What Lurks Between the Fates (Of Flesh & Bone, #3)(78)

“You taste like the night sky, min asteren,” he groaned, forcing me to my knees so that he could fuck me as he yanked me backward and whispered in my ear. “Like raw, untouched power. Like ice running through my veins with the cool sweetness of twilight berries.”

Ice would have flooded my veins at the reminder, but the heat of his cock driving through me kept the daemons at bay.

“What are you?” he asked, his frustration echoing through the cadence of his voice.

He touched his lips to the pulse thrumming up the side of my neck, as if he could feel my blood flowing and wanted to be as close to it as possible. He touched a wet finger to the other part of me. The one that remained untouched.

I flinched away, jolting forward as he held me steady. “I don’t think—”

“Relax, my star. It will hurt less if you do,” he murmured, massaging the ring gently.

He worked my body into relaxing for him, angling his hips so that his cock dragged over that sensitive part inside me and worked me toward an orgasm.

I whimpered as it approached, as his finger coaxed me to open for him until he slid inside. My body burned, feeling as if it had been lit aflame from the inside as he fucked me, making shallow thrusts with his finger in time with his cock.

“If you’re going to take me here, you’ll need to practice.”

There was a bite of laughter in his voice, something raw and powerful as I held his golden stare over my shoulder. The lights shimmered, traces of his blue eyes appearing through the glittering dust of power.

“Caldris,” I murmured.

“That’s right, my star. Fucking come for me,” he said, driving deep.

I shattered, seeing the stars that had become my namesake as my eyes rolled back in my head. He groaned as I squeezed down around him, thrusting into me and striking the end of me as he came.

The heat of his climax filled me, searing my insides as he dropped his head forward and paused to catch his breath.

I collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion claiming my body. We’d need to have a conversation in the morning when I could form a coherent thought, but for now, I drifted off.

Because what the fuck?





25


Estrella


The Winter Solstice was meant to be a celebration that the darkening of the days had ended. That the longer days and warmer weather would be coming soon enough. It was meant to be a time of celebration, not melancholy.

I got the impression the same was true for the rest of the Faerie courts as the Gods shuffled their way through the darkened, candlelit halls of Tar Mesa in front of us. Caldris strode at my side, his head held high even as he remained quiet.

I’d never been to this part of the palace, ventured this far into the earth of the rolling Faerie hills that comprised the landscape of the capital of the Shadow Court. Even in the brief time I’d spent outside, even in the moments I glimpsed the terrain outside through my bedroom window, all I saw for miles was the distinct rolling and rocky hills covered in jagged stone.

We ventured down, and the gradual slope of the hallway gave way to a rugged staircase. The sconces on the wall lit the way, the Summer Fae waving her hand casually as she came upon them.

“This feels wrong,” I said, glancing over my shoulder as we walked.

Malachi met my gaze, lifting his brow at me as if I meant to run away. The very air in this place was tense, as if it lacked anything living; as if only death existed within the narrow passage.

“Cradthail non Beathor isn’t something to be taken lightly. It is said that this is where life first began. That this is the place where Khaos stood when he created the moons and stars in the sky, when he created life itself, and the Void for all souls when they die,” my mate said, leaning down to murmur the words against the top of my head as we made our way down the steps carefully.

The Cradle of Life.

I grasped the skirt of my gown in my hands, the red fabric fading into a taupe color as it approached the stone floors. It wrapped around my chest, binding my breasts and leaving my stomach bare to the distinctive chill in the air that I couldn’t seem to place.

“It smells like death,” I said, contradicting his words about it being the cradle of life. It didn’t feel like anything living had touched this place in centuries.

“Mab has forbidden any from entering the Cove since the construction of the Veil. This is where the Shadow Fae complete their mate bond, and without human mates…”

“There’s been no reason to come here,” I said, understanding dawning upon me.

Whether it was the Cove itself that smelled of death or merely the passage of time, I didn’t know.

Mab led the procession, pausing at the foot of the stairs. The passage was just dark enough that it was difficult to see through the small group of us crammed into the narrow path, but I watched as she raised her hands above her head. She grasped the crown, lifting it from her dark hair as the air seemed to ripple around us.

The others seemed unfazed, unflinching as she bowed her head forward and held the crown out in front of her. The mist swirling in front of her faded, swaying in a breeze before it vanished entirely. The dark gem placed at the center gleamed. Candlelight playing off the surface, snagging my attention.

The passageway faded into the background, and the image of a woman with gleaming green eyes shone back at me from the center of the gem. Her hair writhed in the shadows, her lips twisted into a scowl as she pinned me in place. There was a slash across her neck, a deep, jagged wound that seeped blood as if someone had severed her head from her body and then sewn her back together once more.