Tethys lunged for her then, letting the dam break. The flood of violent thoughts drowned her mind as she wrapped her claws around Adria’s neck. She squeezed, tighter and tighter until the queen’s complexion whitened. Panic flashed in Adria’s eyes, but Tethys refused to release her hold. She burned in the darkness blazing from within. Tingles rushed through her veins, sending her pulse boiling up her throat.
Tethys didn’t care that Adria begged for breath or that she fought against the hold. All that mattered was squeezing every last breath of life from the queen’s lungs. She was done letting Adria’s vicious words shred her apart. Years of abuse fueled the violet flames emulating from her fingertips. The light twisted around Adria’s long, delicate neck, contorting it in shadows.
“Please, Elpis—sister. Let me go,” Adria choked, ragged tears streaming from her muted eyes.
“The Ursaeans are better off without you. Vikar is better off without you,” Tethys growled, feeling the life flood from Adria’s lips.
The walls sizzled around them, time stopped, and Tethys knew then she’d succumbed to the darkness—the demon waiting for an escape. She closed her eyes, refusing to watch the last remnants of the memory play out.
Chapter 51
Before dawn’s light, Araes had already packed up camp. Tethys, very aware of the dark circles under her eyelids, held the weight of her nightmare close. She excused herself briefly to refresh for the day’s ride to the Aquilaean border.
Cautious of her aching muscles, she peeled the clothes from her body and waded into a shallow pool. The water was a cool caress against her aching joints as she washed the nightmare away, letting it dissipate from her mind. The darkness of her dreams felt worlds away, and so she wouldn’t address it. The woman, Elpis, whose memories she witnessed, was one filled with hatred and darkness. Violence coursed through her veins. It was better to recognize the separation between them before Tethys, too, fell victim to her lethal grip.
Tethys sighed, plunging her head beneath the chilled fresh surface. For the first time in a very long time, she could breathe effortlessly. Maybe she was selfish in denying her nightmare’s space in her mind’s property, but therewould be time to acknowledge their meaning. Not today. Not when the weight of her own realm hung haphazardly overhead. Tethys resurfaced and waded to the shoreline, leaving her nightmare to float in the water column.
The sun arced over the sky and, just before nightfall, they reached Piscium. The familiar feel of leaving Venia snapped through her as the forest line faded into a sand-coated village along the coast. She’d return to her people once they were safe. Once their children were in hand.
Tethys scanned the small stone buildings lining a pier that jutted into the eastern harbor. Smoke lingered from chimneys as evening fires blazed to life and the sharp salted sea pricked her nostrils. The clouds darkened on the oceanic horizon—a coastal storm was coming, and she was more than grateful to have a warm inn to retire to that evening.
“Keep your hood up, Goddess. It’s unlikely the villagers will recognize you. It’s better to be safe,” Araes said, flicking Gaia’s reins. They crossed a narrow cobblestone path and followed the sloping village toward the pier. Tethys tucked her curls in, now pale yellow in the dying day’s light, and kept her chin dipped behind the thin cloak she donned.
They arrived at the inn when the last windowsill candle was lit and passed Gaia’s reins to the stable hand. He assured them she’d be well fed and watered as Araes tossed him a gold coin and the pair entered the warm foyer. The innkeeper, a young Aquilaean woman, handed Araes the key with a suspicious brow.
“If you don’t mind, we’d like a bath drawn. It’s been a long journey,” he requested. The innkeeper snapped a thin tawny finger and a staff member appeared, only to nod swiftly and climb the steps to the inn’s second floor.
Finally in the privacy of their harbor-facing room, Tethys let her body rest. Lavender steam emanated fromthe hot bath greeting them as she unclasped her cloak and shrugged out of the grime covered tunic.
“Eos above, I don’t even care that this bed’s made from straw,” she said. A distant crack of thunder rattled the window overlooking the sea. Araes watched her from across the room, exhaustion glazing his eyes. She slithered out of her trousers, letting the cotton pants pool at her ankles.
“Well, Lieutenant, are you just going to stand there or would you like to join me?” she asked, her voice ragged with lust.
“If it’s as you wish, my queen,” Araes replied, stripping his own tunic. Moonlight pouring in from the window illuminated every crease and curve of his sculpted chest. His inky tattoos rippled as he strutted toward her, naked as the day he entered this world. The lush lavender steam caressed his jawline as he sunk into the tub. He loosed a groan that sent shudders down Tethys’s spine, now envious of each water droplet streaking down his neck.
“Now, Goddess, you’re the one staring,” he humored, raising a brow. The jaw she hadn’t realized was hanging open snapped shut as she focused on scrubbing the forest grit from her skin. Before she could bring the sea sponge, now lathered with sweet scented soap, to her shoulder, Araes placed his hand on hers.
“Let me,” he whispered.
She obliged and passed him the sponge. Two calloused hands, now gentle in their touch, turned her back to him. She piled her hair atop her head as Araes wrung out the sponge, letting the warmth of the sudsy bath water cascade down her spine. He leaned in close, placing kisses down her neck.
“If I could stay here forever, I would,” he whispered against her ear. Gooseflesh rose ignited down the back of her arms as he trailed the sponge up shoulder blades. A hand beneath the waterline slid around her hip and up herabdomen, leaving a delicious pull of tension in its path.
“I will never grow tired of touching you,” he said, pulling her against his chest. He washed the sponge over her collarbone and across her breast, sending heat blazing through her skin. Her nipples pebbled at his touch.
Tethys relaxed into him, the feel of his hardened cock pressing into her hips. A groan escaped her throat as Araes circled her clit with his thumb. Every stroke, more agonizingly slow than the last. Visceral, all-encompassing tension settled low in her belly and she groaned again.
“Gods, that fucking sound. I won’t ever get enough of hearing you moan for me, Goddess.” His words were a whisper against her ear and her thighs tensed in response. The sponge now followed the curve of her ribs, past her belly button, and along the outline of her hip. He slid a finger inside of her, stroking her inner walls with equally slow movement.
“Araes, do not tease me so,” she breathed. He pressed his thumb harder against her sex, exhaling a moan that sent shockwaves through her veins. She leaned further into him, tilting her head into the crook of his shoulder. His other hand found her nipple, pinching it between his fingertips.
“I wouldn’t think of it,” Araes said, his smirk highlighted in the tone of his low whisper. He released his grasp and spun her around, their noses brushing in the swirling, heated mist.
Tethys wrapped her arms around him, restless to feel her body stretch around his. She lowered herself onto him, feeling the tip of his cock brush against her opening.
“Take your pleasure from me, Goddess,” he whispered. The ragged sound of his breath sent goose flesh down her arms and she slid on to him, feeling his length fill her entirely.
She rode him with achingly slow movements. Tension twisted and twirled in her core, sending her pulse to theheavens. Araes gripped her thighs, guiding her movements with groans and pleasure-glazed breaths.
