I run my hand down her bare spine. “No.”
She frowns. “No?”
I chuckle at her pout. “Tonight we spend it amongst friends. We go over our plans, account for all possibilities. We cover our asses and you can contemplate coming clean with me about your plans.”
All amusement drains from her face as she pales. “I—”
I push my fingers against her lips. “Don’t say you can’t.”
“Are we heading back to our rooms?” Jed says, sidling up next to us as Natia stares into my eyes. I should be reassured, but that look in her eyes makes me nervous.
Lucifer jerks his head towards the door and the gang traipses after him through the crowd of cheerful warlords. I grab Natia’s hand. Her palm is sweaty and trembling, sending trepidation trickling through my veins. The doors slam closed behind us. I slow as we turn down a hall, widening the gap between us and the rest of the gang. Zac looks over his shoulder with a frown. “Go on ahead. Natia wanted to see the gardens at night,” I explain as I tug her down a corridor.
I push her behind the heavy curtains and press her into the wall.
She licks her lips as I lock her body into place with mine, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head. “What are you doing?” she whispers.
I tilt my head and reach for the tether that links our souls. She shudders as I draw it to the surface. She’s open to me and vulnerable. I yank on it tighter. Pain flares in her eyes and she slams her head back against the wall. “That pain is a minuscule fraction of what I would feel if I were to lose you.” I keep the tension tight. “Do you plan on killing yourself tomorrow?”
She shakes her head as tears glisten in her eyes. “No.” Tension eases from my shoulders and I release the tether.
“Then why are you so tense?”
She closes her eyes and sucks in a breath before they snap open. Gold mixes with turbulent turquoise, creating a stunning display of power. “What would you prefer me to be, mortal or immortal? Does this curse change things for you? Who do you want more, the badass mortal woman or the immortal goddess queen?”
I kiss her cheek where a lone tear tracks down her flesh and catch it before it drops. “This isn’t about tomorrow? It’s about our future?”
“Both.”
“You have always been a queen, Natia. Immortality has not changed who you are at the core, and that is what owns my soul. Your power lies in your courage, your unwavering belief that good will prevail—it isn’t in your species. Would I prefer you be at your strongest so that people wouldn’t constantly challenge you? Without a doubt.”
“I’ll be weak,” she whispers, glancing at the floor.
I grip her jaw and force her eyes back to mine. “You have never been weak. You stormed into my life and called me on my bullshit without batting an eyelid. Even when faced with evil, even when you’ve experienced it firsthand—you never once backed down from what you believe in. Think about all you achieved before now, the people you have saved, the friendships you have formed, the love you offer to a creature steeped in darkness. Minutes ago, you commanded a room full of the most terrifying warlords in existence and made them eat out of the palm of your hand. Not because of your fancy elemental show, or your spin on what they fight for. It’s because you wear your enormous heart on your sleeve, whether it swells with love or bleeds from grief—it’s a compelling force that has grown demons begging to be in your orbit. You once told me to not underestimate you, now it’s time to stop underestimating yourself.”
She jerks forward and brushes her lips along mine. I can’t shake the feeling she is saying goodbye to me, like I’m missing something crucial. But she cannot lie. I fall into the kiss, tugging on her hair to angle her mouth so I can taste the depths of her raging love. I’m an addict for her kiss, and I would willingly walk to my destruction for one more taste of her. She trusts me with her precious heart and I will wrap it in steel to ensure no one hurts her again. She completes me, and I will spend eternity worshipping at her altar.
Her wrists wriggle under my hold. I release them and band my arm around her back, holding her closer. She grips the lapels of my jacket and tries to get even closer, like she could climb inside me.
“The bitch won’t even see it coming until it’s too late,” a male voice mutters. I tear my mouth from Natia’s, her breaths coming fast and loud. I slam my palm over her mouth and frown.
“He’s counting on it,” a different male says. “She is so full of herself, bitch needs taking down a peg or two.”
Natia’s eyes widen and I grit my teeth.
“The warlock is out, I suggested the witch, but he wants the other friend.”
“The muscly guy?”
They grow closer. I lean against Natia and ensure our outlines can’t be made out through the curtains.
“Yes, she saved his life, apparently. So it figures she’d do anything for him.”
Natia blinks as her nostrils flare. “So it’s set for three am?”
“Yup, The Duchess has some of her more reasonable monsters under the castle.”
“Lucifer is such a fool,” one of them laughs as their footsteps fade in the opposite direction. I release her mouth.
