The Abyss (Fae's Captive #7) - Lily Archer Page 0,20

comes down to it, you are my only concern.” I pull her hair until her lips open on the hint of a moan. “Do you understand, my beloved?” I lick across the seam of her lips. “I will take you to get Clotty, and when that’s done, you will be in the winter realm, in my bed, until I see fit to release you.”

“How long will that be?” Her breathy question goes straight to my cock.

“As long as I like.” I pull harder, and she arches her back, her taut nipples showing through her shirt. Leaning down, I capture one in my mouth despite the fabric.

“Gareth.” She digs her nails into my shoulders.

“And you will take everything I give you. Again and again. Do you understand?”

When I nip at her with my fang, she gasps. “Yes.”

“Good.” I return to her mouth and take it in a rough kiss that leaves no doubt. I will make good on each of my claims. She may have gotten her way on our journey to the mines, but I will always be the one who masters her body and feeds her soul.

10

Beth

Gareth is even more gruff than usual as we stride through the fractured Cranthum streets. I’m just happy he hasn’t disintegrated the small force that follows at our backs. Up ahead, the slave market is nothing more than a pile of rubble, and we have to pick our way around it to continue toward the southern gate.

He helps me over the biggest chunks of destruction, lifting me with ease until we’re clear of the debris.

“Don’t be so grumpy.” I hook my arm through his.

He gives me a glower.

“Aww, come on.” I try my most winsome smile. “It’ll be a fun adventure.”

“Haven’t you had enough adventure?” He swats at a horsefly that buzzes near me. “Haven’t you had enough of the hot sun, the dry lands, the arid wind? We could be awash in furs, roasted meat, and pleasure. Instead, we march toward danger.” Shaking his head, he lengthens his stride, each step just as angry as the last. “Me. Taking my mate into danger.” His words continue, but under his breath, and each one of them full of irritation.

“Glad we’re in agreement.” I pat his back.

Slaves wearing white kerchiefs stand at each street corner as we pass. Silmaran has stationed these peacekeepers throughout the city, though they haven’t been able to quell all the violence. Some slaves have taken vengeance into their own hands. Though the market street is clear, there’s a smoking crater where the alchemy shop used to be.

Parnon thumps along behind me, his head down.

“Are you okay?” I fall back and try to match his pace.

He doesn’t look up.

“Parnon?”

“Fine.” He doesn’t say the word so much as bite it off.

“I’m sorry.” I touch his arm. I expect him to pull away, but he doesn’t.

He keeps trudging along the road, his eyes down, his heart broken. “They knew the risk.” His gruff tone is still there, but now its coated with a layer of sadness.

“It’s not your fault. You know that, right?” I have a lifetime of regrets, of losses that I blame myself for—Clotty among them. Sometimes it’s easier to blame yourself than to accept that this world is hard and unfair. “You couldn’t have saved them if you’d been there. Cenet’s magic is too strong.”

“I can’t save anyone.” He flexes his fists. “I fight. That’s all.”

“You saved me.”

He finally looks at me, his sandy lashes shading his eyes from the bright sun. “I did?”

“You let Captain Bracanda drown you rather than call for help, rather than reveal that we were hidden in the walls. All you had to do was talk. You could’ve said we were there, and you would’ve been forgotten. But you didn’t. You died for us. All of us.” I step around a black crack in the road. “And you saved Gareth from being shredded during the uprising. You fight, but you’re more than that, too. Eldra and Nemar knew it. So do I.”

He grunts in response, but he doesn’t drop his gaze again. His eyes are up, looking toward the southern horizon.

I squeeze his solid arm. “They live on in our hearts, and we will avenge them.”

The pain still beats inside him, a dull echo of whatever he’s feeling reverberating inside me. They shouldn’t have died. They should be here helping the slaves start their new lives. Cenet and Zatran took their lives without a thought. But plenty of thought will go into hunting them