Slowly, at the pace of a glacier, I slid down her panties, pushing them all the way down her legs, then off her ankles. Eyes shining with desire, she rolled onto her back. Her chest rose and fell deeply, breasts straining against her wet shirt.
I knelt between her legs, pulling up her skirt to her waist. With her hands still bound, her knees fell open, inviting me. I could see her arousal and struggled to stay in control. My conquest, spread out before me, ready for me.
Gods, she was perfection, but I’d force myself to take my time. I knelt between her legs, kissing her neck.
She groaned my name. “Salem…” The sound sent warmth spiraling through my chest. I grazed a little hint of teeth over her skin, drawing out the slow kiss on her throat. I flicked my tongue over her skin, tasting her. I’d kiss every inch of her while she screamed my name.
“Salem,” she whispered again.
Gods, I loved my name on her lips.
I started to unbutton her shirt and moved my mouth lower over her beautiful breasts. Her nipples were taut, rosy peaks.
I took one of them in my mouth, swirling my tongue over it. Her body was urging me for more, writhing with excitement.
“Salem, please…”
“Please, what?” I purred.
I stroked my fingertips down to the slickness between her thighs, sliding my finger in light circles.
As I teased her, I whispered, “Ask me for what you want, Aenor.”
I kept my touch so light that she seemed like she was vibrating with desire. Her body craved satiation, and I was drawing it out.
“I want you, Salem,” she said at last.
At that, I lost all control I had. I pulled off my pants, ready to slide in—
I woke from the dream with a start. Immediately, disappointment hit me like a cold fist. A chill washed over me.
What in the rockiest pits of hell…
First of all, I didn’t dream. I hadn’t dreamt since before I’d been cursed, eons ago. I hadn’t dreamt since humans still lived in caves, trying to kill each other with animal bones.
Second of all, I didn’t feel things anymore, and now I was feeling things.
And, most importantly, why was my mind on Aenor’s body? I was so close to finding the soul cage, and I’d become full of distractions.
Night still cloaked the room in darkness, but already I knew what time it was. Like clockwork, I always woke just before dawn. Rarely did I miss the first blush of morning light, no matter where I was in the world.
A cold sort of horror was building inside me as I realized I’d moved location in my sleep.
Beneath my body, I felt a hard floor instead of the bed. A single, thin ray of milky light beamed from under the crack in the door. Next to me.
Somehow, without realizing it, I’d shifted onto the floor just by the door. I’d slept in front of it. It was like… like I was guarding the room. It was the primitive behavior of an animal trying to protect its mate.
Dread crawled over my skin, but I wouldn’t let myself delve too deeply into what this meant.
We simply had to get out of here. We had to keep going, and I wouldn’t think about Aenor anymore. I wouldn’t look at her.
I had to kill the electric attraction I felt between us.
I’d simply make her hate me more than she already did. That wouldn’t be difficult, of course. All I had to do was tell her the rest of the truth about myself. Her revulsion for me would be complete.
I snapped my fingers, and flames ignited where the torches hung in sconces.
Aenor gasped, her eyes snapping open. “Gods have mercy…” she muttered. “I was having a really good dream.”
For just a moment, I was tempted to ask what it was, sparked with the hope that it was about me. Did we have the same dream?
Instead, I snapped my fingers again, popping the ropes of magic off her hands.
She sat up, rubbing her wrists. “Why are you waking me in the middle of the night?”
Tension tightly coiled my body, and I pulled on my shirt, smoothing it out. “Dawn is breaking. The storm should be over now.”
I turned away from her, unwilling to look at her long eyelashes as she blinked.
Already, my mind was on Mag Mell.
After all these years, I’d be going back.
It had been millennia since I’d ruled there, but when I closed my eyes at night, before I fell asleep, I could still see the way the sunlight streamed through the oak leaves. I could smell the richness of the soil and feel the heavy air on my skin. My second paradise, and second exile.
I’d poisoned it all, of course.
“The sun is rising soon, and I won’t miss dawn,” I said. “You threw us off course already with the storm you called up, and I won’t wait any longer. Call your magic boat. We’re going to the Merrow.”
She slid her perfect legs over the side of the bed, giving me a sweet smile I knew she didn’t mean. “Why the rush? I thought we were getting along so well after you tied me to the bed.”
20
Aenor
I sat across from Salem in the boat, blinking in the morning light. Coral streaked a periwinkle sky.
Before, he’d seemed so curious about me, staring at me with intensity. Now, it seemed like he didn’t want to look at me at all. Like I disturbed him.
Something about my understanding of Salem didn’t seem complete. I was missing something.
I supposed it wouldn’t kill me to know Salem a little better—what made him tick.
Right now, he seemed entranced by the sunrise as we sailed on the calm seas.
A gust of wind blew my hair into my face, the ruddy sunlight tingeing it with a violet hue. Peaceful. I could even hear the sea’s song lulling us along.
I sipped my coffee, the steam warming my face. Angel had given that to us before we left. She’d also handed over a basket of hot, buttered scones along with some kind of warning about burning to death. It had been a confusing mixture of comfort and terror.
She needn’t have continued to warn me. By now, the doom prophecies were clear.
I sighed and reached into the basket to pull out another scone. As I did, I realized what it was—the thing that didn’t fit with Salem’s entire malign presence. His whole I am an evil torturer who cares for no one vibe.
“What’s your cat’s name?” I asked.
“Aurora,” he murmured absent-mindedly, still looking at the sky.
Then he snapped out of his trance and shot me an irritated look. It was like I’d just manipulated a secret out of him.
“If you want to light the world on fire, why do you have a cat?” I asked.
He stared at me. “I fail to see the connection.”
“You have a well-looked-after cat, who you’ve named and everything. She’s groomed and healthy, and she clearly loves you by the way she was rubbing your legs.” I tapped my fingers on my knees. “Now what I don’t get is why look after a cat if you plan to destroy the world? You love that cat.”
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking I can love. Or that underneath it all I’m nice, Aenor. I’m not. I am Lucifer.” The rosy sunlight glinted in his eyes as he leaned back against the boat.
“I just wouldn’t imagine the devil would have a cat.” I frowned. “Or perhaps it fits.”