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With a cry, my whole body spasmed, my pussy clenching around his cock as my back arched off the mattress, and I clung to him like he was the only thing saving me from falling into the abyss. “Ruslan, oh fuck–”
With a grunt, he pulled out of my center, leaving me aching and empty, then spilled his cum onto my stomach, panting heavily as his cock twitched and finally stilled. He reached overthe side of the bed and found a discarded towel, using it to clean me off before tossing it away again.
“I’ll make sure you get a contraceptive tea this morning,” he finally managed to say, sweat dripping between both of us. Despite that, he pulled me into him as he laid on his side, cradling me with a tenderness I’d come to expect from the male who had always been known as a ruthless prince. Only I got to see this side of him, and I preened under the knowledge that he reserved this only for me.
Our hearts beat in sync as we laid there, spent from making love for the first time in far too long. “So, about the wedding…”
“Yes?” He perked up immediately behind me.
“I want to be strong enough to walk on my own in front of our people. I want them to see me as powerful, not to pity me.” The conviction was strong in my voice, leaving no room for argument.
Thankfully, Ruslan didn’t try to sway me. “You will show them how powerful you are. Nothing has ever stopped you or broken you before, and this is no exception.”
A wave of sadness washed over me, the vague memories of wandering in the dark rising on the tide of it. “Ruslan… when I was… sleeping, I wanted to give up. I wondered what the point of returning was, if there was only going to be pain for me. There’s just been so much of it…” Tears burned my eyes, blurring the form of my mate.
Sucking in a shuddering breath, I asked, “What did I do to deserve this pain?”
A rough palm cupped my cheek, thumb swiping away the salty tears that overflowed as I began crying uncontrollably. Voicing that one question broke me in a way I never knew possible. The whips that had rained upon my back in the cave did not compare to the pain of thinking that somewhere along the way I had done something that brought this pain uponmyself – pain that seemed as endless as the night sky. The kind of pain that dragged me to the dark depths of despair where the only way out was death.
The raspiness to Ruslan’s voice thickened as I shattered to pieces, clinging to him like the lifeline that he was. “Sprite, you have donenothingto deserve this pain. The Goddess and the Fates wove this path for you – for us – long before either of us were born. It is them you should be blaming, not yourself. We are only pawns in some fucked up game they are playing, and the prophecy is proof of that.”
I lifted my soaked face from his bare chest, and he brushed the chestnut locks away from my face, showing me the strength of his conviction. The words from the prophecy floated to the front of my mind, and I let them fall in time with my tears.
“The ones that are part of all will be born under a full moon
Her white light will fill the land
But her mates’ darkness will rise
Kings will fall
Rivers will run with blood
There is a choice
Follow the light
Descend into the dark
The harrowing pass decides it all”
I’d made my choice – Ruslan. The mark between my shoulder blades demonstrated that for those who could not feel this incredible bond that threaded our fates, our souls, together.
But there was one more choice the prophecy mentioned – light and dark. And with what I’d discovered when I woke, I wondered if that was the heart of the matter. “Ruslan, there’s one more thing.”
The skin across his face tensed as if he sensed my trepidation. “Yes?”
Swallowing, I admitted the truth. “My magic… inside, it’s no longer white.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, brows dipping slightly.
“Before Kazimir tried to kill me, when I called on a positive emotion, the crystal in my magic well turned white. The crystal itself had been clear before. Now, only dark fills the black crystal there,” I whispered, tugging my bottom lip between my teeth.
He thumbed it away. “Sprite, are you worried I will think differently of you because of that?”
I nodded, nose and eyes pricking. Hurriedly, I swiped at them both.
A growl rumbled from his chest, pressing into mine. “There isnothingthat could make me love you less, Izidora.” The toned muscles of his arms flexed around me, as if he could show me through his physical strength alone that he’d never stop. “In fact, watching you embrace that darkness as we slaughtered the males who abused you was one of the memories I slipped into whenever I laid here with you, waiting for you to wake. The sheer ferocity you displayed that night, the way you reclaimed your power slice by slice… I was in awe of you. Still am. So don’t fear the darkness, sprite. Embrace it. Hone it. Use it as the weapon it can be for you. Claim its power as your own and don’t let anyone tell you there is something wrong with that.”
