Page 130 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

“Why?” The single word holds a thousand questions.

“You are my brother.”

It isn’t the whole answer, though. His gaze slides to me for a fraction of a heartbeat, and I hear the word he doesn’t say as clearly as if he’d spoken it aloud.

My Bride.

Chase swallows hard and looks back at me. His eyes are clearer now, focused, searching. “What did it cost?”

“All that matters is you’re here.” I stroke his hair back from his forehead, the gesture automatic and tender. He’s cool under my palm, the fever already gone. “You’re alive. You’re healed.”

“Cora.” His hand catches mine. “What did you promise him?”

I can’t answer that. Not now. Not with those eyes on me, looking at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.

“Sleep,” I whisper instead. “You need to rest. You’re healed, but you need sleep.”

As if my words are a spell, his eyes slip closed, the exhaustion claiming him. His body relaxes, his breathing shifting into the steady rhythm of deep sleep. I watch him for a moment longer, memorizing the miracle of it—the rise and fall of his chest, the color returning to his face, the peaceful stillness that comes with true rest instead of fever dreams.

Then I stand, my legs unsteady beneath me. I’m still wearing only the thin nightgown I’d thrown on when I left his room, and my bare feet are cold on the stone floor.

I hug myself as I watch Chase sleep, now safe, because of Adric. And because of the price I’m about to pay.

A soft knock sounds, and Adric opens it to reveal the healer. “Sire,” she whispers. “Is true?”

“My brother is cured,” Adric confirms.

She moves to the bedside, her hands hovering over Chase’s chest, his leg. “He is still weak. He will sleep much. At least two nights, maybe more. Body needs rest to finish healing.”

I look at Adric. “Thank you.”

His head tilts. “You thank me even though I will claim my price?”

I nod, breathing hard.

Our eyes lock, and a smile dances at the corner of his mouth. “Soon,” he says, then turns and walks out of the room, leaving me to wonder when he will take his payment.

And right then, I hate myself a little, because I’m hoping it will be soon.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

“Cora.”

The whisper pulls me from sleep, and I sit up too fast. The suite is dim and warm from the banked fire. Chase breathes deep beside me, still asleep.

So who whispered my name?

As if in answer, heat shimmies through my body. I close my eyes, relishing the sensation, then ease the covers back, careful of the way his arm drapes my waist, as if even in sleep he’s trying to keep me close.

I press a kiss to the curve of his shoulder and tell myself the tremor in my stomach is from hunger and not the choice I’m making. I draw a breath, then slide into my robe, softer than any I’ve ever worn in the human world. There are no slippers, so I pad barefoot to the door and crack it.

Adric is there, leaning against the stone wall. The orange moonlight that filters down through a high window slides along the sharp line of his cheekbone, making him look both dangerous and wildly sexy. When he looks at me, his eyes catch the light, giving him a wild, feral quality.

“Come,” he whispers. “I want to show you something.”

I start to protest that I’m hardly dressed for the occasion, then decide I don’t care. And I’m not worried about Chase waking up—I know the toll both the venom and the cure took on his body. I doubt he’ll rouse before morning.