Page 28 of Thorn & Ash

Perhaps it wasn’t just Evander who had changed. Mona had, too. She was not herself. She had morphed into this raw, feral creature.

And she liked it.

Her skirts lifted higher, and heat burned through her. She wrapped her legs around his middle, bringing him closer, sensing the bulge in his trousers that made her toes curl with anticipation.

She had never felt such heat before. And she wanted to feel more.

Evander’s mouth left hers, his tongue trailing down her jaw and her neck, making small circles along the hollow of her throat. Mona threw her head back and groaned with pleasure, her hips writhing against his. Her hands feverishly pushed off his jacket—which had already ripped from the wings outstretched behind him—and then worked at the buttons of his shirt. He ripped his clothes off without another thought, discarding the shredded clothing onto the forest floor. He unbuckled his trousers and slid them off, pressing every inch of his glorious length against her.

“Goddess above, I need you,” Mona rasped.

Accepting her invitation, Evander tugged at her dress until it, too, ripped down the middle, exposing her breasts. The fabric fell on either side of her, the wind tickling her bare flesh. But it didn’t stop the all-consuming heat from boiling inside her.

Evander cupped her breast, running his thumb in slow circles around her nipple. A wave of delight washed over Mona, fierce and powerful. She needed to have him. All of him.

She didn’t know what she was doing, but she wanted to touch him, to make him feel what he did to her. On impulse, her hand found his cock and rubbed up and down its length.

A bolt of satisfaction filled her as Evander roared, his wings flaring, his head bowed as he arched against her. More, he seemed to say. More.

Something ruptured and exploded in Mona’s chest. The ground quivered, and cracks split in the earth. Her magic flared to life, her third eye flying open as power burned inside her. She summoned her grace, her magical affinity. But instead of the roses she expected to spring up from the ground, brambles and thorns crept forward, prickly and pointy. The barbs were alarming, but they didn’t quench Mona’s desire. If anything, they aroused her further.

I am no longer innocent and gentle, she thought. I am coarse and full of fire. Sharp and honed to a point.

She ground against Evander, desiring him fully inside her, ready to ride this wave of power alongside him.

Then, he arched backward, a pained cry ripping from his throat. This wasn’t the sound of a man enraptured; this was something anguished. It chilled Mona to the bone, and she went still, staring at him in shock. He staggered away from her, and her feet dropped as she leaned against the tree, unsteady. “Evander?” she asked.

Evander clutched at his temples, groaning in pain, his eyes crammed shut. With a cry, Mona’s hand flew to her mouth as she watched his wings recede, vanishing into his shoulder blades. His claws withdrew, and when his eyes opened, they were the same pure silver she was accustomed to.

A chill swept over Mona, all heat fleeing from her body. “Evander?” she whispered hesitantly.

Evander’s face paled as he glanced from Mona’s naked body to his own. “Gods above,” he choked. “What have I done?”

EREBOS

PRUE

Trivia led Prue out of the palace and through the network of caves where Prue had been imprisoned before. The winding tunnels were so confusing that Prue’s head was spinning as she struggled to keep up. Eventually, she gave up trying to memorize the route and simply followed Trivia.

The soft babbling of water met her ears as they entered a large chamber. A gentle glow illuminated the space, allowing Prue to clearly see the winding river that cut through the rocky earth. Then, she realized the glow was coming from the river.

It was a river of souls.

Awestruck, Prue drew nearer, but a voice stopped her.

“You won’t want to come any closer.”

She turned and found a man standing alongside the river. His black hair was short, though it curled at the nape of his neck, and a dark goatee covered his face. She knew by the silver eyes that he was one of Cyrus’s brothers.

“That’s Romanos,” Trivia said. “He oversees Styx.”

The River Styx. Prue had heard legends of this river of Hell. Though she yearned to get a closer look, Romanos’s warning was probably valid. This was one of the lower levels of Hell, and Prue didn’t want to get close enough for that darkness to latch onto her.

“I’m Prue,” she said, looking up at Romanos. From what Cyrus had said about his brothers, none of them could be trusted. But this one looked rather harmless. His expression was almost bored as he gazed at the river’s depths. “Cyrus’s wife.”

That made his gaze snap up at her. “His wife? Damn… I had no idea.”

“Why would you?” Trivia asked. “You always keep to yourself.”

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