Chapter 26

26

RAEGAL

T hirty minutes later, she wears pale grey riding breeches and a black tunic. Arawn help me because those breeches mould her buttocks perfectly.

"Are you sure you think you can handle her?" I ask her, leaning against the stable wall watching her pull the female mare, Qeyna, under her spell.

She pulls her attention from the mare, continuing to stroke her and lifts her chin my way. "I can handle her."

"Okay then, let's get her saddled up. Keeping up with me will be a whole other story," I tease as I reach for the saddle with my shadows and bring it to the mare.

"Arrogance is an unattractive trait," she says, giving me a pointed look before turning her attention back to her ride.

I grin and move up behind her. "I'm told Asen women like a man who isn't afraid to show what he's good at." She jumps, having not heard me sneak up on her. I can't resist. I cup her waist when I make to move around her and put the saddle on the horse. I smirk even more when her breath hitches at my touch.

"It depends what Asen women you refer to, Lord Commander. If you're talking about the women at the inn that Jasiel likes to frequent lure them into his bed at night, then I'm sure they do. The rest of us females, not so much."

I dismiss her comment with a shrug. "Women like a man who knows what he wants and goes and gets it."

"And what is it you want?" she asks me, with a sideway glance, her hand slowing as she strokes down the horse's mane.

I study her for a second or two. Interesting question.

We want her. My shadows whisper in my head and I scold myself for giving into this need to be near her.

"I want to end this war and return home," I reply rather more harshly than intended. My conflicting thoughts angering me.

"And will you take a Shadow Kissed at the reaping and take her home with you?"

I'm behind her in a heartbeat. Moving as fast and as silent as the light. "Why? Would you want me to choose you?" I ask, leaning into her. She jumps again, but with nowhere to go stuck between me and the horse, she snickers.

"Of course not!" Her voice is uncertain and shaky. "If I had my way, I'd get on this horse and get as far away from Shadow Valley as I can get. I'd rather die than marry one of you."

Anger coils like a tight spring inside of me. "I won't be taking an Asen wife at the reaping. Want to know why?" I don't wait for an answer. "Because, like you, I'd rather die than tie my life to an Asen woman."

I shadow leap away from her to put some distance between us and saddle up my mare. Why does she press my buttons, and both enrage and enrapture me at the same time? Perhaps returning home and seeing my father with his Asen wife will be the cold sharp blast of reality I need to snap myself out of this.

She follows me out of the stables, her smile gone and an angry frown marring her pretty face. My shadows chastise me for being the one to cause it. Well, she asked, and I gave her the truth.

"We'll ride out across the valley plains towards the onyx mountains," I say gruffly, warring with my shadows' need to touch and soothe her.

"Sure. It's not like I know where that is, having lived my sheltered life as a precious Shadow Kissed. It must be nice to be free to explore my beautiful realm." Her bite back is cold and cutting.

I watch her as she eyes the distance between her saddle and the ground. Her gaze flicks my way, like she is debating whether to ask me for my help or not. She clearly decides against it, a determined frown on her face as she places her left foot into the stirrup. I shadow weave to her side and place my hands on her waist as I lift her up into the seat.

"I don't need your help," she snaps, glaring down at me.

"Yes, you do," I say dryly. "Without my help, you'd have been on your backside in the mud. Let's ride." Whatever possessed me to volunteer to spend time with this frustrating woman today?

‘Ours,' my shadows whisper and I send a sharp order to be silent their way.

I climb onto Nuri and guide us out of the stable and out onto the main road out of the valley. When we reach the large imposing stone gates, her neck stretches as she takes in the height of them and her gaze flicks across the intricate carvings of Arawn in his full armour piercing the heart of a flame dragon.

"The dragon was his brothers. Aelius, the god of fire."

Her brow wrinkles as we pass through the gates. "Why were they fighting?"

"Because of a woman." I scoff, shaking my head. "An Asen woman."

Eretreya snickers and grins. "Seems we are good enough for gods but not good enough for you."

Our eyes meet as we leave the safety of the valley. "I have my reasons, just as you have yours for your hatred of my kind."

She bobs her head, considering my words. "I guess so."

"Let's pick up some speed," I suggest, tapping my steed. "Think you can keep up?" I ask with a smirk.

She laughs at my question, and her eyes sparkle with challenge. "I think the question is, can you keep up, Lord Commander?"

"My shadows feed my stamina. I can keep up for hours," I reply with a lick of my bottom lip that she follows with her eyes. I watch as she swallows deeply.

"We'll see." Her eyes move away from mine as she looks out in front of us. "Last one to the foot of those mountains must pay a forfeit." Before I have a chance to reply, she squeezes her thighs and orders Qeyna to gallop.

Swearing under my breath, I order Nuri to race after her. She looks over her shoulder at me, her wild hair splaying out with the wind and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Slow down, Eretreya!" I shout in warning, worrying that she is riding far too fast and doesn't know the terrain.

"Catch me if you can."

My shadows itch to come out and play with her. They want her here on my steed, between my thighs. I gallop after her, pushing Nuri, and closing the distance between us. If she thinks she can outride me, she's mistaken.

She laughs into the wind as she pushes her mare to go faster and risks glancing over her shoulder at me. It's like she sees danger and rides headfirst into it.

I shout at her to slow down, concerned that we are coming up towards some rocky bedrock, but with the wind in her ears, she can't hear me. My shadows roar at me to protect her. She laughs, enjoying the thrill of the ride, unaware of the danger ahead. I glance out ahead of her path and see a large rock jutting out from the ground.

"Eretreya! Stop!" I yell out, but it's futile. My shadows refuse to wait any longer. They seep out of my body and race across the distance. She looks back, and frowns when she spots my shadows racing toward her. Just as her horse catches its hoof against the jutting rock. It's like it happens in slow motion. My mind screams at me to protect her from harm. Those old insecurities in my head branding me a failure.

Just as she is thrown from the saddle, my shadows reach her, wrapping around her and lifting her to safety. I'm there within a heartbeat and I jump from my horse and stride over to where my shadows hold her hovering in mid-air.

"Do you have a death wish, woman?" I bark out, furious at her reckless behaviour.

"Put me down!" she demands, wriggling against my shadows as she hovers from the ground.

"My shadows are the only thing between you and a likely broken neck right now, you insufferable female!" I bellow at her, my mind churning with memories of how I failed to protect my brother and sent him to his death.

"Maybe I'd prefer to be dead than face the fate awaiting me!" she snipes back, her fists clenched. "Now put me down!"

"You are like a petulant child!" I shout back as my shadows lower her to feet.

Crack!

I flinch in shock when her hand connects with my face. She hit me!

I reach out and, grabbing her by the back of her neck, yank her towards me and slam my lips against hers. She jolts in shock at first, but after a brief pause, she groans and kisses me back. I grab her thighs and lift her, and she wraps her legs around me. Her hands going to my hair, winding her fingers through its length.

My shadows revel in the feel of her.

Ours, claim, keep.

I devour her like she is the life force I need to sustain me. I'm driven with a deep desire to touch every inch of her and mark every inch of her with my mark. She groans against my lips, and it goes straight to my cock that is throbbing with the need to be inside of her. I walk with her in my arms until her back hits the trunk of a tree and I press my body into hers.

"Too many clothes," I growl, wanting to feel her soft skin under my hands. I tear at her tunic, ripping it down the middle and exposing her breasts; my mouth seeking her right nipple. Whilst my shadows tease her other nipple, pinching and rubbing it. She throws her head back, pushing her breasts further into my face and, gods, I could die happily smothered against her chest. My shadows whisper in my ear to take her, fuck her, and claim her. They slither down to her jodhpurs and yank them down past her knee. Her hands reach for me as she tries to guide me back to her waiting lips, and I let her have what she wants. I hold her chin prisoner in my hand as I plunder her mouth, wanting and needing to own her. My other hand travels down between our bodies and I growl when I part her folds and find her wet. I circle her clit and the feral moan she releases sends me into a fervour of hunger.

"Raegal," she whimpers against my lips, and I smirk in gratification. She wants this as much as I need it.

"What do you want, Terror? You want my fingers inside of you, don't you? Like this?" I say as I push one finger inside of her. My eyes roll back in my head. She's so tight, and I shudder at the thought of how my cock would feel buried inside of her.

"More!" she begs me, fisting my hair with her hands and kissing me like I'm keeping her alive. I insert another finger, and she moans into my mouth. "Greedy little terror, aren't you?" I smirk as I insert a third finger and pump my fingers in and out of her soaking wet pussy. She chases my rhythm, moving her hips to ride my fingers. Gods help me, I want to fuck this woman into oblivion.

"So good," she mumbles incoherently, and I grin to myself over the fact that I've found a way to shut her up and leave her struggling to form words. "What is this magic?" she asks me as she writhes in my arms.

"It's not magic, it's just me giving you pleasure. Are you going to come for me, Terror? Are you going to drip your juices down my fingers?"

"Fuck, yes!" she replies, breathless, her eyes half closed. She has always been beautiful, but like this undone and at my pleasure, she is truly breathtaking. My thumb finds her clit, and it's enough to send her careening over the edge. She moans and whispers my name like I'm the only thing she worships, and gods if my ego doesn't love it. I watch with enraptured satisfaction as she comes apart with my fingers inside of hers.

She opens her eyes to find mine staring back at her as she attempts to steady her galloping heart and catch her breath. No words are spoken as we both come down from the high and the cold sharp reality of what just occurred sinks in. I see it when her expression changes from bliss to shock and then anger.

"What am I doing?" she asks. I think more to herself than me. I withdraw my fingers and it's like it severs the connection between us. I place her onto her feet and running a hand through my hair, I stalk away from her, hoping some distance between us will knock me out of this haze.

"Gods!" I hiss as I kick at a rock on the ground, and it skitters across the ground.

She looks down at her ripped top and attempts to pull it together with her hands and I curse myself for my lack of self- control. I pull off my waistcoat and pull my shirt over my head and stride back over to her and offer her it.

"Here, you can wear this." I hold it out to her, and she looks down at the shirt and back at me. "Take it. We can't ride back into the valley with you looking like that."

She reaches out and snatches it from my hands, clutching it to her chest. "Turn around."

I scoff. "Seriously?"

"Yes," she says, her brows knitting together. Swearing under my breath, I stride away from her and shirk my tunic back on. My shadows ache to touch her again, and it takes everything in me to keep them in check. I stroke Nuri and give Reya the privacy she demands. "I'm decent. We should head back. You need to go."

"I do," I reply. I need to get as far away from this woman as I can to knock some sense into my head. What was I thinking? That's the trouble, I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking about how it was her kind that destroyed my mother's happiness. How she represents everything that went wrong in my life. I look at Eretreya and I see my mother's pain and her closed walls as she protected herself from the pain of seeing my father take a second wife and watch her give him the children that she could no longer provide him with.

I hear her curse under her breath as she tries to mount Qeyna. I stride over to her, and reaching for her waist, lift her into her seat. I can feel her cold eyes upon me. She doesn't thank me, and I don't blame her.

We ride in silence back to the valley. I itch to order Nuri into a gallop and get there as quick as I can so that I can put some well-needed distance between us. What am I thinking, taking her out like this and being in her company?

After what feels like forever, we arrive back at the stables. The stable hand is there to meet us and see to the horses. Reya jumps down from her seat, stumbling slightly as she lands, and he holds out a hand to steady her at her waist. I'm between them, within a shadow's breath, and glaring down at him. "I've got her," I warn him, and he nods his head with wide eyes and scuttles off to see to Nuri.

Reya snorts in response, pulling my attention to her. "Have a safe trip, Commander," she says coldly, before she turns and exits the stable like she cannot wait to be free of my presence. I pause for a second before I stride after her.

"Eretreya," I call, jogging to catch up with her. "Reya!"

She whirls around to face me, and I almost walk into her. "What?"

I clear my throat, looking down at my shirt, drowning her tiny frame. My shadows gloat at the sight of her in our clothes. "I'll shadow weave you back to the mansion."

She stands and stares at me for a beat before folding her arms around her middle and nodding her head. "Of course. Back to my prison."

I reach out and wrap my arm around her waist and, gods, why does it feel good to touch her again? "I don't see any iron bars on your windows, although that might stop you from sneaking out to see that boy."

She jabs a finger into my chest as my shadows wrap around us. "That boy was the only friend I had growing up. That boy knows me better than anyone else ever could."

My eyes flash black with rage. "That boy doesn't have a clue what you need."

"And I suppose you do?" she challenges as she grips me, and my shadows take us back to her bedroom at the mansion.

"A good spanking might knock some sense into you."

She jabs me in my chest again. "You ever think of spanking me and I'll slap you again, only harder."

I smirk at the memory of her having the bravery to hit me earlier. "And look where that got us." I grin and she rolls her eyes, fighting a smile.

"How long will you be gone?" she asks me, toying with the hem of my shirt.

"I'll be back this evening. Worried you'll miss me, Terror?" I query, with a teasing tug at a lock of her hair. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop touching her.

She scoffs in reply. "Your arrogance knows no bounds. Go, leave me in peace to a day of crochet and admonishments from Moryen."

My shadows itch to touch her one last time, but I hold them at bay. "Behave yourself. No sneaking around the valley on your own. It's not safe."

"It isn't?" she asks me, surprised.

"We have two missing Shadow Kissed, remember?"

She nods her head. "Of course, but surely nothing could happen to me here?"

I pause, wondering whether I should speak on this matter with her. "There are traitors in this valley who, I believe, are working with rebellion."

Her eyes widen. "There are? Do you know who?"

"No." I sigh. "But I will find them and when I do, I'll ensure their immediate deaths." I clench my fist when I almost reach out to cup her cheek. "Just behave, okay?"

The little minx bobs her head from side to side with a half-smile. "I can't promise anything, Lord Commander."

"You'll be the death of me, Terror. Until this evening."

"Yes. See you tonight," she replies and for a second we stare at each other before I clear my throat and take a step away. I leave her, shadow weaving back to my quarters and my shadows sulk at the thought of being away from her. I'm a dark and depraved monster, but I lift my fingers to my nose and inhale her lingering scent. I groan. I wonder how good she tastes. I hate how much I want her. But I do want her despite myself and now I have had a taste. Will I be able to stay away? Going back home will hopefully knock some sense into me. I'll wait for an update from Jasiel and then head home to consult with the king.