Page 87 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

She greeted his lips eagerly, her kiss tasting of sea spray and the bottle of wine they’d scavenged. It was a heady combination, and he was soon lost to it. Neither of them noticed the fog rolling in off the sea.

“How long before Bast comes for us?”

“What did I tell you about mentioning others while we’re together?”

She poked him below his ribs. “We’re neither naked nor are you inside me. Since those were your only two conditions, I believe I’ve followed your rules regarding speaking other’s names.”

“A gross oversight on my part. Allow me to correct my mistake.” He reached for the fastening of her pants. “And to answer your original question, not long, so we’d better hurry.”

“Good, because I need you.”

His hand moved between leather and skin until he cupped her slick sex. “How much?”

“More than anything.”

His heart gave a happy lurch. “More than... your daggers?” he whispered, feathering kisses over her jaw as he worked her with his fingers.

“Mmm... .that’s a close one. My daggers are just so useful.”

He pulled back with an incredulous laugh. “You little minx.”

“Well, if this isn’t just the most precious and nauseating display I’ve ever seen.” Erebos’s cultured drawl turned the sensual fire in his veins to ice.

Ronan shifted as best he could so that his body was between the High Lord and Reyna’s, instinctively creating an invisible shield out of Air and reinforced with Earth. The interloper stood less than an arm’s length away, his hands resting over the center of his chest, a sneer curling his upper lip.

“It practically warms the cockles of even my blackened heart.”

Ronan tried to call out, his eyes darting down the beach to where the campfire and reinforcements should be, but all his eyes found was a thick wall of gray and black mist.

Fuck. So much for staying in sight.

“Come here to me, Shadow mine.”

“The lady’s name is Reyna.”

Erebos’s eyes flicked between the two of them, but he did not acknowledge Ronan’s fierce declaration. “Things will be so much worse if you make me ask again.”

Behind him, Reyna pushed to her feet.

“Reyna, don’t.”

“I have to. It’s the only way to save you.”

Erebos laughed, and it cracked through the night like thunder. “How naïve you are thinking there’s anything you can do to protect him from me.”

A cloud of black smoke in the shape of a taloned hand shot out, grasping Ronan about the neck and cutting off his oxygen. Not even the shield he’d created was strong enough to block it. It may as well have not been there at all for all the good it did. But what could he really expect when it was not a man he faced, but a god?

“Please,” Reyna whispered. “If you promise not to hurt him or his compatriots, if you promise to let them walk free, I’ll come with you. Willingly.” Her gaze darted to Ronan’s, pleading with him to understand. “I love you,” she mouthed.

“No,” he rasped, but the hand around his throat only crushed harder, causing spots to dance in his periphery.

“Deal,” Erebos said, his eyes locked on hers.

Ronan could have told her it was an empty promise. The power flowing through her veins held everything he needed. The bastard would say whatever she wanted to hear if it got him his way. It didn’t mean he had to follow through with any of it.

“Lies,” he tried to warn her, but there wasn’t enough air left in his lungs for the word to be more than a croak.

Reyna took a fortifying breath, and even though it was surrender, she walked to her creator like a queen. Shoulders straight, head held high, not a single ounce of fear evident in any part of her. He was so fucking proud of her strength, even as she ripped out his heart with her sacrifice.

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