Page 139 of A Thread of Breath and Bone

“This scent,” he groans into my mind.

The air between us turns thick, saturated with the scent of storm-clouds and starlight. When he inhales against me, I shudder. My skin feels too tight, my blood too hot, as if my new body is screaming for the friction of his. This hunger isn't polite. It's an aching need to be consumed by the only soul that is half of mine.

A whimper escapes my lips when he nudges my thighs apart. My head falls back, fingers winding through his hair. “Ry⁠—”

My stomach growls again. Clarity floods my mind, and I remember where we are. The emissary could return, or someone could walk in. Not here.

Ryker sits back with a pout on his face that makes me giggle. I lift a questioning brow. “Fine,” he groans, standing before me. “We find food for you. You can eat while I eat.” He wiggles his brows. “I currently have a singular taste.”

I groan, stomping back up the long hall. “Gods, Ry, you’re incorrigible.” The strength of this new body is not lost on me. Despite my mental exhaustion, I feel like I could run forever without tiring.

His resounding chuckle follows me out of the hall. Back outside, I was not prepared to find a gateway waiting. Caelus did say there would be one, but I didn't exactly trust him. Not that I have any reason not to.

I pause before it, taking it in with new eyes—new senses. Where the two spaces meet is like an event horizon, folding inward on itself. The magic there is powerful—far beyond what most Fae or Elven could summon.

With Ryker’s hand on my back, we walk through the gateway, finding ourselves back in our rooms in the cavern. There’s a fire lit in the hearth and two plates of food heaping with spiced meats and warm bread.

Behind us, the gateway closes, disappearing like it had never been there.

“Perfect,” Ryker says, grabbing one of the plates and shoving it toward me with a smirk that says he's still thinking about what he'd rather be eating. “Eat, Soraea. I need you at full strength for what I have planned later.”

I take a defiant bite of the spiced meat, narrowing my eyes. “Is that a threat, Prince?”

He leans in, his sharp canines catching the firelight as he whispers against my ear. “No, love. It's a promise. Now finish your bread before I decide I'm too hungry to wait.”

Chapter 50

Raea

The roll is a symphony of warm, toasted grain and salted cream. The butter explodes against my tongue in a way that makes my new, sensitive nerves ignite. It’s a full-body experience, a collision of taste and texture that feels like it’s filling the hollow spaces the awakening carved into me. The soft center melts against my tongue, rich and airy and impossibly indulgent. Eating feels utterly decadent and almost sinful in its pleasure.

“Is that right, Princess?” Ryker hums through my mind. “Then I haven’t been doing a thorough job. Let me remind you.” His voice scrapes through my mind like an experience of its own. He seems pleased when a long, soft moan rolls from my body.

Gods, he hasn’t even touched me yet, and the level of pleasure flooding my body feels unreal. If there’s one upside to becoming an entirely different race, it’s this.

Honestly, it should be a selling point.

I’ll have to find a way to subtly convince Aolyn and Ciara they want this. Ryker’s fingers hook into my leathers, and he forces them down my legs.

When I look down, he’s kneeling on the floor between my legs, I can’t help but be amazed. So much is different, and so much is the same. His bare stomach is carved with deep lines, shadows forming valleys between hard planes of muscle.

My mouth waters when I think about what he tasted like earlier. His eyes swirl with amusement. “Eat, Soraea,” he commands. I know he can feel how much this food is fueling me, and if the way he’s looking at me is any indication, I’m going to need all the strength I can get.

He waits until I bring the fork to my mouth before hooking my legs over his shoulders. The food fades to nothing as my focus shifts entirely to him. I watch him bring my ankle to his mouth. His gaze holds with mine as he presses his mouth there.

If I thought I needed him earlier in the hall, then I’m burning for him now. Food forgotten, I set the plate on the bed beside me, leaning back on my hands. The rate at which he is moving up my thigh is torturous, but I have no desire to rush him.

No, I want to revel tonight.

Our new bodies are strong, and I know that I don’t need the same amount of sleep or nutrition. Yes, we went through the most exhausting change, but sleep is for later. I have no doubt in my mind that when I close my eyes, I will fall into the deepest sleep of my life. For now, though…I want to burn.

His mouth hovers over my thigh, and I know what he’s asking. I’m still getting used to this whole communication thing, but I don’t even have to nod before his excitement floods my system.

His sharp canines graze the tender skin of my inner thigh—a lethal promise that sends a jolt of electricity straight to my core. He’s claiming me with a predator’s focus. Heat pools in my core, and I know he can smell every ounce of desire on me.

I know because I can smell his desire. Hell, I can feel it. We are two people, but I feel like there’s no distance between us anymore. What he feels, I feel, and vice versa.

Strong hands grip my waist as he tugs me to the edge. “Are you ready, Soraea?” It’s not really a question, but a warning.