Page 87 of Black Wing and Shadows
Zane was thrusting faster, thumb moving perfectly, his eyes locked onto mine. I was losing control, and by his low grunting, he was too. I could feel the slickness between us, his thumb getting slicker with each circle. I was under him, moving my hips, grinding on him, the urge for him to move faster. He answered by taking me deeper and faster, never letting off his thumb movement.
My entire body felt like lightning went through it, followed by flames. I moaned loudly with no care to who heard, within seconds of losing myself, Zane let out this loud growl and moan, followed by several “fucks”. He plunged into me as deep as he could, his thrusts slowing down, his thumb much slower, both of us taking it in. My body felt like it was being electrocuted every deep circle he made with his thumb. Gods, I don’t think anyone ever made me climax so hard and so loud. The way he knew my body, moving us into perfect synchrony.
Our breathing slowed in unison, the night stars twinkling out the window. Zane stayed half-curled around me, his chest rising and falling against my back, one arm heavy over my waist like he couldn’t quite let go yet. His fingers traced idle, lazy paths along my hip, not demanding—just… there. Grounding. I could feel the steadiness of his heartbeat against my shoulder blade, the way each beat seemed to match my own until we were perfectly synced.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured, his voice low and still edged with that roughness that came after letting the adrenaline burn away.
I tilted my head back against him, catching the faintest hint of a smile in his eyes. “Trying to memorize this,” I admitted. “The way you feel right now. The way it feels… safe.”
His arm tightened slightly, and he bent to press his lips to my hair. “Then don’t forget it. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
We lay there for another long stretch of silence before the outside world began to creep back into my thoughts. But for that moment, with his warmth around me and the soft weight of his promise still lingering in the air, I let myself stay exactly where I was. My eyes felt heavy, my body feeling lighter than it had been.
CHAPTER 32
The wings closed around us, blotting out the sky. Lili screamed, and my own voice ripped raw as we were dragged off the ground. The field was gone. Stone scraped my back. Chains locked around my wrists, pulling my arms until my shoulders burned. My throat was dry, choked with the stink of smoke and blood.
“Don’t bother,” a voice hissed in my ear. Sour breath, hot against my skin. “No one’s coming for you.”
Another voice answered, colder. “She’ll fetch more than her father ever did. His blood built this. Hers will finish it.”
I thrashed, kicking, but hands slammed me down. Rope bit my skin, then shifted to iron. My knees buckled as weight crashed across me. My breath strangled.
“You thought you were strong?” The words twisted through the dark. “You’re nothing without him. Without us.”
Lili’s cry broke through, but when I turned my head, it wasn’t her tied beside me. It was me. My own face, bruised and bleeding, staring back with hollow eyes.
“No,” I rasped, straining against the chains. “No, this isn’t—”
Fingers tangled in my hair, yanked my head back. A mouth brushed my ear. “Stronger. Faster. Hungrier. That’s what you’ll be.”
I screamed—
—and the sound broke into a gasp.
The chains, the blood, the cold stone—gone. Linen sheets clung to my damp skin. My lungs dragged in too much air, too fast.
Zane’s arms were around me, his voice steady at my ear. “It’s me. You’re safe. It’s just me.”
I clutched his shirt with shaking hands, the phantom sting of iron still burning my wrists. My heart hadn’t slowed. It felt like it never would.
Zane’s warmth steadied me long after my chamber walls came back into focus. My pulse still thrashed, wrists aching as if the chains were real. He brushed a strand of damp hair from my face, searching my eyes.
“You’re safe,” he whispered again, as though saying it enough times would make it true.
But the voices from the dark clung to me.His blood built this. Hers will finish it.
I carried them into the lecture hall hours later, sliding into my seat as if my body weren’t still trembling. Professor Melamora stood in the center tier, hands folded neatly behind her back. Above her, the map of Yebel shimmered to life. A dark mark pulsed on the western edge.
“Lakish Outpost was attacked two nights ago,” she said, her voice echoing sharp in the amphitheater. “Four Riders and their fliers fell. Three Drusearons. One Shapeshifter. All burned where they stood.”
The room went silent.
“They were veterans,” Melamora continued. “Not cadets. Not green soldiers. Veterans. If you think being a fourth-year here makes you invincible, take this as proof otherwise.”
A hand shot up from the row ahead. “By humans?”
“Yes,” she said, “by humans.”
