“Do you hear how wet you are? And all for me,” he groaned, dark desire and primal possessiveness wrapping around myribs. “You’re going to come for me. I want you to absolutely soak me. Can you do that?”
I nodded, too far gone already to form words. His fingers moved back and forth. I rocked my hips over them. A bolt of lightning shattered through me—too blinding, too searing. Thunder followed, crashing through my soul as I came undone.
“Vaeron!” I screamed, drowning in the ocean of pleasure. My release flooded my thighs, making us slip even faster together.
“Fuck, Sylaira,” my mate cursed, dick pulsing. His abs tightened, and then he came too.
Ecstasy crashed from me to him and him to me, our bond wide open and every sensation shared. Stormwood and ghostflower and silk and sex drowned my nostrils, until I wasn’t sure where he began and I ended.
“If the Goddess tried to take you from me now, I’d tear down the heavens to get you back,” he murmured darkly, shoving me down on his throbbing cock.
My head tipped toward the sky like I knelt in divine prayer. But there was nothing holy about the way Vaeron whispered one last thought into my mind.
“Mine. All fucking mine.”
53
Something different misted the air as Heraphia and I entered the Divine Atrium. A scent of desperation. A hint of madness. Like the room held its breath, waiting for the storm to descend.
Already, a dozen Seers waited like offerings, a scribe on one side and an attendant on the other.
Two to a Seer today?
My brows furrowed. “What’s going on?” I whispered to Heraphia.
“I don’t know,” she murmured back. From between our crystal chairs, Lyriasthe emerged, easing the tight cinch of thorns around my chest. She hadn’t served us breakfast, which was unusual given that she always had a special plate for me, eggs dusted in an herbal seasoning that contained virelthorn.
Through a beaded curtain, the Korona appeared, her gray hair wild waves. But it was nothing compared to the look in hereyes. They locked on us immediately—sharp and icy and brimming with judgement.
We froze mid-stride. She’d flitted in and out of the Atrium, never staying long, since the ball, but she hadn’t been here to greet us at the beginning of the day. And Vaeron had rushed away early this morning, his mind elsewhere as he’d kissed me goodbye…
Iaoth glided to the center of the room, gossamer gown whispering over the ground as she spun a slow circle. Each pause pinned a different Seer under her piercing gaze.
Lyriasthe jerked her head, and we rushed to our chairs.
I’d scarcely planted myself before Iaoth spoke. “Your visions today will make or break this war. What you See could be the line between our salvation or our annihilation.”
The frantic edge of her voice scraped against my spine. But her usual confidence was shattered. Beneath her words was…fear. True fear. Like I’d never heard from anyone outside of the Elessarum.
“Has something happened with the war?”I sent to Vaeron, his silence suddenly deafening.
I worried my lip as I waited for an acknowledgement.
“Yes,”came his tense, terse reply.
I started to question him further, but his sister drew my attention again.
“The Demon forces are stronger than any of you Saw. Our holy warriors are on a retreat. Tens of thousands have already perished,” she said, wobbling slightly where she stood.
Bile crept up my throat. Heraphia whimpered. I reached for her, slipping my hands in hers and giving it a squeeze. Tears spilled over, each falling for Zuriel.
The entire time I’d been at Thalvireth, she hadn’t heard a single word from him. The barest glimpses she Saw during our sessions weren’t enough to reassure her that he would be okay.
Releasing me, she dashed at her cheeks, rolled her shoulders back, and lifted her chin. Dread roiled in my gut. I knew that look of hers—the one that meant she was determined to succeed. I’d seen it when our painting teacher challenged her to capture more emotion in her art. I’d seen it when Zuriel’s family had rejected her. I’d seen it more than once when the Korona came, demanding us to test the limits of our power.
“Our Radiant Mother wants us to survive so we may continue to worship Her and carry out her desires in this world,” Iaoth continued, her voice stronger this time. “Which is why, today, we will attempt to power share.”
A gasp flooded the room. Lightning cracked through my veins.
