Page 35 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

Silence stretched between them, heavy and thick, the unsettling hush underscored by the erratic beats of her heart until finally he answered.

“Tell him that Death is coming... and there’ll be no escape.”

CHAPTER12

RONAN

Tonight had been unexpected for all manner of reasons. Chief among them, the woman lying in bed beside him. Correction—beside the Great Pillow Barricade.

His lips twitched with laughter as he readjusted his position, folding one arm back behind his head and bringing the hand of the other up to rest lightly on his chest. Big Bad Shadow thought she needed protection from him, which she’d created in the form of downy bricks stacked along the middle of the bed. Considering all the other options available to her, it wasn’t exactly a bold choice. And given their rather tumultuous relationship, that was a massive win in his book.

Actually, in many ways, the night as a whole felt like a resounding success. Which was as startling a realization as it was welcome. Since she’d avoided him all afternoon, he hadn’t known what to expect when she’d walked into the captain’s quarters. But even if he had, it wouldn’t have prepared him for when—at least for a moment during dinner—it felt as though he’d had her back.

Therealher.

Her mask of indifference had begun to crack as their hosts impressed and charmed them with stories of their nautical exploits. It fell away entirely not long after when she’d slid him her bread. There was no mistaking it. He’d seen the spark of concern in those beautiful irises blossom into empathy as she studied him. The emotions themselves wouldn’t have even registered if not for the fact that the woman had been coming for his throat less than twenty-four hours prior and still couldn’t stand the sight of him as recently as this morning.

Finding Shadow after all these years had been one mindfuck after the other. For every step forward, there were at least seven back. But tonight, despite every odd, it started to feel like those backward steps didn’t matter. The lost years. Their forgotten history. Erebos’s interference. None of it.

Regardless of the obstacles between them, his soul called to hers, coaxing it out from its hiding place and setting it free from its prison.

He’d witnessed the truth of it with his own eyes. Proved his theory to be correct. Their playful bickering over the bed only verified it. The more time they spent together away from the High Lord’s influence, the more frequent those flickers ofhercame and the longer they lasted.

One day, hopefully soon, they’d break through the last of the bonds holding her captive, and it wouldn’t just be a flicker he’d see but a full-on blaze.

His heart ached with longing at the thought. He missed her, maybe more now than before he set foot on Empyrean soil. Before she was just a memory, her edges softened by time and fanciful remembering. But now she was real. A living, breathing representation of everything he wanted, and it killed him to lie next to her and not touch her. Especially with the taste of her fresh in his mind.

He swallowed a groan, his body reacting instantly to the reminder of his fingers sheathed in her slick heat while his mouth devoured her cries.

Fuck. Me.

He might have continued torturing himself with his reminiscence, but he didn’t much enjoy the thought of silently fucking his fist, and that was the only way he’d find any semblance of relief from his pent-up need. Even then, it would be a poor substitute for the friction his body craved, and there was no chance of pretending any differently when Shadow was right there reminding him of everything he was missing.

Like the masochist she’d claimed he was, he turned his head to steal another look at her. She was alluring, even in sleep. Her hair shimmered like strands of starlight across the pillow, the sweet curves of her body begging for his touch. If not for the hitch in her breathing followed by a nearly inaudible whimper, he might not have realized something was amiss.

“Shadow?” he called softly. She didn’t respond, unless the slight jerk of her body counted. He rolled fully to his side, pushing up onto his arm to get a better look at her. “You awake?”

All he got this time was a distressed moan.

Who would have thought the realm’s deadliest blade had trouble sleeping?It was almost sweet, humanizing her in a way he would have thought impossible, but there was something about the deep line etched between her brows that gave him pause.

She looked tormented.

He reached out, intent on waking her, but then her words floated through his mind, and he hesitated, hand hovering just over her shoulder.‘Any part of you touches any part of me in the night, I’m breaking it off.’

“Is this a test? Are you tricking me into touching you, so you’ll have an excuse to break my fingers?”

He wouldn’t put it past her. It seemed like just the sort of trick she’d play on him. But then she cried out, and her terror sliced through his heart. There was no faking that sound. He’d only heard its like on battlefields and in sickrooms.

“Shadow? Shadow, love, wake up.” He grasped her shoulder, giving her a quick shake. She didn’t react beyond another low moan. “Sweetheart, you’re dreaming. Wake up.”

“Ronan,” she sobbed, limbs thrashing as she rolled onto her back. “It’s coming.”

There was no time to process the fact she was dreaming about him, or that she was trying to deliver a warning. He was too focused on pulling her from her nightmare.

Knocking the pillows to the floor, he moved until Shadow’s body was cradled in his lap, his arms banding around her and holding fast. Dropping his lips to her ear, he began murmuring reassurances, “Concentrate on my voice, kitten. I’m right here. You’re safe. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

As she settled into his hold, he started to believe it was working. But then she screamed, jackknifing up and cracking her forehead against his jaw.

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