35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

A riadne and Azriel followed the river north of Algorath without stopping through the day. The Noct around her neck and Azriel's vigilance kept her safe from the sun's rays. When she asked if they would stop, he reported back that Razer insisted on continuing. It would be safer, after all, to get to the rendezvous point and not give the mages the chance to catch up.

Aside from brief exchanges, they did not speak much as they flew. Hard winds swept their words away, much like when Ariadne and Kall had flown Bindhe into the desert. Instead, Azriel kept his arm wrapped tight around her, burying his face into her hair as though to remind himself she was, in fact, real. What had happened to them both since their separation had been too much to yell over the rushing wind.

All three of them flew with empty bellies, following Bindhe's directions to where the escaped prisoners had been taken. When they landed at the edge of the Keonis Mountains at dusk the following evening, Phulan and Kall stood ready outside a hut and several canvas tents surrounding a fire pit.

In one great leap, Azriel dismounted, his knees almost buckling from the impact. Ariadne's heart lurched as he swayed, and Kall shifted forward, ready to grab him should his legs fail. To her relief, he stayed upright, then turned to her and held out his arms. In a less-than-graceful slide, Ariadne joined him on the ground, her legs and rear aching from sitting so long on Razer's scales.

"Eat," Phulan demanded as soon as they turned to her, shoving bowls of her fresh sauce laden with vegetables, lentils, and rice into their hands. A piece of her airy bread sat at the edge.

Instantly, Ariadne's mouth watered. She accepted the bowl with a rumble from her stomach but did not eat right away.

Azriel stared at the food for a long moment, his red eyes blank as though not comprehending what it was he held. He used the bread to push the vegetables around in search of something, and upon deeming it edible, scooped up his first tentative bite. As he chewed, silver rimmed his eyes. He closed them and tilted his head away as though ashamed by his reaction to something as simple as food.

Ariadne's heart cracked. She took in his gaunt face and too-thin limbs. Though she could not see beyond the shirt hanging loose on his body, she was certain sharp bones stretched his cobalt skin taut.

Shoulders shuddering from contained emotion, Azriel lowered himself to the ground, wincing as the movement pulled at whatever wounds he had incurred during the fight to escape Algorath. He held the bowl outstretched as he tucked his face into his arm and let out a long, low cry.

She bit her lip and looked at Phulan and Kall, silently begging them to help him.

But Phulan shook her head and said in a low voice, "He needs you . We'll give you time."

Kall did not move right away. His jaw flexed as he watched his friend crumble, those red eyes burning with hate for someone now turned to ash. There was no more enemy for him to fight. No one he could confront to make things right on Azriel's behalf. It was not until Phulan laid a hand on his arm that he looked to Ariadne, inclined his horns in a silent apology, and followed the mage back to the campfire.

Once alone, Ariadne settled onto the ground across from her husband. She set her bowl of food beside her and pried his from his fingers, placing it next to her own. Still, he did not look up. She moved forward, sliding her cheek into his now-empty hand and holding him there when he tried to pull away.

"Look at me, alhija ," she said quietly, using the dhemon term to ensure she got his attention. Each breath burned in her lungs. Gods, what had they done to him?

Slowly—oh, so slowly—Azriel obeyed. He turned his head toward her, carefully maneuvering his horns around his own arm, and let out another quiet sob. His eyes scanned her face with disbelief despite the fact that he had not let her go throughout their entire flight.

Ariadne added more pressure to his hand. "I am here. I am alive and well, and I am not going anywhere."

"I remember everything," he said, each word coming out in shaking gasps. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for it all. You were there, and I…and I…I didn't know. I thought it was you ."

"No," she said firmly, curling her fingers around his hand, forcing him to keep it in place when he tried to withdraw. "You did nothing wrong ."

He shook his head. "Then I thought you were—"

"Shh." Ariadne shifted forward onto her knees, moving closer to him, never letting him pull away. "This— I am not an illusion. That was the illusion."

His face crumpled. "I didn't know."

With that, Ariadne released his hand. He did not let it drop as she inched closer, his gaze following her every move until she curled against his chest. Only then did he slide his hand into the tangled braid of her hair. She slipped her fingers around the horn farthest from her and pulled his face closer as she said, "Until the very end, alhija , and it is not the end for either of us yet."

Azriel let out a small whimper, then brought his mouth down to hers. The kiss was soft and tentative, searching and begging, as though still not quite certain she would respond in kind. As though still unconvinced of her being real.

But Ariadne melted into him. She gripped the horn tighter and deepened the kiss. His lips tasted of salty tears, only breaking her heart more. For so long she had searched for him. She trained and studied and put herself through endless nights of torment to prepare herself for the moment she could stand against Melia. She would never again turn away from him—never deny him a kiss.

" N'alhi lhon , Azriel," she whispered against his lips, the dhemon words for I love you that Kall had taught her still strange on her tongue. "Nothing will change that."

At last he nodded, accepting her words as truth. Whatever had happened in Melia's chateau had not been his fault. She knew deep in her heart he would have never gone with that mage willingly, nor would he have done all that he had to in order to survive the Pits and beyond.

" N'alhi lhon ," he breathed, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck and inhaling deep. "I've missed you more than I can say."

Ariadne smiled as the words filled her with warmth. "Then do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Eat." She leaned away to reach for the bowls. "I need you energized."

He whipped his head up to look at her, those ruby eyes blazing with a sudden spark of heady desire. She had hardly pulled the food toward them before he took his from her hands and scooped a large bite of the delicious sauce with the bread.

This time, as he chewed, he closed his eyes and hummed. "I forgot how good food could be."

With a scoff, she leaned against his chest and took a bite for herself. "What did they feed you in that awful place?"

The floodgates opened as they ate, alone and away from the others gathered around the fire, as they told each other everything. Azriel explained the wretched food, his training, the illusionary drugs Melia had concocted, and how the Pits had tested not only his waning strength but his mental fortitude. Those he had been forced to kill were not his enemies and, therefore, left a heavy burden on his heart. In kind, Ariadne explained her own training with Kall, how the dhemon had mothered her throughout their time together, and the nerve-racking introduction to Melia.

"I think I understand how Melia was able to fool you," Ariadne said, setting her empty bowl aside. He wrapped his arm a little tighter around her but said nothing. "My last visit with her, I went alone—"

"What?" He looked down at her incredulously. "She could have killed you!"

Ariadne shuddered at the memories. "She tried."

Paling, Azriel tilted his head back to stare at the sky, releasing a long, burdened breath. With his free hand, he covered his face as though shielding himself from his own horrific experiences when he believed she had been lost forever.

"Nikolai was there," she went on. He cursed under his breath, but she continued before he could interrupt, "He confirmed my true identity, and Melia…She told her guard to kill me."

"Fuck." Azriel pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, murmuring something in the dhemon language—a string of obscenities she had grown accustomed to Kall using whenever she stabbed him on accident.

She swallowed hard, sorting through the frantic haze of what had happened after Melia demanded her head. "Nikolai and Paerish stopped her. I would not be alive tonight if not for either of them. She used her illusions on me. I do not know how long I was trapped in them, but it felt like…a very long time."

"It was you," he breathed, his words cracking. "I heard you scream."

Ariadne closed her eyes and nodded. The illusions had immobilized her. She had been so very alone as nightmare after nightmare tormented her. Somehow, Melia had dredged up the memory of her mother's death, the night Ehrun had snapped her neck. In the illusion, she kept returning, broken and rotting to haunt her.

Melia had pulled out the worst parts of her torture at Ehrun's hands and replayed them again and again, only this time it had been Azriel he killed, not Darien. Still worse, she replaced those dhemons who entered her cell with her husband.

Then it was Emillie who was strung up by Ehrun. Ariadne had watched her scream and beg for it to stop, just as she had. Then Madan. Her father. Revelie and Camilla. Phulan and Kall.

Each of them took their turn and each time, she could not remember that it was an illusion. It had been so completely encompassing, there had been no beginning and no end—no way to decipher what had been real and what had been created through Melia's twisted mind.

"The guard stopped Melia somehow," Ariadne explained, frowning to herself. "I never asked what they had done to convince her to let me go. Nikolai got me out and brought me back to Phulan."

"Why would he do that?" Azriel stared straight ahead, confusion written on his face. "Why didn't he take you back to…"

Ariadne watched him, just as lost as he. "I honestly do not know. He told us to leave—that Melia would be coming after us all if we did not hide."

"Where did you go?"

"I wanted to go back to get you ." She swallowed hard. "But we ran. We went to Bindhe and flew south, hoping Melia would not look on the other side of Brulus Lake and search instead near the mountains."

Azriel's mouth was taut. "Did she find you?"

"No." Ariadne reached up to run her finger over the annuli of his horns. "I asked Kall to find Razer. He did. Then he argued about letting me come back to Algorath alone. I won."

He snorted. "Of course you did."

Ariadne flicked his chin. "I seem to see us both sitting here, safe."

A slow grin spread across Azriel's face as he looked down at her. "You're very right, my love. I'll never doubt you."

"Good." She sat up to press her mouth to his again. "Now take me into that hut and show me how much you missed me."

Stilling, Azriel pulled back, his brows pinching together. "I don't think I can change back just yet."

Something flared to life in Ariadne as he spoke. She searched his midnight blue face, taking in the gentle red glow of his eyes. It did not matter what form he took. He was Azriel. He was her husband, and she loved him more than her heart could stand. She pulled him back to her, brushing his lips with hers before saying, "I do not think I care anymore."

Azriel scooped Ariadne into his arms, his side screaming in protest from the strain, and carried her to the hut. No one around the fire said a word, though he caught sight of Liulund elbowing another fae and grinning as he pointed at them. Magic shimmered through the air, encasing the hut, and he silently thanked Phulan for her foresight.

He had no intention of making this a quiet undertaking. There were weeks to make up for with his wife, and while he wouldn't be able to cover them all at once, he'd certainly try.

Kicking the door shut behind him, Azriel set Ariadne on her feet and began his venture. She turned to face him fully, and heat rushed through his veins as her eyes roved over his body, drinking in his every facet without fear or hesitation. That she saw him—truly saw him —even in this form made him need her even more.

In an instant, he was on her, fingers unbuckling every piece of dhemon armor strapped to her body. It fell away, revealing her body and every way it'd changed since he last saw her. Though her Caersan blood had made her naturally lithe and muscular, it was nothing compared to the way she looked after training every waking moment for weeks. Her strength emitted not only through her body but through the hardiness of her mind. He wished he'd been there to help her gain the power she radiated, but now, he had the privilege of basking in her light, and he'd never demean such dedication.

Yet it was when his hands slid over her bare back that he froze. No lumps of scar tissue rolled beneath his fingers. No jagged lines met his touch. "What…"

Ariadne tilted her head back to look up at him. "I asked Phulan."

He swallowed hard. Though he'd never asked the mage to remove his own scars, she'd been forced to do so to heal him in other places. The removal was every bit as terrible as when he'd received them. Once again, Ariadne proved she was stronger than many—himself included.

She didn't let him linger on it and distracted him by tugging at his shirt, unlacing the neck to fit his horns through the opening. Her fingers swept across his broad chest, and for the first time, he felt uneasy. Like her, he didn't look the same. Didn't feel the same. Didn't move the same. Only, in his case, it wasn't for the better. His muscles had shrunk, and though they hadn't disappeared completely, it'd take time for him to return to the state he'd been before Algorath.

But she said nothing, and gods bless her, she didn't linger on any part of him too long until she reached the still-healing wound in his side. Her touches grew soft, but her gaze hardened. She dampened a cloth in the water basin in the corner and cleaned around it. A sly smirk curled her lips.

"I know what will help with that," she said, voice husky as she turned her attention to his face, carefully peeling blood and dirt from every surface she could reach.

Despite her touch, his gaze dropped to her throat. Yes, he'd drank from Raoul in the midst of the fight, yet mage blood could never have the same effect as a Caersan's. Rather than speak on it, he guided her to the basin of warm water and a stack of washcloths. He pulled her underclothes free of her body and dipped a cloth into the water, then began his worship.

Kneeling before her like the queen she was, Azriel cleansed her skin from the time they'd been apart. With her before him now, he made slow, sensual work of each stroke along her perfect curves, following his path with his lips to remind her just how much he loved every inch of everything she was. Each time he wet the cloth, the water remained clear—another gift from the healing mage outside.

He unfastened her trousers and pushed them down with careful hands, relishing the way she swayed beneath his touch. Muscles shifted under her fair skin along her hips and rippled along her legs. After covering every inch of her with his attention, he dipped his mouth to kiss a line from her hip to her inner thigh.

"Are you certain?" he whispered, looking back up at her. He'd stop. The moment she told him she couldn't continue with him in this form, he'd stop. They'd have their chance to continue another time.

Ariadne's breath hitched, and then she shifted forward, lips parted. "I have never been more certain in my life."

It was all he needed to hear. He eased her legs apart and slipped his horns behind her knees. She let out a surprised gasp as her thighs spread wide, her weight dropping into the curves on either side of his face. With one hand bracing against the wall, he stood again.

Ariadne let out a squeal of a laugh, her fingers grappling for something to hold onto and finding nothing but his hair. He grinned and, glancing up to find her head brushing the ceiling, adjusted to a higher wall.

Then he feasted. He stroked and prodded with his tongue, savoring the perfect taste of her. Each lick drew from her the one sound he could gorge himself on. Her moans lit an inferno within him, spurring him on.

He slid a hand up her side in a blind search until he palmed her breast. She arched into his touch, and he grazed his fingers over her nipple before rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Another soft gasp had his cock throbbing behind his trousers. But not yet. He wasn't finished with her yet—as if he'd ever truly be finished indulging in her.

Sucking on her soft bud, he brought his free hand around to her wet sex and slowly slid his fingers over her opening.

"Azriel," Ariadne moaned, sending that wonderful lightning through his body.

"Mmm." He smirked up at her and drew his hand up from her breast to her throat, then to cup her face, thumb stroking over her lower lip. "Tell me what you want, my love, and you will have it all."

Ariadne parted her lips and wrapped them around his thumb. The motion almost made him lose his mind. It was his turn to groan. She sucked gently, tongue working along the pad of his finger, her ocean eyes boring into him with a silent promise.

She popped his thumb from her mouth and breathed, "I want you in me."

"Like this?" He slid a finger along her folds.

"Yes." She pushed her hips forward eagerly.

He did as he was told, slowly easing one finger into her as he licked and sucked some more. She writhed in response, working herself against him hard.

"More," she groaned.

Again, he obliged, pumping into her gently with two fingers. She gasped loudly, her sex clenching around him as she moved. He watched her above him, taking in every movement—every pulse of her body as he pleasured her—and reveled in it.

Her climax burst forth with a cry. She gripped his fingers as he rode it out, still working her with his tongue. It wasn't until she shuddered a gasp and dug her fingers into his hair to pull his face back that he ceased his onslaught. He nipped at her inner thigh and eased himself free as he lowered her to the floor again.

"You are not finished," she said, hands sliding around the waistband of his trousers, lingering for a moment over his erection before unbuttoning them. Without batting an eye, she wrapped her fingers around his length and stroked.

Azriel groaned and braced himself on the wall over her. He shook his head and stepped back. "Let me wash first."

She laughed but let him go. He moved fast, scrubbing the dirt and grime from so many days in Algorath. Though his hands and face had been cleaned, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he took her not only as a dhemon but as a filthy monster.

Once satisfied, he turned back to her, his heart leaping into his throat. Ariadne was already on her knees. Before he could say a word, she gripped his cock and slid her lips around him. He bit back a yelp of pleasure as she stroked and sucked in tandem, unable to take his full length in her mouth.

Azriel let out a shuddering breath. With nowhere else to brace himself, he pushed his fingers into her hair and focused hard to keep himself from thrusting too deep.

Instead, he let her work. Her tongue rubbed him in just the right place as her head moved in a steady rhythm. As she adjusted to his size, she took a little more. A little more—always returning to focus on the most sensitive part.

He groaned. Her free hand slid up his thigh to cup his balls, moving gently but adding just enough sensual pressure to heighten the sensations. Closing his eyes, Azriel tilted his head back and let himself get swept away by the heat of her mouth and persistent friction. If he looked at her too long on her knees before him, he'd finish too soon.

And he had plans to fulfill.

Before he could lose himself completely, he shifted back a step, watching his cock slide out of her mouth with more control than he realized he possessed. Her eyes questioned him, but she said nothing as he stooped down and wrapped his arms around her. When he stood, she wrapped her legs around his hips, hooking her feet together to hang on as she did the same with her hands around his neck. She swayed her hips, her slick sex rubbing along his length with mind-numbing pleasure.

Azriel crossed the room to the bed and sat, kissing her neck. She made a soft sound of approval and tilted her head to the side—a wordless invitation. He struck, burying his fangs into her and moaning at the taste of her blood before it shot up through the hollows. She ground her hips against him in response.

The blood she provided lit him up from the inside, bolstering his body's healing. Though he'd still heal slower than a Caersan, it was far more potent than any blood he'd had over their weeks apart.

By the time he pulled free of her, Ariadne had adjusted onto her knees, her hand slipping between them to stroke him again. Brushing his lips along the crook of her neck, he hummed in satisfaction. Her touch alone could send him over the brink.

"You are everything to me." Her warm breath caressed the shell of his ear, doubling the swell of pure euphoria that accompanied her words.

"I am yours." Azriel kissed her softly. "And you…you are mine."

Ariadne poised herself above his cock, fingers wrapped around his horns to keep her up. "Until the very end."

With that, she eased down onto his thick length, pausing to give herself time to stretch and adjust to his size. Every inch she took made his head spin. Gods, she was perfect .

"Are you alright?" he asked, lips running along her jaw.

Ariadne rocked her hips in response, sliding him in and out of her with increasing vigor. She rubbed her mound against him to heighten her own pleasure, and her moan was more than answer enough. Never would he get enough of that sound.

Sliding his hands down her back, he cupped her ass, reveling in the way her muscles flexed and clenched with each sway of her hips. He'd fallen so low as to believe he'd never have this opportunity again, even in his vampire form. That she rode him as a dhemon? It made his bond go into a frenzy.

He pushed back further onto the bed. After kissing her hard and holding her steady, he switched to his knees and laid her on her back. As much as he loved seeing her finding her pleasure in his lap, he wanted to be the one in control when she finished again…and again…

Azriel pulled out, hands gripping her inner thighs, and said, "Get back on your knees, my love."

At first, Ariadne looked at him with parted lips and did not move. Then she bit her lip, heady eyes sparkling and mouth curling into a small smile and did as she was told. She rolled onto her belly before lifting onto her knees, bringing that beautiful ass back toward him again. He ran his hand over the unmarred planes of her back, relishing the soft skin there.

"That's it," he praised and grabbed her hips to hold them steady as he slid his cock back into her slick sex.

Ariadne gasped at the angle, her back arching as she collapsed her elbows to the mattress. He reached around and rubbed her bud so each thrust she took was accompanied by an additional wave of pleasure. She cried out again and again as he moved, looking over her shoulder to watch him.

Burying his face in the back of her neck, Azriel moaned, each stroke a struggle to keep from climaxing. He didn't want to have to stop yet. Didn't want to wait to take her again. All he wanted was to remind her—to remind himself—that they were there, together, and no one would get between them again.

With his free hand, he found her breast and played with her nipple, drawing out another cry of pleasure. He released a husky chuckle and kissed her shoulder. Gods, he could do this all night.

Until Ariadne took hold of the hand pinching and teasing her breast and brought it back to her mouth. She licked his forefinger long and slow. The tantalizing sensation made him tense, his other hand pausing momentarily in its loving strokes. Then she pulled his finger into her mouth and sucked.

Oh. Gods.

Azriel barked a curse, thrusting hard. She pushed her hips back, meeting him eagerly as her climax struck again and her sex gripped his cock even tighter. The cry of ecstasy released her hold on his finger. Beautiful. Symphonic. With such a sound, there was no stopping the inevitable, and he followed her over the edge, pounding into her as he finished.

When at last they stilled, Azriel slumped forward to lay his forehead on her back, then kiss a line up her spine. After a beat, he sat up again to ease his cock free of her, enjoying the view as he did so.

Ariadne turned to her back and gazed up at him. Her sensual, plump lips curled mischievously. "Come here."

He obeyed, stretching his body beside hers, and when she curled up against him, he let out a long, slow breath. This was what he'd fought for. She was why he worked so hard to survive that gods' forsaken place.

"I love you," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

She hummed, tucking her body close. "I love you."

"Until the very end."