Shadow Cursed by May Sage Page 0,42

back to the sea, he would have wanted to. Sea blood draws people to the water.

"And the others?"

There are plenty of blue roses at the center of his back.

"I eventually made friends, and lost them too."

His life is so different from mine. I have a few friends, I suppose, but I've never lost any of them. Before the attack, I lived in a world where young folk didn't simply die. He was already fighting a war.

No wonder my skin used to be bare of any mark.

Now I have two.

The one that appeared down my back the night I saved Drusk from the assault his friends didn't survive.

And one that crawls up my sleeve, twisting around my neck and shoulder.

Identical to Drusk's. Seeing it on his tanned skin makes me want to lick it. Nip at his flesh just there.

I wonder what he makes of his mark. Part of me wants to ask him. Ask when it appears—though I know. What it means to him now. How he interprets it. To him, it may tell the story of the battle of Hardrock. I know it's an incomplete mating ring, without any sense or structure. Unlinked filigrees trying to wrap around an untold story.

Mine, mine, mine.

He shifts on the bed, turning to face me. "Are you done fondling me, Nevlaria?" His midnight-blue eyes shine with heat.

"Not quite," I reply, redirecting my attention to his chest now. Over his taut skin, there's another set of marks, curving over his heart. I move to touch them, but he takes my wrist away. "What were these for?"

He's done sharing. He's done with my teasing, too. Drusk tugs my wrist, pulling me to him, and bends his head to mine, capturing my lips under his.

Home.

He feels like home. His kiss starts slow, soft, but when I moan, opening my mouth to his, he groans and deepens his exploration, his hands sliding along the length of my torso with a reverence I've never felt. I'm mostly flat, without many curves, yet he makes me feel like there was never a body more sensual, more deserving of worship. I'm desperate for more. All my resolutions fly out the window when he dips his mouth to the curve of my ear and drops light kisses along its tip.

I need him. I need him like I need my own soul.

I flip over, climbing on top of him, my hands pressed over his hard chest.

In that instant, I don't care about the world. I don't care about Tenebris. I don't care about the folk. All that matters is my mate.

Then, an explosion makes the entire keep shake, and there's nothing but chaos.

Shadows at the Gates

Vlari

I leap to my feet and rush to the pile of clothes folded on a nearby desk. I'd prepared a pair of pants, a linen shirt, and a doublet for tomorrow. I put them on, as Drusk goes to the window.

"Southwest, close to the hall of Ash," he tells me, eyes focused in the distance. "Humans, on foot. Thousands. Too many to count." He curses out loud. "The air dome didn't fool them."

He takes his belt and weapons, I throw his jerkin to him, and we're on our way out, jogging as we head to my mother's quarters.

"That was fast. Too fast. They were ready to attack."

I can only bite my lip and nod.

My mother, father, and grandma meet us in the corridors, trailed by the king and queen of Stone.

"What's the plan?" Queen Ina asks me.

Me. Not my mother, or anyone else. Seconds ago, I was about to get impaled in the best way, and I'm supposed to come up with a plan against an invasion right now.

I've had to act like I know what I’m doing, to ensure no one questions me, but this is a bit much.

I need to think. I need…

Help.

I need help.

I only have to glance to Drusk, and he's speaking. "We can defend Whitecroft Hall itself. The children and those who can't fight should come here." Drusk resumes our walk toward the entrance of the keep. "Whatever archers we have should be inside, on windows. The guards need to protect the gates. The humans' strength is their numbers. We need to funnel them—ensure they can't surround us and attack on many fronts. If there was one magic user every two or three meters all around Whitecroft, but for an opening we choose, they'd be forced to try to enter where we can manage them."

"That won't work—not indefinitely." Liken shakes his head.