Page 24 of The Demon King's Destiny

“I know,” Eden’s soft voice acknowledged on an exhale. “I’m sure he has good reason. Besides, it’s not like Nora has any expectation to see him.”

“How do you know? Did you ask her?”

Edenlooked nonplussed. “Well, no.”

“Then how do you know she has no expectation to see him? Perhaps she would like to meet him again, this time as an adult. To know him or, at least, have some sense of him prior to matrimony. It’s not unreasonable.”

“No, it’s not unreasonable. However, she’s never voiced it so I propose we say nothing of his refusal. There’s no sense in chancing any amount of anxiety or disappointment. She’ll have a hard enough time of it as it is.”

Evelyn chewed the inside of her cheek. Eden was right. Nora might not know Kellan, but there would only be negative emotional consequences if she knew he would not come to her when invited.

This much Evelyn knew for certain. She felt it every night when she laid her head upon her pillow and sought out the male who had taken over her thoughts. Searching, always searching the only space her dreams allowed her to visit.

Marrok hadn’t returned to her dreamworld. Try as she might to summon him, he never came. Her faith in Fate was being tested. Evelyn would not lay such disappointment at Nora’s feet.

She squeezed Eden’s shoulder and nodded silently.

* * *

Evelyn felt the change before she opened her eyes. Her stance widened and her hands flexed with her magics.

No calm breeze brushed across the clearing. Tonight, a blistering wind struck her form, its howling whistle bounced irritatingly off her eardrums.

Instead of soft blues and purples, the moon was giving off shades of red and orange. Flames crackled and licked the trees of the forest, but nothing was burning. The dreamworld, or something in it, was irritated.

Slowly, she rotated, seeking information, waiting for the elements to speak. They buzzed, drawing her attention to one of the paths connecting the clearing to the woods.

The fire split into columns on either side of the trail and a form emerged from within the inferno. Tall, with broad shoulders and a lean trunk, the male stalked forward.

Blackened eyes locked on hers, so intense she felt them in her core. Long, predatory strides moved him directly in her path. Without thought, Evelyn opened the barrier and he stepped into the clearing.

The wind screamed and the only other sound she could hear was the boom of her thundering heart. He advanced swiftly, everything about his approach screamed he was a man possessed. His intent couldn’t be clearer.

In two second she was in his arms, his mouth slamming into hers. This first kiss—the first she’d ever experienced—was hard and unyielding. It was nothing like she had imagined, and almost more than she was prepared to receive. This wasn’t the kiss of a lover. It was a punishment.

Evelyn gasped and Marrok took advantage of her parted lips, driving his tongue into her mouth. Her fingers clenched the fabric on his shoulders as she trembled in his embrace, struggling to stay on her feet.

Her veins throbbed, her heated blood reaching a rapid boil. His arms tightened and she knew he’d never let her fall.

Evelyn felt him everywhere. His powers slid up and down her skin, caressing, inciting. Their shared breaths depleted her of oxygen and tiny pinpoints of light burst from behind her eyelids.

The high-pitched winds built into a crescendo and the blazes roared. Higher and higher until the dreamworld exploded with a blinding radiance, bathing their bodies in the white of their magics before returning once more to muted colors and a calm breeze. The forest was once again covered in purple and blue moonbeams.

The world settled, along with Marrok’s spirit. He’d been on the verge of something terrible. He’d gotten worse every day without his saatus. Another two years without her was out of the question.

Feeling once more in control of himself, he slowed the kiss, bringing a hand up to palm the back of her head. His lips drifted to the corner of her mouth, then to her temple, before dropping to her ear.

“Never again,moj draga,” he warned, biting her earlobe.

She shivered. “P-pardon?”

“You’ll never again wait so long to summon me.” He failed to mention his own unsuccessful attempts to enter her world.

Evelyn, still reeling from his arduous assault, took a moment to process. He was upset she hadn’t pulled him into her dreams. She smiled against his chest, then tipped her head back.

“Missed me, did you?”

“Don’t tease.”

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