Page 54 of Of Shadow and Moon

Chapter 30

Rhyker

Iwatch Selestina from afar, my eyes locked onto her every movement as she weaves through the corridors, her focus sharp, her steps deliberate. The palace is alive with the hum of magic, Alebrijes running about. A fox with wings and a tail like a peacock darts past me, its eyes glinting with mischief. It’s a world full of magic, but my eyes never leave her.

She thinks she’s so clever, stalking the princes, my kitten, hiding her intentions behind a mask of innocence.

But she has no idea she’s the one being hunted.

Her dark hair falls over her shoulders, swaying with each step. She pauses, peering around a corner before slipping into an alcove. I smile to myself, feeling a thrill run through me. She’s so predictable, yet so delightfully unpredictable.

I can’t wait to unravel her secrets, to see what she’s hiding beneath that calm exterior.

I think back to last night.

I knowI shouldn’t have been there.

Logic and reason are screaming at me to leave, to let her be, but something else roots me in place, hidden and invisible under my glamour as I watch her walk down the hall with a heaviness I’ve never seen in her before.

It’s like every step of hers is weighted. At the party, she’d been alive, laughing, sparking against everyone around her minus the now dead fuckface who thought he could touch what is mine.

Which was what I was handling earlier. If not, I could’ve seen what has her in such a rush.

She slips into the bathroom, closing the door softly, her face unreadable. I follow, compelled by a need to understand what could have shifted her so drastically. As she turns on the tap, steam begins to fill the room, thickening the air with the scents of lavender and something darker, richer. Amber, maybe?

As she undresses, I can see the fatigue in her movements, the way her shoulders slump slightly, her hands moving slowly, carefully, as if even the slightest brush against her skin could send a new wave of pain through her.

Her expression softens in the low light, her face shadowed and bare, revealing lines of weariness, tension etched into her brow, her lips pressed into a thin, quiet line. I don’t understand what’s happened to her, what could have possibly changed since the laughter at the party with her drunk friend to bring her to, not even a day later, this, but I can’t pull myself away.

I step as close as I can, while keeping my distance, to let her know that I am here. So she can decide if she goes through with this.

She undresses fully. I stare at her, completely in awe of her beauty. While fae are always naked, and I’ve seen so many women undressed, nobody compares to her. I’ve never slept with anyone before, which I know is ridiculous considering myspecies, I just didn’t find anyone intriguing enough to want to do it with.

I can’t wait for her to be my first.

She steps into the water, lowering herself with a slow, measured grace, and as the heat wraps around her, I catch the barest flicker of relief cross her face. She sinks deeper, the water rising around her shoulders, her breathing is shallow and uneven. She allows the warmth to envelop her, as if hoping it might drown out whatever ache she’s carrying. Her eyes close, and the tension eases just a little; her face softens, every sharp edge blurred by the steam, as if the bath itself were drawing the pain from her.

Her hand moves beneath the surface, trailing slowly over her stomach, and I feel a tightening in my chest as I realize what she’s doing. She’s trying to soothe herself, to quiet the ache that must be gnawing at her from within. Her brows knit together, her lips parting slightly as her hand lingers just below the waterline, her expression shifting into something pained, something almost pleading. Her mouth opens, a small sigh escaping, a sound that echoes in the steam filled silence.

But then, she freezes. Her eyes fly open, scanning the room with a sudden sharpness, the softness melting away as her gaze sharpens, as though she senses something is amiss.

For a heartbeat, she remains perfectly still, her hand still in the water, her breath caught, tension rippling through her as her gaze moves slowly around the room. It’s her instinctual, primal awareness, the sense that someone is near, that she’s not as alone as she thought.

That’s when she looks me dead in the face and smirks, as she slips her fingers in.

Oh, my my. My kitten is naughty.

I am pulled backto the present.

As I close the distance, I think about what I’ll do when I finally have her. I’ll make her mine, body and soul. I don’t know how I will make her mine, but I know somehow, someway, I will. She will be my queen.

To hell with my mission here, my father’s orders a distant memory.

I don’t give a single flying fuck about anything or anyone anymore. Only her.

I love the chase, the thrill of knowing she’s so close yet so far from understanding what’s happening. She’s hiding somethingmore, and I can’t wait to find out what. Each secret I uncover will make me want her more, make me crave her with an intensity that borders on madness.

She’ll resist at first, but she’ll learn. She’ll come to understand that she belongs to me, that no one else can have her. I’ll break her down, piece by piece, until she’s mine in every way that matters.

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