Page 121 of Veinblood
I lean down and kiss her, one hand lifting to tangle in her hair. Her fingers find the fastenings of my shirt, and I don’t stop her. Here, in this room where I once slept as a prince, with afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, we rediscover each other.
She pulls the shirt from my shoulders, her hands exploring my chest. When she sees the bandage wrapped around my shoulder, she frowns.
“What’s this?”
“Nothing.”
Her eyes narrow, and she gently unwraps the bandage. Her lips press together when she sees the wound beneath, but she doesn’t say a word. She just presses her hand against it. Warmth pours from her palm, and I have to bite back a hiss, feeling the muscle and flesh knitting together under her touch. When she lifts her eyes to meet mine, they’re brilliant silver. Just as the heat reaches almost unbearable levels, she smiles and lifts her hand.
“There.” Satisfaction coats her voice as she examines the now healed skin.
“Mel’shira.”
I lift her onto the bed, and she arches beneath me as I trace the curve of her throat with my lips. The world outside, the concerns about the future … it all ceases to exist. There's only her soft gasps as I worship her body, the way she whispers my name when I find the places that make her tremble. When she takes me into herself, it's with a fierce tenderness that undoes me completely. We move together, and she claims me as thoroughly as she claimed this city.
Afterward, we lie tangled in the sheets, her head on my chest, my fingers threading through her disheveled hair. The light has shifted, casting longer shadows across the room. We don’t speak, but the silence is one of contentment, of peace. Ellie’s breathing soon deepens and slows, and she curls into my side as sleep takes her.
As tired as I am, sleep eludes me. This reality feels fragile, strange. After years of Authority control, after years of believing I would die in that tower without ever seeing home again, I’m here. In Ashenvale. In my city.
I slip from the bed, and leave the bedroom quietly, not wishing to disturb her. The balcony doors stand closed against the night, but the long velvet curtains are open, allowing moonlight to fill the room. I throw the doors open, and cool air rushes in, carrying scents that reach something deep inside.
Stone and steel, woodsmoke from countless hearths, the distant tang of the river that cuts through part of the city. I step onto the balcony and take a deep breath, savoring the smells, and look out over the city …mycity.
Even from here, I can see the breaches in the outer walls, where Earthvein power brought them down. Chunks of stone lie like broken teeth, monuments to the moment when everything changed. The watchtowers that survived the assaultbear Veinblood banners now, reclaiming territory that has spent far too many years under my brother’s control.
My thoughts turn to the people who made yesterday’s victory possible. Not only the fighters who stormed the walls, but the people who rose from within. Blood spilled, choices made, and the price paid by people who still remembered the time before. When Veinbloods ruled, when children didn’t have to hide their abilities, and when the Lirien Spire flew Shadowvein banners. Some know only the stories parents told them, snippets of a world that existed before Sereven seized power.
Two floors below my feet sits the throne room where my ancestors ruled. Where Sereven sat in my father’s chair and issued orders for genocide. Where he proclaimed himself the legitimate ruler of Meridian, after overthrowing the High Commander who started the Authority movement.
Footsteps whisper across the floor, arms slide around my waist, and warmth presses against my back as Ellie wraps herself around me.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Her breath tickles the space between my shoulder blades.
“Too many memories fighting for space.” I lean back into her embrace. “Too many ghosts walking the streets.”
“Good or bad ones?”
I study the moonlit city while considering her question.
“Both.” My hands cover hers where they rest against my stomach. “This city holds everything I’ve ever lost, and everything I’ve ever fought for.”
Her arms tighten around me, and I turn to study her face. The silver in her eyes seems brighter in the darkness.
“The people you rallied deserve to know that I understand what they risked.”
She nods. “They do.”
I dip my head to kiss her.
“Come back to bed,” she murmurs against my mouth. “Dawn will come soon enough, and with it Varam, and other people claiming your attention.”
We step back inside, and I close the doors. Taking her hand, we return to the bedchamber. She slides beneath the covers, reaching for me as I join her. This time, when I wrap my arms around her, sleep comes easily.
Dawn arrives with the sound of movement in the main chamber. The familiar sounds of servants arranging breakfast, Varam’s voice issuing instructions, and for a second I’m transported back in time to when it was a daily occurrence I took for granted.
Easing myself out of Ellie’s arms, I leave the bed and reach for my clothes. When I step into the main room, the three servants drop into bows, and Varam straightens from where he’s leaning against the wall near the door.
“How did you know where I was?”
