Chapter
Thirteen
Sebian Present day, Deepmarsh Castle
on’t bother, Raven.
Groaning in frustration, I followed Galantia out of the great hall, my cock painfully stiff.D Things could’ve gotten real interesting down there—quite possibly ending with my mouth on her juicy cunt tonight—wasn’t for fucking Lorn. How could Malyr have been so reckless, letting her walk in on him like that?
Lorn took no issue with the women Malyr bedded. They were nothing to him—the same way the sorry bastards she fucked were just prey to her. But the way his shadows had seeped from his skin as though Galantia was already writhing beneath him…? How he’d stared down at her, so spellbound, he hadn’t even seen Lorn coming? That shit would turn Domren’s betrothed into a corpse before I had a piece of her.
When Galantia all but tumbled up the stairs, I shifted into my unkindness, only to reshape at the upper landing and grab her arm there. “Stop running.”
That flinch of surprised fear didn’t go unnoticed before she yanked away from me once more.
“Leave me alone.”
My ears pricked at her tone—angry, with a hint of shame. “What did I do now?”
“Nothing,” she bit out, and that carried more than just a hint of accusation. “You simply…
enjoyed the evening’s entertainment. I can’t believe you’re the same person who looked after my wounds.”
An odd twinge spiraled through my core, though it shouldn’t. What had she expected? That just because I had cleaned her cuts, I would coddle her now? Take care of her? Fuck that.
Sick of her attitude and how there was clearly no restoring the mood, I grabbed her shoulder and shoved her back against the stone wall right beside a window. “So did you, judging by that wetness between your legs. You have to be aching.”
All color drained from her face before she quickly veered to the right, as if intent on running from the truth. “Let me go.”
I shot my arm out, barring her escape. “I can smell the mess you made between your creamy legs, Galantia. Every pathfinder in the great hall could.”
Her lips parted—quite possibly to deny it—only to snap shut as realization dawned. Yes, I could smell it. Every. Frothy. Drop. That fact turned her unnaturally still, like the rodents in the fields when my unkindness flew across. Adorable.
Until she lifted a defiant chin. “You’re depraved!”
“That’s bold, coming from the girl who goes around licking knives.” I settled my hand on her hip, kneading, stroking. Fuck, she felt so good in my palm. “If you didn’t have Malyr’s attention before, congratulations, you have it now.”
If there was one thing that got him harder than tormenting a woman, it was tormenting a woman who might actually like it. We’d had a few who’d played the act well enough, they were almost convincing, but they turned to be nothing but self-serving whores who wanted to get close to Malyr
for obvious reasons.
But Galantia?
She’d gotten sopping wet. For what, I couldn’t say yet. His shadows? The humiliation? The taste of blood? Fear? Danger? Pain? Whatever it was, it turned her scent thick with arousal, making my head run wild with visions of making her come against my mouth.
“He left you wanting,” I whispered. Malyr was usually too preoccupied with his shadows to get a girl off properly. And this one? Oh, he probably couldn’t even be bothered. “Let me relieve that ache between your legs.” I slid my hand lower, letting my fingers branch to her inner thigh. “I bet your little clit is still throbbing.”
She hissed at me. Actually hissed! “None of what you say is true!”
“Yeah, it’s true, which is half the fucking problem here,” I barked. “Now, keep snapping at me, sweetheart, and I’ll shoulder you and carry you straight back down there for Lorn to chew up. And, let me tell you, compared to her, Malyr is a saint. Is that what you want?”
She stiffened at my threat, which was smart. “No.”
“No,” I echoed. “So how about you calm down, hmm?” My fingers stroked over her mound, letting the hard shaft of a feather press down until her breath stalled. Found her clit. “Don’t act angry with me when you’re actually angry with yourself. Don’t call me a liar just because you don’t like the sound of the truth. You liked it. No need to be embarrassed about it because, sweet thing…” a lap of my tongue at her earlobe, “so did we.”
At that last word, Galantia tilted her head, staring at me as though she was trying to figure out just what that meant, only for her brows to knit in utter confusion. Somehow, that got me even harder.
Fuck, she was so innocent.
Untouched.
The healer had confirmed as much while she’d been unconscious. Goddess help me, how much I
wanted to be her first. I’d make it good for her. Really good.
But I couldn’t… I rubbed over her clit through the silky cloth, ignoring how Malyr’s stupid shadows suddenly uncoiled from their weave, burning into my fingertips. How nicely she held her breath as not to betray how she was panting, eyes flicking around nervously in search for a quick escape while she remained perfectly still.
No doubt Domren would fuck an heir into her soon enough, too selfish to look after her needs. I wanted her to think of me when she touched herself after, remembering how I made her come against my finger, against my tongue, against the length of my cock. Fuck… she smelled so sweet. So perfectly— Her hand gripped my wrist, hazel eyes seeking mine. “Stop.”
“Are you sure, sweetheart?” I pressed deeper into her space, orbiting around her twitching clit.
“Because I think your body wants this.”
A thick swallow gulped down her throat. “Please…”
That whimper in her plea invaded my head the same way it had been infesting my dreams for five years now—nightmares of snow and ash—stalling my motion. Goddess, damn her, why did she have to open her mouth?
I removed my touch and took a step back, allowing her to turn for the window, where she pressed her forehead against the fogged pane. “You haven’t eaten; I’ll make sure someone brings you supper.”
Where I’d expected her to nod, or perhaps give a meek thank you, she instead overwhelmed my senses with the quickening beat of her heart. “Is that… a town?”
What a fucking strange response.
I stepped up behind her, skin pebbling at the return of her body heat, and stared down at Fjelbog.
The local town sat nestled between the castle and the outer curtain wall, bustling with nothing more than the usual debauchery—drinking, gambling, fucking. All of which I would join soon enough.
“Looks like it.” I ran a finger along a pinned strand of her blonde hair, loving all the nuances it offered against the flicker of the nearby oil lamps. “What’s down there that has your heart beating like this?”
“People,” she said with such reverence, one might have thought that she’d never seen a damn town before. “I’ve never seen a real town before.”
Well, pluck my feathers and call me a chicken. “You’ve never… What do you mean, you’ve never seen a real town before?”
“Tidestone has none of this. Only four walls holding the same servants, the same forge, the same kennels, the same thing every damn day.” She pressed a hand against the window, rubbing away the condensation with little squeaks. “The closest town, Glosten, is down the western road. Only a brief walk on foot, but I was never allowed to go there, not even during the harvest celebrations.”
I wasn’t going to pretend I knew a wit about noble life, but that struck me as strange. “Why not?”
“My mother is… a very protective woman.”
“Shouldn’t every mother be?” I asked. “As overbearing as they can be, it comes from a place of
love.”
“Love…”
A shift—no, an actual roil—worked itself through my stomach. That word carried a strange resonance, like a sarcastic edge cutting through her undertone. Why? What was I missing here?
“Surely your mother loves you dearly?” She better, because if Malyr’s threats wouldn’t convince Brisden to give us Marla, we might have to rely on his wife’s pleas to make this exchange happen.
“I’m sure she’s desperate to get her only daughter back, is she not?”
Galantia glanced back at me with utter disbelief about how I could possibly question it, made an insulted spluttering sound, and said, “Of course!”
Good. Because if she turned out to be worthless… if Brisden refused this exchange and landed us with this girl, I wasn’t sure what Malyr would do with her. Or to her.
“I’ve never left Tidestone until we departed for Ammarett,” she said after a while.
My primal croaked at my core and spread his wings, eager to force me into a shift at the mere thought of being stuck in one place. Cici’s words came to mind about Galantia being in need of books, making me think back on the conversation I’d had with her when I’d tended those cuts Malyr, the mean bastard he was, had carved into her. How she hadn’t even known that my kind had fated mates.
Used to, anyway.
Bonding one’s mate was more and more a strike of luck. Many of them hadn’t survived the war, leaving their fated other half with no other choice but to make do with another pairing. Or remain
untethered. Forever alone.
Like me.
I turned and leaned against the stone sill, if only so I could drink in that unadulterated excitement on her face. “Do you want me to take you outside?”
Her gaze met mine. “To town?”
“I’m not sure you noticed, but your chamber remains unlocked. You’re free to roam.”
“Because you know I won’t make it far on foot in these marshlands. Presume it serves your kind well as a stronghold, easily keeping attackers away without trapping you in. You can fly, after all.”
For someone who’d apparently never left Tidestone, she was a sharp little thing. “Precisely.”
“I think it best to remain in my chamber.” She turned away from the window, but I saw how her shoulders slouched with disappointment. “I would, however, like to visit that library Cici had mentioned. If it’s safe.”
“Malyr never goes there, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He was a terrible book hoarder and had his own personal library for that very reason. Still, the idea of her going there alone didn’t sit right with me. “There’s something I have to do up north. Once I get back, I’ll take you.”
