She touches my cheek. “What is wrong?”
“How do you know something is wrong?”
Her gaze holds mine. “Your expression tells me as much. I’ve spent enough time with you that I can read when you’re upset, Ryvan. What is it?”
“I told you that I am Dark Fae, but I did not explain what that means. You do not understand what I am capable of.”
She meets my gaze evenly. “I witnessed your powers, and I am not afraid.”
In her eyes, I see the truth. She truly does not fear me as she should. I pause, unsure if I should share this with her. “There is something you must know, Ella, but I do not know how to tell you.”
“Whatever it is, I will not judge you, Ryvan. I swear.”
I swallow hard against the sudden knot in my throat and draw in a deep, steeling breath. “Among my people, there are two kinds of Fae: Light and Dark.”
“What differentiates them?”
“Our gifts of magic. Almost all Fae possess Light Magic, which defines their nature. They possess magic meant to create and wield the life force of the elements. But the Dark Fae… theirs is the magic of destruction and chaos. They wield the elements in a different way—a dangerous way.”
Her brow wrinkles. “So, there is a balance then, just like all things in nature. Some create and some destroy.”
“It is… not quite that simple.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dark Fae are dangerous because of what they can do—the power they possess. Any Fae born with this power are put to death as soon as they are identified.”
She inhales sharply.
Gritting my teeth, I lower my gaze, unable to meet her eyes as I give her my truth. “Because I am Dark Fae. I am dangerous, and I should have been destroyed the moment my father and grandfather discovered what I was. The day they saw what I could do.”
“What happened? What did you do? What could have been so terrible that you believe they should have killed you?”
“When I was a child, enemy forces stormed our castle. My mother hid Eryl and me in a cupboard. Soldiers found her, and they—” I stop abruptly as emotions lodge in my throat. Reliving the painful memory, I force myself to continue. “They stabbed her when she tried to block them from finding us. I rushed from our hiding spot and stood between her and the men as she lay dying. I was so enraged that they’d hurt her, I—”
I look down at my hands, remembering the heat that seared my palms as my power awakened deep inside me. “I burned them all to ash, Ella. No one could stop me.” I pause. “When my grandfather and father found me, they knew what I’d done. Eryl—he had witnessed everything as well. My father fell to his knees and gathered me in his arms. I remember the tears that fell from his eyes and the strange mixture of shock and despair in his expression as he cupped my face. ‘You are my son. I love you and I will protect you,’ he whispered to me then.
“The last Dark Fae born in our family was my great uncle. My grandfather’s brother. He was put to death because of what he was. But my grandfather and father could not do the same to me. They have kept the secret ever since. But now… my mating cycle approaches. I am volatile, Ella. You saw what I did to the griffin. How can I take a mate when I possess such destructive power deep within me? Even a single, momentary loss of control could unleash such—” My voice catches and breaks before the last word.
She takes my hand, squeezing firmly. Her eyes are bright with tears as they meet mine. “You are not dangerous, Ryvan. You are only a danger to anyone who would hurt the ones you care about. But that can be true of any person.”
I blink at her in shock. “Even after all I have told you… you are not afraid of me?”
“Never.” She meets my gaze evenly. “So, this is why you do not want a wife?”
“I used to hate the idea of a bondmate… but now, it has become what I want most in this world.”
She retracts her hand as if burned, dropping her gaze to her lap. “Then I suppose you no longer need me to dance with you this evening. You should have no problem finding women to partner with. Everyone seemed eager to—”
I cup her chin, tipping her face up to me. A smile quirks my lips as her bewildered blue eyes search mine. “Do you really think I am interested in those women?”
Her brow furrows softly.
“I only want you, Ella,” I whisper and lean in. Sadness fills me as my gaze travels over her beautiful face. “But it cannot be. I am Dark Fae. I am dangerous.”
Her blue eyes search mine. “It does not matter. I am not afraid of you, Ryvan.”
“You do not understand. The power I have inside me… I could hurt you. So easily and I would never forgive myself.”
“You will not hurt me, Ryvan.” She touches my face. “I trust you.”
With a slight clench of my jaw, I bite back my frustration. “I love you, but I cannot risk—”
She crushes her lips to mine. Her small tongue darts out and I gasp at the sensation. Her tongue curls around mine, deepening our kiss.
I’m lost in her touch. I long to possess her and to be possessed. To consume her and to be consumed. I cup the back of her head, grasping the long, silken strands of her hair between my fingers as I claim her mouth the way I long to claim her: body, mind, heart, and soul.
“We should not fall in love,” I barely manage between kisses.
“It is too late for that, Ryvan.” She smiles against my lips. “Do you not know that I already love you?”
Happiness blooms in my chest, and I pull her even closer. So close that there is no space between our bodies. I wrap my arms and wings around her as she holds just as tightly to me.
I bear her to the ground. I want her so much it is maddening. My fangs extend with want to claim her—to seal her to me and make her mine in all ways.
I pull back just enough to gaze down at her. Breathless and panting, her skin is flushed a lovely pink hue.
“You would be mine despite my darkness?”
She reaches up to cup my cheek, brushing the soft pad of her thumb across my lower lip. “Yes,” she breathes.
Happiness brighter than a thousand stars fills me, and I thread my fingers through her hair, capturing her mouth again in a searing kiss.
“I want to bind you to me in the ways of my people,” I breathe between kisses. I am on the razor-sharp edge of my control. I want her so much it is maddening. “I want to mark your flesh so that all will know you are mine, Ella. And if my father will not accept you because you are human, we will go to Arnafell together.”
“Ryvan,” she gasps, as I trace a line of kisses down the elegant column of her neck. “I cannot let you give up everything for me, my love.”
My head snaps up to hers. “I would give up everything for you, Ella. Tell me you are mine,” I demand. “I need to hear the words.”
“I am yours, Ryvan,” she says softly. “Only yours.”
Her words ripple through me, dissolving the last of my control. I dip my head to the curve of her neck and shoulder, and trace my tongue over the pulsing artery along her neck, tasting the sweet salt of her skin.
My fangs extend into sharpened points with the urge to mark her and claim her as mine. Music drifts out from the palace nearby; I cannot take her here. Not like this, not out in the open where we might be discovered.
But I cannot pull away no matter how hard I try. I dip my fingers beneath the neckline of her dress and pull the fabric down, revealing the softly rounded globes of her breasts. I close my mouth over one peak and am rewarded with a surprised gasp, followed by a low moan a moment before her fingers thread through my hair, holding me in place.
“Ryvan,” she whispers. “That feels so good.”
I cup her other breast. The pale, creamy mound is so pliant and giving beneath my palm. Her nipples bead as if begging for my touch. Lightly, I scrape my teeth over one, and she gasps and pulls me even closer.
My nostrils flare as the scent of her arousal grows thick in the air around us. I want her so much it is maddening. Her skin is soft beneath the tips of my fingers as I trace them up her inner thigh. I lift my head and kiss her passionately. When I reach the juncture of her thighs and feel the silken scrap of material that covers her there, I hesitate. I pull back to find her eyes are half-lidded and full of desire.
She leans in and kisses me again, whispering against my lips. “I want you to touch me, Ryvan.”
Desire pulses through me as I retract my claws and dip my fingers beneath the silken fabric. I drag them lightly through her already slick folds.
She gasps when I touch the small bundle of nerves at the top. Her head falls back with a low moan as I concentrate my attentions on the sensitive pearl of flesh.
My stav is hard and erect, pressing insistently against the seam of my pants. I long to join my body to hers.
I cannot take her fully until we’ve bonded. Right now, I want only to pleasure her. “Tell me how to touch you, my Ella.”
She clings to me, meshing her lips to mine.
I wrap my wings around her as I continue to tease at her sensitive flesh. Carefully, I insert one finger into her entrance, and she arches against me.
“More,” she breathes against my lips.
I insert a second finger, and she moans my name. I begin a slow and steady rhythm, stroking my fingers in and out of her channel as I brush my thumb over the soft pearl of flesh that makes her entire body light with pleasure. She throws her head back as another moan escapes her.
I grip her chin, tipping her face back to mine as I stare deep into her eyes. “I want to watch you reach your climax.”
Her breath emerges in short, clipped pants as I continue to pump my fingers into her warm, wet heat. Her body goes taut like a bowstring as the muscles of her channel quiver and flex around me. I capture her mouth, swallowing her sounds of pleasure as she finds her release.
