bleeding into the red of her irises, but the air is noticeably absent of the nauseating scent of Calanthe’s power. The fading lust in Nyx’s eyes is entirely her own.
As is the realization that dawns when she remembers where we are.
Whowe are.
WhoIam.
I watch as her eyes widen with shock.
Cheeks flush with shame.
Breath stutter with anger.
Eyes narrow with detachment so cold it douses the heat between us until there’s nothing left but frigid silence, broken by cheering and whooping as her friends explode into a frenzy.
The rest of us are frozen in place.
When she pulls away, Thane exhales sharply, like she’s taken the breath from his very lungs, and I have to stop myself from reaching her. Her eyes flick to him, then to me, and finally to Calanthe, who’s too stunned to stop Nyx when she grabs the bottle of rum out of her hand and stalks away through the sandy beach, disappearing into the woods. Killian finishes his beer and throws the glass into the fire before following moments later as her friends watch and whisper in his wake.
When he disappears too, Calanthe finally speaks from where she sits between Lyra and Cynthia. “You let herkissyou?” she seethes.
“You were the one who dared her to, Calanthe. If you’re upset, it’s your own fault for underestimating her.”
She clenches her jaw at my casual reminder of her own stupidity and grits out, “I am your fiancée, Roth.”
I stand, silencing her with a cold stare. “You are a pawn, Calanthe. One that’s been bought and paid for. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you’ll become queen.” Luther and Thane flank me as I lead the way past Nyx’s friends, ignoring their pointed looks. No one speaks as we disappear into the trees, following the path back to campus. For once, I’m lost for words.
Lost in the memory of her eyes locked onto mine as she slid her legs over my hips.
She choseme.
Touchedme.
And Ilether.
“You good?” Thane asks after a few moments, voice filled with concern.
“You good with this?”she asked. She waited.
So different than Thane asking permission.
She was asking for my consent.
“Yes.” He and Luther share a look over my head, and turn back to me.
“…you are?”
“Yes.” I turn to Thane. “I am.” He swallows thickly as my voice deepens with the threat of my demon rising. Just then, we hear Killian’s haunting howl echo through the trees.
