Page 69 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

His fingers stopped on my brow and the look on his face shifted.

That was the most reaction Kilian had ever given to my warnings. It made me simper—my grin was vile. “Yes, Your Majesty, I can and will hurt your brother. And it will taste so sweet. Your pain will be delicious.” The seal of the bargain burned at the words, but the pain was rather soothing. “It was my vow to you, husband.” Slowly, I moved to straddle his lap. “It is your demise I want, not your death,” I whispered, running a finger over his pouty lip. This man. This man was the reason for my insanity. Actually, I had to be pretty insane to let him be the reason for my insanity. I wanted him out of my head. For that, I needed him to fight me. Anger me. Provoke me. So I could show him how truly insane he made me. Last night I’d decided I’d get what I wanted from him. But first I had to find out what exactly I wanted from him. Maybe he could be my sickness and my cure.

He sighed, dropping his head back and staring at me with that taunting and haunting silver peer that was the cause of my nightmares and the root of all of my want. Just once, be afraid of me. Just once let me taste your fear like you tasted mine.

“You have no idea, do you?” His hands went to my hips and up my waist, leaving shivers behind my traitorous body. The way he stared at me…no man had ever looked at me like that—like he needed me to breathe. “Have your fill, love. I’m feeling pretty damned right now.” One of his hands lingered over the thigh slit of my dress, pulling to expose my leg and I couldn’t help but squirm on him, he’d lit me like a match. It was too much. All of it. He had barely touched me, yet I felt him everywhere on my skin—like a cursed mark. “Tell me why you flinch from me,” he said, the tip of his fingers brushing my thigh just a little but enough to have me humming with warmth. “Tell me why.”

Heat pounded between my legs. My mouth had gone dry, and I was angry—furious at myself. “Because I hate it.” Because I’m terrified I’ll enjoy it and want more. Want you more than I already want you.

A smile painted his face. “My pretty liar.” The moment his warm skin met my cold one, my whole body blazed alive in a way only he had ever managed to. Gently, he ran his knuckles on my inner thigh and my limbs suddenly went weak. “The things I want to do to you, Snow. To have you how I want you and to be damned to never be able to. You’re my heaven and my hell. Blessed and cursed me. I’m damned. Forever damned.”

There was nothing I could do or say, he always found a way to stun me to silence.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him so our chests met, and he kissed my cheek before leaning to whisper in my ear, “My divine and my ruin.” His soft lips descended down my neck, leaving slow wet kisses on my skin. And I let him. Starved for him—I let him. “Only you could make me beg for ruin.” His warm breath rose gooseflesh all the way down my spine and legs, a lick of pleasure trickling between my thighs. “Only you can make me crave ruin,” he murmured before running his tongue over my pulse. “Only you.”

How did he have so much power over me, dictate my breaths and my heartbeat? My eyes pulled closed tightly. Sick. I was sick for allowing this. He’d made me sick. Purposefully. He still was doing all this with purpose. With purpose to sway me. Perhaps he wanted me to hate myself the way I did for wanting him.

He pulled back and slapped my bottom enough to sting. The smack shook me to my senses, too. Palming and kneading the burn away he said, “Now get off my cock. My brother has enough trauma as it is.”

Mal strode in, a towel around his waist as he dried off his hair with another and I pushed from Kilian, sitting back on my spot. My ears felt hot and I was sure my face was probably burning up. Fair mention went to the sweet spot below my belly which still hummed at the memory of his hands on me. If his fingers had grazed just an inch higher, he would have felt and known what his touch did to me.

The younger brother frowned when he saw us on his bed. “Family meeting now, huh? Will this be a common thing? I ought to know when I have company over. Half of the women in Adriata think you’ve eaten my heart and I’m a puppet of your evil. Imagine when the other half see you in my room.”

I scoffed. “I don’t eat meat, especially not hearts. And you are a puppet of my evil, Mal sweetheart. I’d feed your heart to Memphis though, but she prefers bloodier parts.”

“The morph likes livers?” he asked, putting clothes on.

I stood and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Further down south. She’ll even tear it off you, I don’t even have to do anything.”

He winced and cupped his treasures. “Ouch.”

With its own will, my body turned to take one last glance at Kilian, and the idiot winked at me. He winked at me. Winked! “Be good, love.”

I grabbed and dragged Mal out of the room, too angry and afraid I might just gut his spleen out and eat it while he watched. “Let’s go.”

My witch had crossed her arms and stared at Mal like he was a specimen for her to test on. Perhaps he was. But the two knew one another since young, perhaps more than I knew them. His father, the previous king, had been a close supporter of Urinthia’s.

From the look on her face, I’d finally found Visha Delcour’s bane. Nothing satisfied me more than watching her react.

“You reek of death,” my witch said boredly, her dull stare carefully tracing Mal’s movement around her chambers.

He sneezed. “You don’t smell particularly nice to me either, Visha.”

“Don’t bring spirits in my alcove, it affects my craft.”

Mal mimicked Visha’s stance. “Protect your alcove better, witch.” He flicked off a bouquet garni hanging overhead, sending it flying across the room. “Death comes with me, it is not something I can control.”

Visha’s dull gaze turned to me. “I beg of you.”

My smile grew wicked. “My pardon?” I asked, cupping a hand over my ear and batting my lashes.

“I don’t like working with children,” Visha said, pointing to Mal who had quickly moved to explore her herb concoctions by the windows.

“I’m sure children don’t like working with you either,” I echoed back.

She calmly closed her eyes. “My queen,” her voice was monotone, but I knew to recognize when she was annoyed. “Please find another Umbra.”

“I’m an Empath,” Mal said before accidentally dropping a large vase to the ground. “Shit. Hope that wasn’t important.” His grin told me perhaps it wasn’t accidental.