Page 113 of When Storms Ruin

“I know you, Diana. When the time comes, you won’t hesitate.”

“I know,” I replied, my gaze falling to the sharp iron peaks of the castle on the map. “But what does that say about me? That I would kill my own sister without hesitation?”

“It says that you care about the people of this realm,” he replied, his eyes soft as he placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me towards him. “That you wouldn’t subject them to another fifteen years of suffering under a tyrant. That yourecognize Shades of any kind should be safe in their own homeland, not hunted for the magic they were born with. Or experimented on or sacrificed on the whims of a mad woman. Donika is the Black Heart, and you are incredibly brave for going up against her. You are the queen Istmere needs.”

“Incredibly brave?” I asked, a humorless laugh escaping me. “Or incredibly stupid.”

“Brave,” he replied, his eyes darkening. “You are the bravest woman I know.”

“You must not know that many women,” I teased, nudging his side.

He choked on his pizza with a snort and wrapped his arm around me.

“You’d better watch yourself, Firecracker.”

“Or what?” I asked with a devious grin. “You’ll punish me?”

“I just might have to,” he replied, swallowing hard.

He held my heated gaze, his presence tangible in my core. I had to admit, the sex had been good the first time, but now that we were bound?

Mind blowing.

It was as if he could read my mind and I could read his. I couldn’t wait until our meeting ended for the night and we could crawl back into bed together. It had taken Tess and Puck a lot of convincing to get us here in the first place, we had been tangled together in the sheets all week.

I had never believed in soulmates before, but that is exactly what this binding felt like.

Soulmates.

Puck came up behind Nik and grabbed him in a headlock, breaking our trance. He gave me an apologetic smile as Puck shuffled him away to eat at one of the tables with him. Tess joined me, but I couldn’t stomach anything tonight with thoughts of war heavy on my mind. She ate while we stared at the map thoughtfully.

I had never planned a battle before, and I hoped we were making the right decisions. I knew that Zion and Annelise were experienced in the art of warfare, but I couldn’t help wanting Isaac’s opinion on our plan, too.

As they always did when left unoccupied, my thoughts wandered to my troubles. I still wasn’t ready to speak with Annelise yet, but I knew it was inevitable.

I loved my mortal mother with my whole heart, and it almost felt like a betrayal to be so relieved that Annelise was alive and well. I was still bitter she hadn’t revealed her identity to me sooner, and there was still a lot we needed to unpack between us when the time came.

I needed to pick off one problem at a time, and right now our biggest problem was Donika.

Once we had eaten dinner and hammered out our plans with Saanvi and Kenna, we decided to turn in for the night. Tess couldn’t help but wiggle her eyebrows at me when she saw I was retiring to Nik’s room and not my own.

I had been spending every night there.

I slipped inside and took a long, warm soak in the tub while I waited for Nik. I sank into the claw-foot tub and lathered myself with the decadent soaps he had never made use of.

“Diana?” I could hear him calling from the bedroom.

“In here!” I called back.

Nik rounded the corner to the washroom with an eyebrow raised.

“You’re ready for me, are you?” He leaned over the tub, placing a gentle kiss against my mouth.

“I’m ready for bed,” I teased, splashing him with the water.

My hair was pulled back so it wouldn’t get wet, and Nik ran his hands into it, grasping it and tilting my head back towards his.

“Have I told you that I love you?” he asked, his tone wistful.

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