Page 76 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

“Not just my dreams. He’s coming for me, Ronan. For us.”

She swallowed down a wave of nausea at the thought. She had no defenses against her creator. None. If he got his hands on her, she’d become his mindless Shadow once more.

Ronan’s gaze, so warm on hers, hardened. It was as if she could practically see the wheels in his head turning as he started to put together all the clues he’d unknowingly collected these past weeks.

“If he created your kind, his power runs through your veins. He needs it back. Which explains why he came after the Night Stalkers first. Why he keeps you so close.”

“And why he’ll never let me go.”

His hold on her tightened. “Neither will I.”

It was such a Ronan thing to say. Equal parts brave and foolish. She melted in his arms. “Ronan, he’ll destroy you and anyone else who stands in his way.”

Instead of heeding her warning, he grinned. “I’ve danced with death before. Turns out, I’m not very easy to kill. Besides, Erebos isn’t the only god around. What do you think Luna has to say about this tantrum of his?”

Reyna let out a bitter laugh. “I suppose calling it a tantrum is one way to classify it.”

“What would you call it?”

She held his gaze, her heart heavy. “War.”

CHAPTER24

RONAN

Hours later, Reyna’s words continued to ring through his mind, the echo of them as menacing as their first utterance. How in the Mother’s name were they supposed to face off against a damned god? And not just any god. The literal god of death.

Unless Luna had plans she’d yet to share, the outcome was dismal indeed. Which was why Ronan wasn’t bothering himself worrying about it. If the conclusion was foregone, what was the point? This could very well be one of his last chances to spend with the woman he’d walked to the ends of the earth for. He wasn’t about to waste it on impotent fear.

Instead, he watched over her while she dreamed, loving how peaceful she was in sleep. None of the worry that had lined her face the last handful of days was present.

Ronan stroked her hair, the silver-white strands all that remained to mark her time as Shadow.

He still couldn’t believe Reyna was in his arms. After so many years of dead ends, it had started to feel like a fool’s dream. He was afraid to close his eyes and learn that it was, in fact, just a dream. Which was the other reason he was still awake long after she’d fallen asleep.

After their talk, they made love again, this time taking things slow so they could explore and savor one another. It had been as mind-blowing as the first time. As much a chance to play and learn as it was to show off, coaxing each other to the edge of climax and then demanding more before allowing themselves to free fall into pleasure-induced oblivion.

He’d never known a lover like her, and he never would again. Completion such as this, the uniting of two souls who’d recognized the missing pieces of themselves in the other, it was a once in a lifetime merger. It was the very reason he’d nearly lost himself to madness without her. When a man discovered his soulmate, he did not simply learn to live without her. He moved heaven and earth to be reunited with her. She was the axis his world revolved around. The reason his heart beat and he continued to greet each day. That’s what love was. A constant battle to be together. A yearning without end. A hunger that could only be sated in the presence of the other. Anything less than everything was unacceptable.

Reyna made a soft sound, somewhere between a whimper and his name, drawing his attention back to her. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to the slight crease between her brows.

“I’m right here, kitten.”

Her eyes fluttered, the long ends of her lashes tangling together as she blinked them open. There was no mistaking the relief in her glittering gaze as she reached for him. “I thought I dreamed it all. I was afraid you wouldn’t be here when I woke.”

The near-perfect echo of his own fears had him huffing out a laugh. “It was the same for me.”

She skated the pad of her thumb beneath his eye. “You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”

Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to her palm. “I didn’t dare close my eyes. I don’t think I could bear to wake up and find you gone.”

Her sleepy expression softened. “Come here.”

He obeyed, shifting so his body was no longer beside hers but on top. Brushing his mouth to hers, he rasped, “Well, kitten, you wanted me. Now what are you going to do with me?”

“Everything.”

Her wicked grin had his cock jerking to attention. She kissed him, winding her body around his and weaving her hands through his hair. A growl rumbled through his chest when she scraped her nails lightly along his scalp and then tugged on the thick strands. It was a move she’d done often the night before and one that made little shivers race across his skin. He wasn’t sure which of them enjoyed the act more.

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