Chapter 10

Karys

The descent back into my physical body was less jarring this time—and less painful—because Dravyn was there to catch me.

Or to break my fall, at least.

I hurtled into the palace surrounded by tumbling flames, passing seamlessly through walls and magical wards before finding myself hovering above the stairwell leading up to Dravyn's bedchamber, of all places. From the looks of it, I'd caught him mid-ascent.

The cramped passage allowed little room to maneuver, but the instant the flames began to clear—and he spotted my face within them—he reacted, snatching me from the air as I plummeted to the floor.

We still tumbled down a few steps thanks to my momentum, crashing hard onto the nearest landing. Dravyn caught himself against the wall beside a tall window, bracing me in front of him, hands tightly gripping my sides.

Bits of fire drifted around me. As Dravyn held me more tightly, more securely, the flames lengthened and drew closer, like a second embrace melting into my body as though to build it up and fortify it.

Dravyn kept me steady, looking me over as if he still wasn't convinced I'd really just appeared out of thin air.

Honestly, I wasn't entirely convinced myself.

I wrapped a hand around one of his arms. Squeezed. Definitely solid . I lifted my other hand to his face, brushing his cheek, letting my fingers linger against his skin. Definitely warm .

He was real—and more importantly just then, I was real.

I was here.

Slightly dizzy, yes, but the entire experience wasn't as disorienting as I'd expected it would be. My mind was already clearing, my nerves settling, ready to do it all over again.

I felt I could have gone anywhere in the realms in that moment—especially if I knew I could find my way back to Dravyn like this. That he would break my fall and catch me no matter the flames and chaos I carried back with me.

"Hi," I said to him, brightly.

He cocked his head, regarding me with a wry smile. "Will you ever stop surprising me?"

"I don't plan to," I replied, smiling back.

He looked up at the ceiling, like he still thought there must have been some hole in it that he'd missed, some skylight I'd actually tumbled through.

"Do you realize what I've just done?" I asked, nearly bouncing from the excitement humming through my veins.

Several emotions seemed to be competing for dominance within him as he lowered his gaze back to me. Concern flashed briefly over his features, but he settled them into something closer to admiration as he said, "The lessons with Mai went well, I take it."

"Actually, they were disastrous for most of the day."

"They were?"

"Yes. But I felt you returning to this palace moments ago, and I was able to focus on you at that point. My magic seemed to do the rest. It was almost... easy. "

He didn't appear terribly surprised by this. "I felt you, as well. I knew you were drawing closer—though your entrance was still unexpected, I'll admit."

"I'll try to aim for a door next time."

He laughed a bit at this, the look in his eyes deepening to something more than admiration. Something I couldn't readily name, but which made my entire body flush with fresh heat.

I felt you, as well .

It was rapidly becoming more than a mere feeling. The longer we stood there, wrapped in our shared flames, the more it was becoming like a compulsion—a need to be even closer to him than I already was, like a wave pulling back to the sea it was a part of.

He arched a brow. "Are you all right?"

"The magic…it still feels like it's drawing me toward you." My words were little more than breath between us. "Even though you're right here."

He considered this for a moment, his hand lifting and caressing my cheek. "Magic can… intensify whatever emotions you might be experiencing in a given moment. It's probably that at work, more so than the lingering traversing spell."

" Intensify? "

"Anger, fear, sorrow. Or in this case…" He let the sentence hang in the air, his gaze dipping briefly to my lips as he dragged his thumb across them.

Unmistakable hunger flashed in his eyes, and a shiver curled my toes as I silently finished his sentence for him.

Or in this case … desire .

I was elated at my newfound ability. Drunk with accomplishment. And the way he was looking at me, the way all the fiery parts of him twisted and tumbled with mine…it was intoxicating me to the point of foolishness.

Without much thought beyond that happy, drunken foolishness, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to mine.

As our lips met in a crash of heat and need, I understood—in a single, electrifying instant—what it truly meant to have the same power flowing through our veins.

To be connected in such a way was nearly overwhelming.

My heart ballooned to the point of bursting. My arms trembled against his neck. My knees buckled.

His hands were on my sides again just as quickly, steadying me once more, his touch drawing even more heat between us as his fingers dug in—not my heat, nor his.

Ours.

He backed me toward the wall, pressing me into cold stone that proved an arousing contrast against the fire engulfing us. His hold fell to my hips, taking a more commanding grip and hoisting me up, pulling my lips more fully into his.

I lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, then the other.

His hands slid to my thighs to better balance me between him and the wall.

Maybe it was the heat searing all reason from my mind, but I don't think he'd ever kissed me quite like this. It was wild and feverish, terrifying yet exhilarating. I wanted more of it. I didn't care if the fire building between us burned us and everything else to ashes. I didn't care about the hard stone digging into my backside.

My fingers curled like claws around his shoulders. I remembered at the last instant that I did have retractable claws —a feature I'd had as a mortal and retained through ascension—and I caught myself just as they started to unleash and draw blood.

He only laughed at the sharpness that had briefly pricked his skin, a deep, rich sound that vibrated through me and made me want to dig even more deeply into him, so deep that there would be no telling where I ended and he began.

"Easy," he whispered, nipping at my earlobe as he spoke. "I can't tell if you want to maim me or make love to me."

"I'm not sure I know, either. The heat of this new magic is intensifying things, as you said."

Another gruff laugh. Another vibration that sent shivers racing through me, shaking off more of what little restraint I had left.

"Should I be afraid?" he asked, lips dropping to the hollow of my throat, warm breath spilling along that sensitive spot and somehow making me burn even hotter.

I pretended to consider the question for a moment. "I think the pain will be worth it."

"I've no doubt." His fingers pushed through my hair and gripped my skull, gently angling my face upward so he could more easily press his lips to the most sensitive parts of my neck.

My fingers moved in turn, trailing along the strong curve of his jaw before sliding along one of his broad shoulders, slipping beneath the rumpled collar of his shirt and finding searing hot skin.

Despite our teasing words, we slowed for a moment, savoring the feel and taste of one another.

He readjusted his grip on my thighs, dropping me lower, pinning me against the wall with his body more than the strength of his arms.

With no space between us, I could feel the hardened length of him pressing into me, each throb of desire making the fires around us flare a little more brightly.

"Next time I need to find my way back to you," I said, in between catches of breath, "maybe I'll just picture you and me like this. That should create a strong enough pull."

He chuckled against my throat before lifting his gaze to mine. The grey in his eyes seemed darker than usual, heavy with both magic and desire. "I'm glad to be of use to you."

"And you can picture the same thing, and whatever connection we have will surely help draw me in."

"That could be dangerous," he said, planting kisses along my shoulder and up the side of my neck, "considering how often I find myself imagining you like this."

"I'm sure we'll manage, as needed."

"So, you're saying I can have you this way whenever I like," he whispered into my ear. "I just need to picture you up against the wall like this. To imagine myself touching you, tasting you, taking you…and you'll come crashing into my arms."

He leaned back, allowing me to catch my breath.

"Whenever you like?" I coyly lifted a brow. "Let's not get carried away."

He gave me a crooked grin. "I'm afraid I already have."

"Well, perhaps summon me to a more spacious and private location next time," I suggested, glancing around. "Especially if you intend to have me once I arrive."

"I think this stairwell will do just fine, personally."

"It's rather narrow," I said, stretching the tips of my fingers outward for emphasis.

"I love a challenge."

"You do, don't you?"

"Part of the reason I fell in love with you," he murmured, lips once more against my skin. "And also? You underestimate my ability and willingness to fuck you in just about any and all locations."

My breath didn't merely catch this time—it left me completely for a moment, leaving me briefly dizzy and glad for the firmness of his body against mine, holding me up.

"And the door below us is locked, for what it's worth," he added. "Only you and I hold the key to this tower. It's private enough." His tongue flicked against my pulse before he drew back to meet my eyes, a wicked smile now in place of the crooked one. "Though the sound does tend to echo in here. So you'll want to be mindful of that."

"Maybe I want it to echo," I whispered back, thrilling at the way the words made his eyes darken even further with desire. "Maybe we could be loud enough for the other courts to hear us—make them really hate me."

It was reckless, foolish talk, but magic was still circling around us and within us, still making me feel stupidly elated—and bold.

Bold enough that I wasted no more time fighting against what I wanted.

I dropped my hands below his waist, sinking my fingers into his thighs, yanking him harder against me while adjusting my weight so his arousal slid more completely between my legs.

His head tilted back as a groan left his lips. He pulled away from me slightly, allowing my legs to drop. Once my feet were firmly balanced on the floor, my hands moved deftly over his clothing, undoing buttons and clasps and buckles.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, then reached back to do the same with mine, making quick work of it and everything underneath. He was no longer forcibly pinning me against the wall, but I was still completely enveloped in him, held there by his power, his heat, by the sheer size of his body.

I ran my fingers along the hard ridges of his stomach, down to the waistline of his pants, pulling them off far enough to allow his cock to spring free. The fire between us again made me bolder than usual; I took him in my grasp without hesitating, stroking until his head fell back once more and curses replaced the appreciative groans.

One of his hands cupped one of my breasts, his thumb teasing its center into a stiff peak. The other hand curved against the small of my back and dragged me away from the wall. He started to lead me up the stairs, in between kissing and caressing and fondling, but after climbing the first few steps, he stopped.

For a moment, he seemed to be considering picking me up, throwing me over his shoulder, and carrying me up to his bedroom. But as his gaze swept up and down the stairs around us, a better idea appeared to strike him.

A better challenge , maybe.

He went to the steps just below the landing we stood on, taking his coat and shirt and spreading them along the stone, creating a softer floor to kneel on. Then he returned to my side and pulled me back into another series of breathless, fervent kisses, while guiding me toward this spot he'd created.

Once there, his hand raked through my hair, grabbing a fistful of it and tilting my head back, aligning my ear with his mouth so he could whisper, "On your hands and knees for me, Goddess."

I pressed back against him, making the hand fisted in my hair clench tighter as he buried his face into my neck and barely suppressed a raspy growl.

"On hands and knees doesn't seem like a position befitting of a goddess," I teased.

It took him a moment to collect himself enough to say, "Give me a few minutes to worship you while you're in that position, and I think you'll change your mind."

The words sent more pleasant lightheadedness washing over me, leaving me breathless and dazed, so I didn't resist when he moved to put me into the position himself.

His one hand remained tangled in my hair. The other traveled along my body, smoothing down over my stomach and towards the apex of my thighs.

Then it went lower.

It was automatic, the way my body bent, the way it moved to accommodate him as his fingers drew achingly near to my center. And as soon as my knees had bent, it was hard to resist dropping the rest of the way down. Soon I was kneeling, most of my body braced on the landing except my knees, which were on the step below.

Dravyn stood on the steps just beneath me, watching me as I followed his command, and he didn't move after this—not right away. He didn't speak. Didn't touch me. He scarcely seemed to be breathing.

It felt deliciously vulnerable, exhilarating, maddening waiting for whatever he planned to do next.

Then came his hands, slowly working their way around the top of my leggings, sliding them and my undergarments down inch by inch until my backside was fully exposed for him.

He left the unraveled clothing bunched around my ankles, a sort of restraint that added to the feeling of vulnerability and surrender, that raised chills over every inch of my exposed skin.

Another few tantalizing moments of nothing but the sound of his harsh breaths, followed by the sound of the rest of his clothing slowly being pulled off and dropping to the stone steps.

Then his hands were on me once more, caressing, tapping, stretching. Positioning me better against the steps as he knelt behind me. He traced his fingers over my curves, gliding the tips lightly over the dampness between my thighs a few times before plunging two of them inside of me. While they beckoned the first shivers of orgasm forward from inside, his thumb worked against the sensitive bud outside.

He drew his hand away far too soon, but his mouth followed before I could protest, kissing a similar path. His tongue was more brutal than his fingers had been as it swept over me and inside me, tasting me relentlessly, like a man half-starved, reducing me to a quivering mess.

My body shook against the steps, already prepared to curl into my release and let it rock through my body. The magic seemed to be intensifying this, too—what usually started as a slight tingling already felt close to a full blown release, and somehow it was continuing to build. I was going to shatter quickly. Violently. Fear gripped me for an instant, though it was still mingled with arousal—I felt too hot, too out of control.

"Not yet." Dravyn's voice hummed with the command and control I lacked in that moment. If I'd been with anybody else, the panic might have continued to grip me more and more tightly, but his voice was all I needed to bring me back to the state of pure bliss I'd been in.

"Not yet," he repeated. He cupped a hand between my legs and pulled me back into my original position. "Not yet, Wildfire. Not until you've taken all of me."

Some cross between a whimper and a moan of pleasure left me as he said this, as he shifted his stance and took hold of my legs, urging them farther apart before easing his length between them. He moved back and forth against me for a minute, sliding the tip of his cock over my center and adding to the wetness he'd already created there until finally, finally he pushed inside me.

He grabbed my sides and pulled me back to him, thrusting slowly, filling me more fully with every lift and sway of his hips.

I quickly understood why he'd decided against the bedroom—the stairs created precisely the height difference needed to allow him to drive more deeply into me than ever before. He pulled me down while he pushed up, and it was almost too much, the way this position filled and stretched and wrecked me so utterly and completely.

" Fuck, " I cried out as he began to drive harder into me—though I didn't realize I'd said the word out loud until I heard him laugh.

"That one echoed," he murmured approvingly.

I moaned something incoherent in response.

The sound urged him back to his thrusting. He placed one hand between my shoulder blades, pressing me more firmly down. Holding my upper body in place against the stone landing gave him the leverage he needed to push deeper and faster.

The stairwell was soon filled with the echoing cries of our combined gasps, our curses, and the swishing, rushing sound of sweat-slicked skin meeting skin.

As my upper body melted against the landing—too spent to move thanks to the waves of pleasure rocking through me—Dravyn's hands slid from my back and hooked around my hips. He gripped them tightly, lifting me up to more fully meet each of his increasingly ravenous movements.

The next cry that left my lips eclipsed all the sounds we'd made thus far.

He answered it by raking his fingers into my hair once more, gathering the strands together into a fistful which he tugged, forcing my back to arch, drawing him more completely into me.

His other hand slipped between my legs, caressing as he pushed in. It was the last touch I could take before unraveling—I came with a breathy cry and was lost in a field of fiery stars bursting before my eyes, in an inferno of passionate flames swirling around us.

Some of those flames were real, responsible for an increasing number of scorch marks on the stone around us. Some of them were likely imagined. I couldn't tell the difference. I didn't care to. All of the burning felt good in that moment, and I just wanted it to keep building, swallowing me up, incinerating every thought from my mind.

Dravyn continued to move. To pound into me with ever-increasing speed and power. His hands moved from my hair and roamed along my body, grasping at my flushed skin, keeping me close as I trembled and tingled with the rush of my release.

As I coasted along the ripples of that release, he pulled me upright, my back flush against his stomach. His arms crossed tightly around my breasts, holding me in place as he balanced himself and then drove upward, deep into my tightly-clenched core. Another peal of orgasm rang through me with the motion, his own following with an answering roar, his hold turning crushingly tight as he emptied himself into me.

After several breathless moments, he finally loosened his hold. I managed a few shallow breaths. He moved toward the support of the wall, dragging me with him. As he settled against it, I turned around so I was facing him, his knees hemming me in.

I stared at him for a moment, overcome by the way the wisps of fire around us caught on every beautiful edge of his face. My breaths remained ragged and shallow. I planted a clumsy kiss on his lips, still halfway caught up in a shaky, delirious euphoria.

He took the sides of my face in his hands and held me still before drawing me in for a slower, steadier kiss. As it ended, I closed my eyes and leaned forward, falling against his chest as his arms gathered me in.

I was still coming down from my high when I felt him lifting me, carrying me up the steps toward his room. Everywhere his fingers touched was still sensitive, setting off little explosions that all ran together, cocooning me in blissful heat.

Once we reached his room, I cleaned myself up while he went back and gathered our discarded clothing from the stairs. I didn't bother putting more clothing on; the heat still radiating from my skin would have made even the lightest garments uncomfortable.

Dravyn wore only loose-fitting linen pants when he crawled into bed alongside me a few minutes later. His skin still burned as hot as mine did. I briefly wondered what this bed was made of, to keep it all from combusting in moments like this. Could it continue to withstand both of our fires?

I closed my eyes, drifting in the warmth, trying to keep the images of the last hour locked inside my head.

Dravyn didn't disturb me for several minutes, though his body never moved more than a few inches.

As I settled down and my mind cleared, I pressed my palm to his. He wove his fingers into the spaces between mine and loosely held my hand as he quietly asked, "What are you thinking, miran-achth?"

Miran-achth. My breath. The one that was missing.

I scooted closer to him, burrowing my face into his shoulder, holding his hand more tightly as I considered the question.

"That it's been too long since we did that," I finally said, truthfully.

In the weeks since my ascension, the chances we'd had to spend together—just the two of us—had been too far and few between.

Everything was more complicated now, including intimate moments like the one we'd just shared.

He was quiet for so long, contemplating, that I nearly dozed off. "I was worried it would be too intense for you until you had gotten used to your magic," he eventually said. "I wasn't sure how our powers would… play together."

I thought of the fear that had briefly gripped me and made me feel out of control—and not necessarily in a good way. "There were overwhelming moments," I admitted, still curled against his shoulder. "But I'm not afraid of them. Not when I'm sharing them with you."

He gave my hand a little squeeze, but this was the only reply he offered before he sat up and pulled away from me.

I lifted my head, blinking my eyes open to find him studying his arms, tracing them with the tips of his fingers. His touch was light, absent-minded, but it brought back memories of last night, when he'd been trying to scrub my invisible blood from his skin.

I sat up as well, drawing my knees to my chest and wrapping a blanket around myself. I wasn't cold. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt cold. But a different kind of chill was winding through my body—one I couldn't shake.

My insides twisted at the haunted look in Dravyn's gaze, but I said nothing. Maybe because I didn't know what to say. Or maybe because I was a coward who didn't want to talk about the overwhelming parts of our relationship. I'm not sure which it was.

My eyes drifted to the window instead. "I didn't check in with Mairu and Valas," I said, the realization—and all the world outside of the two of us—suddenly catching up to me. "They'll be worried."

"They'll have felt your energy coming back here, along with mine. They should be able to tell we're together, so they shouldn't worry too much." A corner of his mouth edged up, as if he was fighting a smile despite the troubled look still glazing his eyes. "They might ask questions about what you and I have been doing to keep you from checking in with them, though."

I couldn't help blushing, already imagining the inappropriate commentary I would have to endure from Valas.

Dravyn shook a little further from his haunted stupor, his smile breaking through as he pressed a hand against my flushed cheek. "Rest while you can. We'll see to them tomorrow, along with everything else."

Something about the way he said everything else made my stomach clench. "Speaking of which…did you accomplish what you set out to do today?"

He looked away from me, his hand lowering, and stared at the ceiling as he answered. "I've spoken with all who would grant me an audience. They'll be gathering here first thing tomorrow to decide what to do about the mortal realm. If—and how—we will intervene."

I had expected as much. I knew such a council had to happen. Still, the thought of the Marr holding court in this palace was not a soothing image to fall asleep to; it was always chaos when a group of them gathered, and I never felt more out of place in this realm than I did when all those perfect, powerful beings were surrounding me.

Dravyn was watching me closely, his brow furrowed. Could he hear my jumbled thoughts? Could he feel the anxiety humming through my veins?

"Rest," he suggested again. "Tomorrow will be here soon enough."

He didn't seem prepared to take his own advice. His gaze had shifted to the door; he looked ready to bolt the instant I fell asleep. But to where? Back to his old kingdom again?

The thought struck sickening fear into my heart.

"What about you?" I asked.

He hesitated.

"Stay with me?" My words came out quickly, but quietly, my voice breaking a bit toward the end. It wasn't on purpose, but the broken sound seemed to catch his attention, pulling his eyes away from the door and back to me.

"If it will help you to sleep," he said, "I won't go anywhere."

I nodded, and he slid his arm around me, letting his hand come to rest lightly against my lower back. I curled closer to him, laying my head on his chest. His heartbeat was soft, fluttering, like a tired bird ready to collapse into its nest.

And collapse he did; now that he'd turned back to me and stopped fighting the urge to leave, he seemed to give into whatever weariness he felt. His eyes closed. His breathing slowed. Even the fiery flush of his skin cooled slightly.

It was rare to see him relax like this. Maybe he was doing it partly for my benefit—to help me feel less like an outsider; most divine beings didn't think of sleep nearly as much as I still seemed to. Maybe he wasn't even truly asleep.

I didn't try to rouse him, but I continued to study him, thinking.

The moment felt, like it so often did with him, as if I'd drifted into a dream where I couldn't quite tell what was real and what was make-believe.

And though I tried to stop my thoughts from racing, they soon traveled once more to last night, to waking up to the sight of him coming undone. I wondered again about what he'd seen and heard in his old kingdom, and what would happen next time he went there…

No, when we went there.

How did this end between us?

How else could it end, except unhappily?

His old kingdom hated the world I'd come from. So did most of the gods I now lived among. This council tomorrow, and everything that would follow it, regardless of what was decided…

Where was I supposed to stand among all this?

A tear slid down my cheek. I hastily wiped it away before it could drip onto Dravyn's bare chest. But more followed, along with a sudden rush of despair so violent it nearly made me choke.

As quietly as I could, I slipped from Dravyn's grasp and rolled away from him.

Breathe , I reminded myself. You have to keep breathing.

But how could I?

I didn't belong in this new world, no matter how hard I practiced or how much magic I learned. I felt like an imposter in my own skin, and I feared I always would. Even if Dravyn called me Goddess . Even if he treated me like one.

I stretched a hand toward the fireplace. Twisted my fingers and managed some semblance of control over a bright ember, drawing it up into a tendril of flame and making it dance to a silent tune in my mind.

Goddess , I tried telling myself. This is what I am now .

But all I could think about were the ties I still had to the world below. To my sister. To the rebels I had once considered my family…my everything . Even the tune I sang in my head—the one I made the dancing flame keep time with—was an old song my sister used to sing me to sleep with.

The Death God had insisted I needed to kill those things off.

Maybe that was true.

But what difference would it make?

Dying did not undo a life that had been lived.

In my case, all the pieces of that life were still waiting for me in the messy realm below. I would have to face them sooner or later. And my sister…

As I lay there, scarcely breathing, my cheek sticky with dried tears, her face became all I could think about.

Soon enough, I'd made up my mind.

Whatever the council decided tomorrow, I was going to find Savna, and I was going to find a way to put all the broken pieces of us back together.