Page 153 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

Her breath came fast and shallow, the realisation sinking into her bones like an anchor pulling her into dark waters.

Her mother wasn’t talking about headaches at all.

Ash understood it too. She saw the moment the fury drained from him, the moment his body stilled, not in calm, but in sheer, startled comprehension.

Alina took a step closer to her brother, fingers aching to reach for his hand. To hold onto something—anything—that would tether her before she was lost to the weight of what she knew was coming next. But she did not touch him. Instead, she clasped her hands together, steeling herself.

‘Mother,’ she asked, voice barely above a whisper, ‘what are they?’

The queen lifted her gaze, her eyes unreadable, her lips parting.

‘They arevisions.’

…

Beneath the castle, nestled in the depths of ancient stone, the underground hot springs shimmered like liquid amber, their mist curling lazily in the dim, torch-lit cavern. The scent of minerals and warmth hung thick in the air, mingling with the distant echoes of dripping water. Most of the guests had long since fled the pools, scandalised by the unabashed nakedness of the desert princesses, but Hessa and Sahira had been pleasantly surprised to find that one shadow had not been so easily deterred.

‘You can come out of the darkness now, prince of nightmares.’

Hessa’s sultry voice broke the silence as she drifted towards the edge of the pool, her arms resting languidly on the hot, slick stone. Her fingers tapped against the surface, a slow, rhythmic sound, a lure for the predator she knew was watching. A pair of dark leather boots materialised in her vision. Tilting her head back, she allowed her gaze to travel upwards, her lips curling in a smile both knowing and wicked.

Kage Blackburn.

The wyverian prince stood over her, carved from shadow and silence, his expression unreadable, his presence as unmoving as the obsidian cliffs of his kingdom.

‘Are you here to join us?’ Hessa asked, shifting slightly to give him a better view of her bare skin glistening in the firelight.

Kage crouched, dipping his long finger into the steaming hot water. ‘Tsa. Kaama ayash yaa.’No. I come looking for you.

‘Ni na?’Why?

‘Because I have some questions for you.’

From the waterfall, Sahira smiled, a slow, patient thing. Their smiles had always been their most formidable weapons—sharpened edges of a game they had mastered long ago. They wielded beauty like a blade, disguising purpose beneath seduction. No one ever saw past the veil of temptation, and by the time they did, it was far too late.

‘I will answer your questions if…’ Hessa trailed her fingers along the water’s surface, watching the ripples dance, ‘you get into the water with us.’

She waited, savouring the moment, delighted when Kage moved with deliberate slowness, tugging off his boots, then his shirt, then his trousers. The muscles beneath his skin shifted like a work of art coming to life. He was leaner than his brother Kai, less beast and more blade—but in that body was pure coiled power.

As he sank into the steaming waters, Hessa glided towards him, pressing close, her hands settling lightly on his shoulders. ‘You are so tense, prince.’Her voice was a silken caress against his ear, her fingers kneading his flesh with practiced ease. ‘What is it you wish to ask me?’ With her hands on him, she could shape the conversation as she pleased.

‘Why were you in a drakonian maid’s room?’

Hessa’s fingers hesitated. It was slight, but Kage noticed. Those unreadable eyes darkened, a hunter’s keen focus sharpening upon its prey.

And so she did what she did best.

Her arms wound around his neck, her bare skin brushing against his own, every touch an invitation, every breath a promise. Most men lost their minds at the mere suggestion of pleasure. The body had a way of unraveling the mind’s defenses, of making questions slip away like sand in the wind.

‘Curiosity,’ she said lightly,running her lips along the curve of his jaw. ‘We wanted to see what the quarters of a drakonian maid looked like.’

‘You can stop pretending.’ Kage’s voice was a blade pressed to the throat, cold and sharp. ‘I know how your sister and you operate. I know you could probably cut my throat in less than a few seconds if you wanted to.’

‘Asecond.’

‘I know you use seduction to get what you want.’

Hessa remained close, never breaking the game. Men always thought they were above it—until they weren’t.

---