Page 96 of Crown of Darkness
I did once. I was desperate to be named my mother’s heir, before I realized it was all a cruel trick she played on me. But after months here, I’ve slowly realized I never truly yearned to be Queen of Asturia. I wanted her approval. I wanted her love. And in some sick way, I equated love with the position of crown heir.
But then, I knew nothing of love.
He curls his hand over mine, half turning his head. “You don’t? What do you think I’ve been hoping for all these years?”
“But you’re….”
“A prince who has spentyearshoping for a queen to rule by his side,” he says fiercely, turning and capturing my face in both hands. “A prince who has seen five hundred years go by while he stands alone. I’ve spent centuries dreaming you into being, hoping that you would be half the woman you are, and yet, my wishes couldn’t even come close to being true.” His thumbs stroke my cheeks. “When I took the crown, I knew I broke several traditions. I wanted…. I wanted to make my mother proud. I wanted to be a son that she would have loved. And I loved this kingdom, this city, even if they didn’t love me. I want my people to love you too, Vi. I want them to be proud of you. The way I am. I have never wished to rule over everything. Alone. All I have ever wanted is to share it with someone special.”
“Your mother?” I ask, for he’s never mentioned her before.
“Vi…. Don’t.” He goes to his knees, one fist clenched as he rests it on the cobbles.
I barely dare touch him. “Thiago?”
Reaching out slowly, I stroke the curve of his bare shoulder before my touch turns molten. Despite the coolness of the night, the heat beneath his skin is like a banked furnace.
He shivers into my touch, turning his face into my hand.
“What’s wrong?” I go to my knees, cupping the back of his neck. “Look at me, curse you. Have you slept?”
He slowly lifts his head, though his eyes remain shut. “I don’t think you want to see me right now. I can’t hold it in. I thought I could, but the look on their faces—”
I brush featherlight touches across his eyelids. “Iwant to see every inch of you. I want to see through all your secrets.” Leaning forward, I brush my mouth to his. “I fell in love with every piece of you, even the Darkness. And I’m not afraid of it.”
Still quivering, he opens his eyes. “You should be.”
Black eyes, tattoos painted starkly up his throat….
In that moment, he’s not the prince I love, but a stranger.
There is no kindness in his eyes. No hint of the husband I know.
Hunger. Rage. Fury.
It glints within him like the honed edge of obsidian.
But I promised that I would love every part of him.
I kiss him as lightning flashes in the sky, highlighting the shadows of our bedchambers behind us. The storm is finally here. Thick, fat raindrops spatter on my skin.
“Inside,” I whisper, and he sweeps me up into his arms and carries me inside.
The second our lips touch, his mouth turns ravenous. Hands slide through my hair, tangling there as he sets me on the bed. He’s always been gentle. Always exquisitely careful of me. But that was when he was trying to woo a reluctant princess who didn’t remember how much she loved him.
It’s like he’s finally shaken free of his traces. Nothing restrains him anymore, and as his tongue slides against mine, I bite his lip, reminding him that he’s not the only one who’s angry.
We need this.
I need this.
I want to wipe the memory of the past two days from my mind.
He kisses my throat, beneath the jaw and the sides of my neck. And then he’s claiming my mouth again. Raw, openmouthed kisses that bruise my flesh and taste of salt and heat. I go to my knees on the bed before him, stroking the glossy black of his wings as I kiss his chest through his damp shirt.
“Off,” I tell him, because I have no idea how the shirt works with his wings.
He tears it loose, throwing the remnants of it aside with a wet slap.
