Page 66 of Wicked Thieves
Zara had been right that day when she told her about Aeric’s suffering. It would never end, for he refused to let it be so. Not when he took on the responsibility for the sake ofothers. Until the day the king was finally overruled and Castian was sitting upon that throne, and they would all then know peace.
It was a fool’s dream.
But it was his, she realized. Somehow, through all of this, it had become hers as well. The same as it had been Enid’s, too.
“When my father died, whenIkilled him.” Anelize bit her lip, looking away when she felt his weighty stare shift to her. “I thought the only answer to solving all of my problems and worries was to hide. So that I could still preserve what little I still had—my sister. I think…I think I was wrong to have done so for so long. In allowing myself to become weak, I did the one thing the king wanted all of us to do. Fade into the shadows, cease to exist. But it is not a possibility, when, in reality, it was the greed of men, the greed for power, that sent us all down this path. I do not want to live in fear for who I am not by choice but by blood. I refuse to feel any more shame for it.”
Aeric didn’t say anything, allowing her to give voice to what she felt. The same way he had. She also wanted him to understand what this has all meant to her. Despite not truly knowing if she belonged amongst the rest of the Vedrans in the beginning. She knew it now and she held onto it like a thread leading her forward. Only ever forward now.
Anelize looked up and did not waver as she stared at him with all the conviction she had through her exhaustion. Gracing him with a small smile, she said, “You have sparked that change in others, Aeric. More than you know. Sometimes, I think it just takes time for us to finally face the truth.”
The sound of the kindling crackling in the fireplace filled the silence between them.
And then he began pushing the covers off his legs with agrimace. He set his feet down on the floor as if he would make to stand, and she was up and out of her chair in an instant.
“What are you doing? Get back in bed?—”
His hand reached for hers the moment she was close enough and he tugged her forward. Parting his legs, he allowed her to step into him until they were close enough to share one breath.
Anelize’s breath halted as he stared up at her with nothing short of admiration and said, “Thank you for your words, for saving me. I owe you a life debt.”
“I’m sure you would do the same for me,” she murmured.
“I did. I would. As many times as need be.”
“Considering what we are about to do, I’m not sure you want to make such a bold claim.”
“As many times,” he said again. Unwavering. Aeric’s grip tightened on her hand, and she was glad it wasn’t the one that had been injured. The only thing she wanted to feel in this moment wasn’t pain, but warmth and surety.Him.
“Back there, when you thought I merely meant to protect you because of what you could do for us to put a stop to the Loom’s power, you were wrong. As much as I delight in those rare occasions…” She rolled her eyes at him, and he smiled before his voice dropped. “In that moment, I only wanted to prove you wrong. Show you exactly what it is that you mean to me. I heard you in the stables before. You think of yourself as ruination. But you are the furthest thing from it. You are my salvation, and you don’t even see it. The way I’d gladly fall to my knees before you.Letyou ruin me if you so wished.”
Dangerous—they were teetering on a dangerous line. One Anelize wasn’t sure she could fully understand just as she couldn’t understand how her heart pounded in her chest. Soloud she was sure he could hear it from how close they were to one another.
“How will you show me?” she asked breathlessly, hating herself for it.
A sharp smile touched his lips as he pulled her closer, until she had no choice but to brace her hands upon his shoulders. His arms wrapped around her waist as he looked up at her as if he were staring at one of the saints painted upon the walls of the Old Church.
His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, running his thumb along the cuts that had been left behind in the wake of the raids.
“You are the most precious thing I have ever laid eyes upon.” Pulling her down, her breath stalled in her chest as he pressed a kiss to one of the cuts, easing the sting with the gentle caress of his lips. When he pulled away, he whispered, “From the moment I first saw you in that alley. When you threatened me if I dared harm what was most precious to you without an ounce of fear. I knew there would never be another who could captivate me as much as you had in that moment.”
He moved to the next one he found on her jaw, and the one she hadn’t noticed on her neck. Her hands closed into fists over his shirt at the whispers of heat he sent through her body, down to the deepest parts of herself.
“Wicked and a little cruel at times.” His voice was a deep rumble she felt through every nerve ending in her body. When his fingers slid beneath the collar of her robe, he looked to her in a silent request. She swallowed once, twice, then nodded when she built up the courage. No longer denying herself what she’d wanted for far longer than she realized or cared to admitto herself. “Vicious and loyal when it comes to protecting what’s yours.”
Aeric’s movements were slow and meticulous as he tugged one side of her robe and pulled it over her shoulder before doing the same to the collar of her nightgown. Exposing her shoulder where he must have remembered the burn had been. Only a small pink patch of skin remained but when he pressed a kiss next to it, it felt entirely too sensitive, tender to the touch. His lips curved into a smile when she shuddered.
He placed another kiss, this time along her collarbone where she knew there were no injuries.
“All of the things I cannot get enough of when it comes to you.”
“Gluttony will be the death of you,” she breathed out, unable to hold back the sounds that he coaxed out of her with his lips alone.
She felt him smile against the other side of her jaw. “I’ve never denied it.”
He straightened as his hand cupped her cheek, eyes flickering to her lips. For a moment, neither of them moved as they waited, waited,waited.
“You are going to ruin me,” Aeric whispered, running his thumb over her bottom lip. The touch driving her close to madness. Parting her lips as he hovered over them. His breath caressing her with want. A yearning that left her feeling as though he had been utterly starved of affection for too long.
