“I love you,” I whisper like a broken tune, repeating those three words that are my only undeniable truth.
If all else fails, if there is nothing left to cling to, this moment here will last for all eternity.
Our love is immortal. And through it, so are we.
His fangs are pressing against my skittering pulse, burning but not sinking. I moan deeply as my hips pick up the pace, riding my Vampire King like it’s the last time.
Because it could very well be.
But it won’t.
“Feast on me, Killian. Devour me. Bleed me dry and carry my very soul within you for eons to come. Make us one.”
His control finally snaps, canines plunging into my throat just as his hips snap harder, sharper. My wails pierce the night, bouncing off the domed glass ceiling of the greenhouse. Our shadows hum, a buzzing static against our flesh. They burn ever brighter, twin flames of darkness threatening to swallow us whole.
I lose all sense of time or space; my entire body is a raw nerve pulled taut, ready to rupture at any moment.
And then I fracture.
I surrender to the fall.
My being a flimsy thread caught in the eye of a violent storm of pleasure.
Spurred on by my clenching heat, Killian tenses, the vein in his temple a living thing. He spills with a roar, lapping the rivulets of blood marring the curve of my shoulder.
As we lay in the afterglow, chest deep in the cleansing water of the pond, a small, satisfied sigh escapes me.
“Gold coin for your thoughts, my umbra?” Killian asks against my hairline, his breath ruffling the fine hairs there.
I twine my fingers with his, resting our palms on his chest, just above his heart.
“Just happy, my love. Right now, in this perfect little bubble of ours, this is my happy ending.”
His penetrating gaze burns a hole in my face before he whispers, “There is no end to us, little umbra,” and kisses me anew.
Chapter 34
Blaise
There’saforebodingqualityto the air surrounding me on this bleak night, deep inside the forest bordering Drovillan. Crouched low, my hands press against the frozen soil, dreading the moment when the vibrations in the ground will signal the oncoming onpyr horde. Flanking me on my right, Axel resembles a stern statue, unblinking as he strains his ears for any dubious sounds.
It’s dead quiet. The wind has stilled, and not one leaf rustles from above us.
The tall pine trees spear the sky, covering our warriors behind their evergreen branches. Somewhere up there, hidden from sight, Sariah awaits with her Dark Umbras to unleash upon the enemy like a vengeful dark angel. I search for her in the stillness, trying to home in on her heartbeat, but even with my heightened senses, I can’t pinpoint her location.
My little pixie is just that extraordinary.
The best Godsdamn spy that ever graced these lands, myself included.
An envious squeeze of my heart keeps tightening my chest since she chose to follow her brother and their fighters into the trees, instead of joining me on the ground.
I did not ask. But the burning question in my eyes was met with a slight shake of her blond waves and a flutter of lashes.
“Wouldn’t want to perturb your exemplary focus, pretty boy,” she said before climbing the trunk of a nearby conifer with the stealth and agility of a wild cat.
On my other side, Mattya holds his breath, face turning pale as his hands shake imperceptibly on the sheath of his daggers. My hand presses against his own, stilling the movement. His wide eyes bore into mine, fear bleeding into his features.
Beneath his warrior uniform and vampiric strength, he’s still a kid about to face death on a colossal magnitude he hasn’t experienced yet.
