Page 65 of Crown of Ashes and Desire

My core was burning, my light pushing and mending.

“Does it matter?” I countered, desperate to shift his focus. “You got what you wanted—power, position, your father’s approval.”

Something flashed in his eyes—pain or anger, I couldn’t tell.

“I never wanted his approval,” he said fiercely. Then his expression changed, darkness undulated more violently. “Your light…it wasn’t just damaged. It nearly went out entirely.”

More fragments slipped through our connection—the sanctuary where I’d slowly healed, the kind eyes of healers, the gradual rekindling of my inner light after months of darkness.Not enough to reveal my full breakdown, but enough to show the depth of damage.

“That’s why you hide behind those walls in your mind.” He understood. “You’re protecting yourself from me. From this.” His hand pressed against my binding mark, where our connection pulsed strongest.

“Yes,” I admitted, and saw no point in denying it. “What you did to me, your betrayal—it nearly extinguished my light permanently.”

His eyes closed briefly, an unmistakable flash of pain crossing his features when he absorbed this truth. For just a moment, the shadows around him stilled completely, as if in shock. Then his expression hardened again.

“It was necessary,” he said, though the words sounded hollow. “For reasons you couldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” I challenged, and pulled against my bonds.

Instead of answering, he lowered his mouth to my pussy and tasted me, his mouth finding me with renewed purpose, his tongue thrusting in and out. I moaned loudly, close again, while my arousal dripped down my thighs. Hakan devoured, then eased his fingers inside me, sucking my clit until I was shattering to small pieces, my light spreading everywhere when I screamed his name. He drove me toward release with relentless skill, his shadows caressing places his tongue couldn't reach.

When I shattered under his ministrations, light flared from my skin in golden pulses. He held me through it, his touch shifting from demanding to almost reverent while waves of pleasure crashed over me.

The shadow bonds dissolved, releasing my limbs. I slid down the trunk until I sat on the ground, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Hakan straightened, adjusting his clothing with unsteady hands. His breathing was heavy, the evidence of my arousal allover his face. I lowered my gaze to his pants. He was hard, and I moistened my lips, wondering why he didn't use me for his own benefit, but his expression was unreadable.

“I want you inside me,” I said, my voice still shaky.

He laughed, trying to dismiss how strong the bond was, but I felt his want, I felt his need. Hakan couldn’t mask the fact that he still wanted me.

“Seeing you explode and beg was enough, you’re so beautiful when you shatter for me, my light,” he said. “There is another way, a way to complete the ritual without destroying your light completely.” His voice dropped lower, shadows swirling around us. “The ancient texts speak of a balance—not consumption, but transformation. A joining of shadow and light that could fulfill the prophecy while preserving both energies.”

“Why would you even look for alternatives?” I pulled my dress down to cover myself. “Why not just follow your father’s plan?”

His eyes met mine, burning with fire, and I was desperate enough for more. I wanted him to take me, claim me.

“Do you really wish to die, Ada?”

“Of course not,” I replied. “But that doesn’t explain your reluctance. You’ve made it clear I am nothing to you beyond a means to power.”

“And you believed that?” He laughed, the sound sharp and bitter. “After what you just felt through our bond?”

I stood on shaky legs, confusion and lingering pleasure made my thoughts hazy. “What am I supposed to believe? You abandoned me, bound me against my will, threatened me with sacrifice. Yet now you speak of alternatives, of sparing my light.”

“Believe what you will.” He turned away. “But know this—I will find another way to complete the ritual. One that doesn’t require your destruction.”

“And if you can’t?” I asked. I needed to hear him say it.

He glanced back, shadows falling across his face. “Then we both lose everything.”

The admission hung between us, weighted with implications neither of us was ready to face.

“Go back to your chambers,” he said finally. “We’ll speak again when I’ve found more answers.”

“What happens if we do find another way?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to leave without understanding. “If the ritual doesn’t destroy me?”

“Then we’re both free,” he said simply. “You from me, me from my father.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Isn’t that what you want? Freedom?”

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