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“And the other day, when I caught you and Lian fighting, you had these beautiful wings made of bone.”

He sighs, and already I regret bringing it up.

“Corvin, it’s all right because it’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine,” he says. “Just something I don’t talk about a lot. Years ago, my twin sister, Caelia, went missing in nearby woods. She often went hunting. Her and I were incredibly close to the point where we finished each other’s sentences. Anyway, we scoured those woods for days, but she was nowhere. We held onto hope she would remain alive but on the fifth day of her disappearance, the membrane and flesh of wings fell away, leaving me with just the bones. You see, when a twin dies, the soul connection between us is severed, and that’s when we knew we’d lost her for good.”

My heart aches so deeply, that I reach over and hold his hand. “Gods, I’m so sorry.”

“I still think of her all the time. She’d like you very much. She also loved to stand up to everyone.”

“She sounds amazing to me.”

We sit there for a long time, and he doesn’t move away. Perhaps it’s the music or the darkness shrouding us, but I’m enjoying myself. It should horrify me, but after what I’ve been through, I need time out too. And it surprises me how much calmer Corvin is than I expected.

“You want to know something?” he asks as the music steals all other sounds, including the two dozen monsters on the dance floor yelling out as they dance.

“What’s that?”

“You’re all I’ve thought about since first finding you being burned at the stake.”

“Was it the whole not-burning-up thing? Is that a Grimvale thing?”

He gives me a serious look for two seconds. “For one, Ice Fire bloodlines with dragonfly marks are immune to fire, so yes. And secondly, it wasn’t the fire that’s been on my mind.”

“Mmm.” I take another sip and glance around us.

“So you’re not curious to find out what it is?”

I shake my head, pursing my lips, which only has him laughing. He makes a throaty sound that threatens to set my insides on fire with its wickedness.

“I’m fine because I suspect I know where this will go, and I think we should keep things as they are now.”

He laughs louder this time, pulling back into his seat. “You surprise me, but there was something I intended to tell you. Kazak told us you think you’re eighteen, but in Grimvale, our years work a bit differently. Back home, you’re actually considered to be twenty-one years old.”

I shift in my seat, my shoulders pulling back. “Wait, so in the span of one night, I’ve just aged three years?”

He shrugs. “Afraid so.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“Well, once you turn twenty-one, there’s a ritual held where you’re matched with your mate, and he must show the council that he is your first by presenting evidence of your blood.”

“No, there isn’t,” I almost squeal. “That’s horrible.”

He leans back and drinks more. “You’ll never know.”

“You’re a liar.”

He’s back to leaning against my side, his fingers sweeping under my chin and drawing me toward him. An inferno unfurls through me at our proximity. His breath dances across my cheek. “It’s been a long time since any woman has stolen my attention as you have. You’re on my mind constantly, and you’ve even slipped into my dreams.”

“Should I ask?” I ask, my insides melting.

“I can show you,” he says.

Before I can respond, he moves in closer, and his mouth grazes mine. My heart slams into my rib cage. Not a single thought exists beyond kissing Corvin, the second monster I’ve locked lips with in as many days. Yet, I lean into him as sinful desire spreads between my thighs.

His tongue tangles with mine and explores my mouth, all while his grip on my jaw holds me in place as he captures my lower lip in his mouth and sucks on it.