Page 99 of Crown of Storm and Silence
"That you didn't want our child," I finish for him. "That you saw me as a burden."
The bond pulses between us, carrying emotions too complex for words. Through the connection, I feel his desperate need to make amends, his terror at how close he came to losing me permanently. But I also feel something else, the poison fighting against our restored bond, trying to corrupt the magic flowing between us.
"The purification," I realize with a growing alarm. "Kaan, the poison is trying to claim the bond itself."
Around us, the ceremonial circle has begun to glow brighter, responding to the magical currents flowing between us. But instead of the clean golden light I expect, silver threads twist through the radiance, Erlik's poison attempting to contaminate our connection.
"We need to complete the bond," Kaan says urgently, his shadows writhing as the poison spreads visibly up his neck. "Before the poison can take hold completely."
I understand what he's asking. The blood bond between us was more than just magical; it was intimate, requiring complete surrender to each other's essence. We need to join not just our magic, but our very souls, letting the light in me burn away the poison in him.
"Are you certain?" I ask, though I can already feel my body responding to his proximity, to the desperate hunger radiating through our connection.
"I've never been more certain of anything," he replies, stepping closer until I can feel the heat radiating from his corrupted form.
I'm dimly aware of Erlik watching with sinister intrigue, of the assembled demons leaning forward in anticipation. But all of that fades as Kaan's hands frame my face with trembling reverence.
"I love you," he whispers against my lips. "I have loved you since the moment you looked at me without fear in your eyes. Whatever happens here, whatever price we pay, know that."
I rise on my toes and press my mouth to his, pouring all my understanding, all my forgiveness, all my desperate love into the kiss. The moment our lips touch, the bond explodes between us with consuming fire.
Golden light erupts from my skin, meeting the silver poison in his veins with the sound of sizzling metal. But instead of destroying each other, the opposing forces begin to dance, light and shadow, purity and poison, finding harmony in ways that should be impossible.
Through the bond, I feel his desperate relief as the poison's advance slows, contained by the light flowing through our connection. But I also feel something else—hunger. Not just for healing, but for me. For the completion that only joining our souls can provide.
"Take me somewhere private," I whisper against his lips, desperate to complete what we've started.
His laugh is rough with desire and relief. "Anywhere,hatun. As long as it's with you."
Before anyone can protest, shadows wrap around us both, and the world dissolves into darkness and rushing wind. Whenit reforms, we're standing in what must be our guest chamber in Erlik's palace—a room decorated in dark silks and obsidian, with windows that look out over the demon realm's twisted landscape.
The unfamiliar surroundings remind me that we're in enemy territory, but all of that fades as I focus on the man before me.
"Nesilhan," Kaan says carefully, clearly seeing the conflict written across my face. "If you're not ready?—"
I silence him by reaching for the laces of my dress, my fingers working with remembered skill. "I'm ready," I say, my voice stronger than I feel. "We need to complete the bond before the poison can adapt."
But it's more than magical necessity driving me. Having my memories back, understanding the depth of what we lost, makes me desperate to reclaim every moment I can. I want to remember what it feels like to be loved by him, to love him in return, without the barriers of amnesia and fear.
The dress falls away, pooling at my feet like liquid night. I stand before him in only the gossamer shift that barely conceals my changing form, and watch his breath catch at the sight of me.
"You're so beautiful," he breathes, his voice rough with desire and wonder. "Even more beautiful carrying our child."
His hands hover near my skin, trembling with the need to touch while clearly fighting for control. The poison has made him stronger, more dangerous, and I can see him struggling against instincts that whisper dark encouragements.
His knuckles brush the air just above my flesh, and even that ghost of contact feels like a spark licking across my nerves. His breath is ragged, hot, carrying the metallic tang of restraint. He smells of smoke and salt, the sharp scent of danger clinging to his skin.
"I won't break," I tell him, stepping closer until the heat of his body surrounds me. "I'm not fragile or made of light alone. I can handle whatever darkness lives in you."
My nipples pebble against the thin fabric between us, aching for his hands. The shadows around him curl like living chains, daring me to test their bite.
Something breaks in his expression at that—not his control, but his careful restraint. His hands settle on my waist with reverent hunger, sliding up to cup my breasts through the thin fabric.
"Mine," he growls, and the possessiveness in his voice sends heat spiraling through my veins.
"Yours," I agree, arching into his touch. "Always yours."
His thumbs flick over my nipples, dragging a strangled gasp from my throat. He squeezes, not gently but with the kind of desperation that says he’s seconds from tearing me open to prove I belong to him. My thighs press together, slickness gathering, the ache of it almost unbearable.
