He tilts his head slightly, studying me. A flicker of something unreadable in his expression. “You’re sure?”
I nod once.
Silence folds in around us. The tension thickens—tightens—wrapping around us like vines, like fate. He steps closer, lowering his face to mine, so near I can feel the heat of his breath. His scent envelops me, like firewood and frost, cedar smoke and citrus. Like something untamed, warm, and devastatingly familiar.
I close my eyes as he leans in, but instead of his lips meeting mine, he lowers his head, takes my hand gently in both of his… And presses his lips to the place where the tattoo-like mark still glows.
“I release you from your promise.”
Something ignites. The markflaresbeneath his kiss, burninghot, thenhotter—until the magic cracks. I cry out, nearly doubling over from the sudden surge of heat.
Keiren catches me, one arm wrapping around my back, the other steadying my hand, as the last trace of the tattoo sears… and then disappears.
Gone.Freed.
I blink up at him, breathless. The skin on my palm is spotless again—except for Cassian’s bargain, at least. But somehow, it feels… empty, like something sacred has been taken away from me. Like a thread has been cut.
And part of me—gods help me—part of me mournsthe loss.
“Our first kiss,” he murmurs against my skin, “won’t be because of a bargain.”
I just stare up at him. His jaw is tight, his eyes unreadable. My chest aches with everything I can’t yet say.
He releases my hand. “I’ll go get our beds ready,” he says. Then he turns and leaves me standing there, speechless.
Chapter 24
Nightmares
Selene!” The voice curls through my dream like a thread of silk. My name. Myrealname. I haven’t heard it spoken aloud in what feels like forever. I turn toward the sound, heart fluttering, mind soft.
I’m standing in a ballroom of glass and gold, the chandelier above me burning like captive starlight. Mirrors scale the walls as musicians play a waltz I know by heart.
My dress shimmers, delicate white silk embroidered with silver thread. The gossamer fabric clings to my waist and flares at my hips like moonlight in motion. My hair is pinned high, braided with jasmine and pearls.
A dream. A memory. A warning.
Becauseheis there. Edric Grey. My fiancé.
Tall. Slender. His orange beard is trimmed to perfection, not a strand out of place. His doublet is gold, too gold. Eyes the color of melting ice, pale and cold, are fixed on me with that hungry, hollow stare I still see in every nightmare.
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” I say, stepping back into the threshold of my chambers. In the mirror, I catch a glimpse of myself. Radiant. Fragile. Breakable.
He doesn’t stop advancing, doesn’t even smile. Just calmly turns and slides the bolt shut behind him.
“We’re to be married,” he says, stepping forward. “Soon, Selene. It’s only natural.”
“No, it isn’t,” I whisper coldly as he closes the distance. “Get out.”
But he doesn’t listen. He never does. His gloved hand reaches for my arm, and I flinch away.
But I’m not fast enough. He touches my wrist, then seizes it and brings his mouth to mine in a vicious kiss. He reeks of whiskey.
And suddenly I’m thrown—slammed—back against the wall, my head cracking against the carved paneling. The stars above the chandelier shatter in my vision.
“Stop,” I gasp, fighting the swirl of silk and satin as his hands yank at the tiny ties down my back. “Don’t do this. Please,stop—”
His lips crash into mine. Brutal. Possessive. Inhuman.
