Kingdom of the Feared (Kingdom of the Wicked, #3)(112)

“I do.” My eyes narrowed as his grin widened. “What scheme are you working on now?”

He whispered something in an ancient tongue, one I couldn’t speak but knew was angelic. Once he’d finished his speech, he leaned in and whispered, “As above, so below. We are now truly balanced in all ways. My ice to your fire.”

“But I no longer—”

Wrath’s wings flared brilliantly, the fire burning hot enough to make the air around us shimmer from the heat. The gold and silver flecks in his wings pulsed, and I watched silently as they flickered in and out like stars. It was beautiful and—

In a flash, the fire and the color drained from his wings. It looked as if someone had upturned a bottle of ink and ebony liquid slowly dripped down the feathers, replacing the fire with darkness. While the fire faded, I noticed something else, something oddly familiar that began as a small flutter in my center. The very place where my magic had once dwelled.

“What…” I clutched my stomach as the flutter grew.

One more flash of power, a streak of lightning crossing a stormy sky, and the fire of Wrath’s wings were completely snuffed out. My knees buckled as the power rushed into me, filled me. My husband held me tightly until the last bit of his power settled into me.

Tears I hadn’t known were falling dampened his lapel. In my center, where Source had lived, I felt magic. I drew back, staring at his wings. Where they were once white and silver flames, they were now a glittering black. They looked like his luccicare.

“What have you done?” I asked, my voice a mere whisper.

Wrath kissed the top of my head. “What’s mine is yours, my love. I told you I had enough magic for both of us.” And he’d given half of it to me. The tears came harder, and he kissed each of them away. “Call upon your power, Fury.”

I wiped my tears away and tested that new, churning well of magic. “Fiat lux.”

Burning flowers burst into the sky above us, larger and more powerful than ever. I’d expected the magic to be silver and gold and white. But it was still my rose-gold. The magic might have come from my husband, but it truly was mine.

“Thank you,” I whispered. Wrath wrapped me in his arms, staring up at the flowers burning across the sky. They were like our own personal stars. “Thank you for giving up your wings for me.”

Wrath’s wings shot out to either side, flapping hard enough to kick up snow. “I didn’t give anything up. I have my wings. I have my wife. And I have some very interesting ideas about our new bedroom design. I’d like to test them out first, though.”

“We’ll take that as our cue to leave,” Anir said. “Congratulations to you both.”

He kissed each of my cheeks and clapped his king on the back before Wrath hooked an arm around him and hugged him properly. Fauna dipped into a curtsy, but I pulled her in for a tight hug instead, too. She held me back fiercely. “We must speak soon, my lady.”

“Are you free tomorrow?” I asked. Fauna nodded. “Let’s meet then. I want to know everything that happened at the coronation ball.”

Fauna’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll have tea and brandy cake ready.”

Once our friends left the garden, I faced Wrath again. He was a devious, scheming demon. And I couldn’t imagine loving him more. “Does your bedroom design involve ways to utilize those wings?”

A wicked gleam entered his gaze. “Not exactly. But we can add that to our list of requirements.”

“What other items are on your list?”

He held his hand out. “How about I show you, my lady?”

The instant I placed my hand in his, Wrath magicked us to his private library. I surveyed the empty room. A fire crackled pleasantly; the candles on the chandelier had been almost all blown out, adding a soft, sensual feeling to the private room. At first, I wasn’t sure why he’d chosen this chamber, then my attention snagged on the alcove where a pair of manacles hung. Heat pooled low in my belly as anticipation swirled through me. He couldn’t mean…

Wrath moved behind me, lightly running his hands down my arms, then slowly dragging them back up again. Each stroke felt like magic and had my body craving more. “Do you remember when you asked if I’d be willing to tie you up?”

Goddess curse me, I did. “Yes. You were about to freeze us both to death. I had to find some way to distract you.”

He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, the sensation causing the peaks of my breasts to ache, needing his touch. “It wasn’t your request that caught my attention, but the arousal I sensed.” His hands slowly worked my bodice down. “Much like what I’m sensing now.”

His thumb stroked over the little nub of my breast. I reached back, threaded my hand in his hair as he bent forward to kiss along my neck, my shoulder. I arched against him, feeling the proof of his own arousal hard against my backside. Wicked demon.

“Be careful what you wish for, wife. Your husband might be depraved enough to deliver.”

I turned in the circle of his arms and wet my lips, drawing his hunter’s gaze right where I wanted it. “I should hope so. I’d hate for things to get boring or predictable between us.”

Wrath chuckled darkly, his expression promising to torture me in the best of ways for that sassy comment. “That mouth…” His attention fell to my lips like he had some very wicked ideas for it indeed. “Will ensure things remain interesting. For a very long time.”