Chapter 19

E mara knocked on the oak door in front of her, her knuckles rattling the old wood. She let out a bated breath, having held in so much anxiety before speaking with Gideon. She took in another firm breath and wiped her brow. Although the Tower was normally cool and breezy, the warmth of summer still felt sticky on her skin. She was exhausted. But she couldn't think of that, not as she was doing her rounds of the Blacksteels tonight.

The door opened on Kellen wearing a loose white shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar and a silver chain around his neck. His dark Blacksteel hair was swept over to one side, and his unusual eyes searched her face in surprise. "Emara?"

"Can I come in?" she asked, wasting no time.

"Would it not be rude to refuse an empress?" His eyebrow went up, and in that moment he looked so like Torin.

"Yes," she said as she made her way into the room and ran a hand through her hair.

Kellen closed the door behind her, and there was a casualness about how they were together now that made it a lot easier to communicate with him than before. "What brings you to my room after dusk?"

"I saw you today, during the meeting." Emara clasped her hands together. "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that glow as we were leaving the summit. Did you have a vision?"

He let the side of his cheek sink in so that his teeth could grab it. "I took an elixir; you weren't supposed to be able to see that."

"My magic is getting stronger," Emara said. "Why didn't you tell me you had another dream? What happened?"

Kellen had been telling Emara all about his dreams recently as a way to help him destress and get them off his chest. Sometimes they were about battles that happened the next day. He wouldn't always share the details with her, though, the pictures and memories too disturbing for him to revisit.

He pushed his hair back, shifting his eyes from hers. "Emara, I cannot change anything that is about to happen between my father and Torin, even if I tell you about my dreams. You know that. There are some that just need to be kept to myself."

Emara's voice was small when she asked, "What did you see, Kellen?"

He looked away from her. "Nothing that will change the course of tomorrow."

"Did you see who won?"

Kellen shook his head. "No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

"But you did see something?" She took a step towards him.

Kellen nodded. "You know they have been happening more frequently, but that doesn't mean my visions are any clearer."

She took a moment before she asked, "Was it anything tangible?"

"Not really." He shrugged, making his way over to his burnt orange sofa, which was stacked with creamy pillows. "You know they never make any sense until whatever I'm dreaming about actually happens."

"If there is anything you can tell me—"

"Whatever I saw was in regard to the Temple of the Gods. Whatever happens tomorrow will lead us there," he began, probably knowing she wouldn't rest until he told her something. "But I am unsure why it is all connected. There was a pond, but the water was red. It didn't make any sense. There was a scent of sulphur in the air, and it was darker, murky. Eerie. It could have been stormy, but I am honestly not sure. There were vines that climbed so very high, but I couldn't see where they led. It most definitely had something to do with the Dark Army, so I am assuming that it has nothing to do with tomorrow."

Emara took a seat with him for a moment and let her spine sink into the comfiest chair he had. Her stinging eyes closed for just one moment. "So you couldn't see any faces?"

"No faces. Just feelings this time."

Emara chewed her lip again, shocked that she hadn't yet made it bleed with her growing anxiety. "I hope the feelings aren't too strong and you can sleep tonight."

"Me too." Kellen relaxed again and looked out the window. The window looked out over the forest, a refreshing difference from the view in her room. "You should get some rest too. No offence, but you look exhausted."

"None taken." She laughed a little because she knew what Kellen was saying was the truth. "Have you decided which side you will stand on tomorrow?" she asked him softly.

"I always stand on my own," he whispered.

Emara reached out and took his hand in her own. "That's not true anymore; you have me."

"Come in," Torin said.

When Emara opened the door and made way through the entrance, she saw him on his chair, freshly showered and sporting only a towel. "You did not need to knock on the door. You can just come in," he said, his piercing blue eyes on her face.

She halted, taking in his glistening skin under the light of the moon that beamed in gloriously from the window. The moon knew exactly how to spotlight him and stop everything else in the world from mattering as she shone her light on his ridiculously carved body. He rose from the chair, the towel lying perilously low at his hips. The small trail of hair that paved a path from his stomach got lost under the towel.

"My eyes are up here," he said as he reached her. A finger curled under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. With a gentle smile, he took her hand and dotted a kiss to her knuckles. She sighed as the touch of his lips made its way to her fingers, unravelling the tension in her neck, her fears, and the distractions in her mind. Torin said, "I've missed you."

"I would have found you sooner but—" Her words were cut off as Torin's hand trailed a path from her neck down her arm. "I needed to…to…take care of a few things before—" Torin caught her wrist with his teeth and gently scored along it.

Holy Gods.

"You had things to take care of, did you?" he said against her wrist, his voice low and dangerous. "How very empress-y of you."

It amazed her how a single kiss could spark a burning desire in her core that spread all over her skin.

"Yes," she breathed. "Empress business."

"That sounds so official." He kissed the crease in her arm where her skin folded and continued upwards.

"It was." She almost let out a moan as he worked his way to her shoulder.

He paused. "Your body is so tense."

"Can you blame me?"

As he reached her neck, Torin stopped his lips from worshipping her. "If I could take this burden of tomorrow from your shoulders, I would. It would take it all."

"I know you would. But I would never let you carry that burden alone. We are a team, remember? I just can't think of something happening to you."

He pulled away from her neck and caught her stare. "Emara, something terrible could happen any day of our lives. But we can't think like that, not tonight. Not in these moments just between us two. We need to live just for us."

She knew what he wanted to say: Not when tonight could be their last night together; not when it could be the last time he touched her. She pulled back, taking a few deep breaths, and her hand went up to hold in her sobs. She had held it together all day and night, but she could show her true self around him, and the tears burst from her eyes.

"Come on," he said, reaching for her. "Don't do that."

"What?" she said, turning from him.

"Don't let the panic and fear win. You're stronger than that." His hands were on her hips, travelling up to her waist and past her curves. They landed on her face, cupping her jaw. "Let's not talk about tomorrow or what the fate of the Gods has in store for me. For us." He nodded, looking deeply into her soul. Emara couldn't breathe. "Let's just take this moment as the stars come out in the sky and the moon shines down on us to get lost in one another. Just us. Just tonight."

She gripped his hands and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push out the trepidation of tomorrow. The dizziness almost won, but her heart blocked out everything else in the world but him. The sky could be falling down around her and all it would take would be for Torin Blacksteel to wink at her and she would forget about everything.

"I am sorry. I just feel a little overwhelmed. Can you pour me a drink?" she asked him. "Anything you have."

His eyebrow went up, but he moved over to where his crystal glass sat, untouched, by his chair. Walking back over, Emara felt the temperature of the room intensify as if the sun herself had come up from her slumber underground to fill the room with warmth. Maybe it was Torin in nothing but a fluffy white towel, but heat swarmed her.

"Would you like a sip?" He held up the glass, and something wicked glinted in his stunning eyes.

She nodded, swallowing a breath. "Yes."

His eyes dazzled like polished sapphires as he held up the glass close to her mouth. "I will give you a sip, angel." He paused, his grin turning devious as his lips fought to hide his pearl-white teeth. "But only if you promise that we can share."

After she nodded, his lips turned up at the corner, finally revealing one of those sensual grins that dimpled in his cheek. Those unholy dimples sent fire through her heart and flutters into her stomach. He put the glass to his mouth, all eyes on her, and let the liquid slide into his mouth.

He moved fast, grabbing her neck with one hand and opening her mouth with his own.

Delightful shock knocked the breath from her as he let the bourbon flow from his mouth to hers, sending tastes of spice, notes of vanilla, and grains of caramel onto her tongue. The alcohol burned a track down to her stomach and his kiss came down hard on her lips. He broke away all too quickly, leaving her chest heaving.

"More?" His husky voice told her that he had something more than bourbon on his mind.

"Always," she said, nipping his lip with her teeth.

He groaned as his hand slid around her waist. He pulled her flush with his chest, and she could feel the hardness of her nipples pushing into him. "You cannot waltz in here wearing that dress, drink the bourdon from my own lips, bite me, and then expect me not to want to fuck you so hard that we both forget our names."

"What is it about me waltzing around in a dress that gets you so hot and bothered?" She met his stare.

"I would prefer it if you didn't have one on," he challenged.

Emara's hands nipped down to the hem, and she pulled her dress over her head, revealing her undergarments. "Like this?"

He took a step back, studying her with a burning flame of chaos in his eyes. He finished the rest of what was in his glass before placing it on the dark oak drawers. "Why do you continue to surprise the fuck out of me?"

He collided with her, and his large hand wrapped around the back of her neck this time, angling her exactly where he wanted her head to be. His lips separated hers, and he groaned against her mouth as if she tasted sweeter than the bourbon.

Emara drove her hands up, pushing through his thick, silken hair, and kissed him like it was the last time she was going to. And he kissed her back like he couldn't guarantee her another. She reached down, pulling the towel from his waist just as he unhooked her bralette, exposing her flesh. He slid the fabric of her underwear past her ass with two strong hands and gripped her thighs, bringing her effortlessly into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his rock-hard torso as teeth and lips devoured each other.

Torin swivelled and fell back into his chair with her on top of him, unfaltering from her mouth. His tongue pushed against hers, desperate and consuming, greedy and powerful. Running his hands up her stomach to her breasts, he grabbed and palmed at her skin, making her breath halt in her lungs. He sat up, taking one of her nipples into his mouth sucking and nipping at her tender skin. A flood of heat rushed to her core and she called out, not knowing—not caring—if anyone else in the world could hear her saying his name. As her eyes fluttered open, she found that his gleaming ocean eyes were on her too, enjoying every minute of the pleasure that he was making her feel.

Heat blushed her cheeks. "I want you," she said, trying not to close her eyes again. As his wet tongue whirled around that same nipple, the sensation brought her eyes shut. Her back arched in total submission to his touch.

"Where do you want me?" he rasped against her skin, knowing exactly where she wanted him.

"You know where."

"Say it."

"Inside me," she breathed.

"Is that what you want, angel?" he teased as he grazed his teeth over her breast.

"Yes." Her head tilted back as he kissed between her breasts. "Wait," she said through laboured breaths. She rested a hand on his chest to steady herself. Her eyes opened again, finding him.

"What's wrong?" He stopped moving instantly.

Her cheeks burst into flames. "I've never been…I've never done anything this way before."

His shoulders relaxed, and he fell back a little in the chair. "Emara, with you on top of me, looking like that, I feel like a king. Please do not worry. There is nothing you can do that would be wrong. There is no way that you could move that wouldn't send me wild." He grabbed her face, bringing it down to his. "You are mine. You are an empress, and you are in control. And I don't want you to forget this as you ride me—you are a goddess."

His lips were on hers quick and fast, and she returned it. She pushed through the confidence that he had just given her and seared it into their kiss. He was right. She was an empress, and he made her Gods-damned feel like one.

Torin moved his hand down past her stomach, and a finger found the bundle of nerves that had Emara's back arching and a moan escaping her mouth. He moved in slow circles with his fingers as he found that soft spot on her neck and sucked in hard. She bucked again, but his other hand held her hip in place, unwilling to let her shy away from the pleasure.

He circled faster, building up that beautiful tension that could break any moment. Just at the right moment, he slid one finger into her, feeling how truly ready she was for him. He added another finger instantly, and she cried out, her head falling back. Her spine arched even more and she secretly prayed for the sweetest release to bring shivers down her bones.

Those sweet, intoxicating little shivers.

"You are so fucking beautiful as you take my fingers," he said lowly.

"Torin," she gasped as his thumb found her clit again.

Her hips found a stunning rhythm as he pumped two fingers inside of her, and the rush of euphoria was building high. Just as he drove his fingers in her for the last time, he stroked her with his thumb, and the feeling was too perfect for her body to bear. She screamed, her climax crashing down on her like an avalanche. There was nothing but bliss as she came for him, nothing but pure, untouched pleasure. She clung to his body, her hands in his hair until she regained her vision.

He shifted her, moving her to his cock. Emara gave a soft whimper as the tip of him grazed along her swollen apex, and he waited until she looked at him. Emara licked her lips, her vision finally clear of all the glittering spots and speckles of ecstasy. She glanced down at him waiting for her to take every inch of him.

He moved his hand down to help her guide where he was supposed to go, and she slowly lowered herself.

"Take your time, angel. We don't have to rush this."

A gasp left her lips as the tip of him edged into her entrance, and he moved to place a kiss into her collarbone. She relaxed and moved again, rolling her hips a little, taking him deeper. An exhale from Torin had her eyes wide open. To her surprise, he was struggling to hold his release already. Something about a warrior like him below her, at her mercy, sent a craze of power through her body. Her magic ignited. Her darkness coiled around her spine. Her air blew through the room.

She moved again, this time circling her hips like what his wicked fingers had done to her. He hissed, biting his lips so hard. The veins in his neck started to appear.

"You have never been more magnificent than you are now, taking me all the way into you," he rasped.

She lowered herself again, gliding down him further, placing her hands into his solid chest. She dug her nails in as she rolled again, taking him deeper and a little quicker. But this wasn't the pace that she was used to with Torin.

She plunged down, finally taking everything he had to give. All of him.

"Fuck," he breathed, his hands slipping to her hips. "You feel so fucking good."

That was all she needed to hear as she began rocking against him. She never knew how fierce it could feel to be on top of a man like Torin Blacksteel and watch as he lost all control. He gripped her hips as the two of them moved together, grinding into ultimate satisfaction. Torin quickened his thrusts to meet hers, and the pounding of their skin could be heard over their gasps.

A second release built up in Emara's stomach, travelling all the way to her toes and right back up her spine. The final thrust he gave before his release came sent a wave of undiluted exhilaration into every part of who she was. She moaned his name, and he called out hers too. When she opened her eyes, she found the same slick expression on his face as he lay back watching her. Both covered in perspiration, they embraced each other, panting.

Existing.

Together.

Torin pulled back again and pushed the untamed hair from her face. After a few minutes of laboured breaths, he said, "If the Gods are not in my corner tomorrow, I want you to know..." He took her face in his large hands once more. "I will die free." He placed his head to hers and wiped away the tears that were now blinding her. "You freed me, Emara Clearwater. You allowed my heart to be free."

A cry broke from her lips, but he silenced her with a kiss. Before she could break down entirely, he swept her up in his arms and walked towards his bed, promising to kiss her until the sun broke through the kingdom.