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A hunger that was so deep it bordered on worship. It took everything in me not to pull her into me. Not to pin her against the wall and kiss her like I was starving. And her eyes… gods. They were just as wild. Dark and passionate, lit with the kind of want that made my head spin. I knew she’d be soaking for me right now if I so much as brushed my hand between her thighs. To pull myself from the desire I had to shake my head and laugh. It was low and dark because she knew what she was doing.

Her lips curled into a smug little smile. “I’m going to break your control…” she whispered. Leaning in, Valentina pressed a kiss to my cheek, soft but lingering. Her body molded against mine, flush and deliberate. Her breast pressed into my ribs, warmth melting into every part of me.

She stayed there a moment too long. It earned her a low, involuntary growl right along her ear. The moment blurred around me as she pulled away, heat still radiating off her skin. Taking a single step forward, one hand still clenched tightly around the towel, but the other? It found the back of her head, fingers slipping into the softness of her hair as I pulled her mouth to mine.

Walking backwards, slow and hungry, she hit the dresser with a quiet gasp. My free hand gripped her thigh and roamed down the line of her leg to hook around my hip. Pulling her flush against me, I let my erection press into her core so she could feel every inch of what she’d done to me.

The friction was electric as I let my hips grind for a fraction of a second. Divine.

A groan escaped me against her lips. My tongue traced her bottom lip in a silent request, and she granted it without hesitation. Dipping inside, I tasted her warmth, her sweetness, as hers danced submissively against mine. Valentina slid her hands up my bare back, clutching me closer, molding herself into me like we were meant to fuse.

Every touch.

Every sound.

Every second.

It pulled me deeper into madness.

But somewhere beneath the haze of it all… I knew I had to stop.

Breaking the kiss, slowly, my forehead rested against hers. My eyes fluttered shut as my fingers traced lazy circles along her waist. Breathing her in, I stabilized myself with every soft exhale. A smile faintly crossed my mouth as I opened my eyes to look down at her. “Okay,” I murmured, voice low, “now you really have to let me get dressed. You’ve been more than enough of a distraction this morning.” I nuzzled my nose against hers, playful and affectionate. I hoped she felt how much I needed her but also understood it wasn’t the right time.

Valentina’s eyes fluttered open, dark lashes heavy, lips still parted. “You sure?” she whispered, her voice soft and breathless. Gods, she looked ruined. Beautiful and smug. Completely undone.

“I’m sure,” I chuckled, stepping to the side and nodding toward the door. “Go on. I’ll be done in a minute.” There was enough finality to my tone, even though I wasn’t fully sure myself. Her caramel skin flushed under the sapphire dress, but she stepped back.

Throwing a wink over her shoulder, she said, “I’ll see you in a moment, Alexander.” With that last ado, she departed from my chambers, leaving my skin covered in her burnt sugar notes. Valentina will be the death of me, but somehow I didn’t mind it.

It didn’t take long for me to dress. The garment was finer than I would’ve picked out myself, but it was simpler than the first few outfits Head Maiden had given me. They were a pair of matching straight-leg black trousers and a long-sleeve tunic.

As I was lacing my boots, Kleitos burst through my apartment. Before I could shrug into my wool coat, he wasted no time. He wanted us out the door immediately, barely giving me time to drink the blood bags Valentina had brought me. “Drink it on the way,” he’d said. Judging by the look in his eye, there’d be no arguing. Valentina arrived shortly after him, and he advised us that his plan had gone off without a hitch. He’d retrieved the relic I would need to mask my scent, though he refused to give it to me inside the estate. “Not with staff still roaming,” he explained. “If the King realizes it’s missing, I don’t want anyone here to recognize it.”

Apparently, Kleitos still had contacts inside the palace. Loyal ones. Those who promised they’d try to fabricate a convincing falsehood if Victor came asking. That didn’t settle my nerves. But I didn’t question him. Not with the way he moved. Focused. Quiet. Dangerous. He also refused the horses this time. “We lose daylight every minute we stand still,” he muttered, already striding through the back gardens as we followed.

Honestly, I’d never even realized how long carriage travel took. It was probably because I kept falling asleep in them. Wrapped in furs and rocked by snow-packed roads, it had been too easy to forget how massive this land was.

But now? We were running.

Cutting through the thick underbrush of the forest behind Lord Draco’s estate, we moved as a unit. The trees were dense as we glided through them, weaving through branches. There weren’t any clearings. No spaces open enough to even attempt training. Just row after row of winter-powdered trees, standing like silent soldiers in the cold.

After twenty minutes of running through the trees, the forest began to thin. They stood farther apart, their branches arching overhead like skeletal gates. The air changed with it; it was less heavy, less musky. The earthy scent of damp bark and snow gave way to something crisper… cleaner. A salty mist brushed against my skin.

A steady rhythm of waves, pushed and pulled against some unseen shore. It brushed along my eardrum like a song. I used to love the ocean, being able to watch the shore kiss the sand, and the horizon gave me peace. The sea was near. Alive. Calling.

Familiarity surged in my chest, and I sprinted ahead.

As a child, I was always pulled toward the water. But I’d never seen it like this. Not in Velarune. The thought of witnessing it in all its untouched glory launched it to the top of my mental bucket list. Behind me, Valentina and Kleitos kept pace easily, their footsteps silent over snow as we broke through the final wall of bushes. We emerged into a new world.

A beach. But not like any I’d ever known.

Three feet of fresh snow stretched across the entire shoreline, pristine and undisturbed. A soft white blanket layered over the dunes and down to the edge of the water. The sea itself lapped gently at the snowy shore, pulling the sleet into its depths with every retreating wave. The contrast was stark, light against dark, frost against shadow. The water was black. Not blue, not green. Black. True to its name, this was the Black Sea. Its surface was as dark as night, reflecting none of the sky, only swallowing it whole. Gods, it was beautiful.

Kleitos and Valentina came to a flurried stop behind me, snow splashing outward as snow splashing outward as they skidded to a stop pushing snow directly towards me. It hurled far enough to sprinkle lightly across my back, dusting the nape of my neck in icy kisses.

Pivoting toward them, my boots shifted in the ice, leaving a half-circle stamped beneath me. “This is insane,” I breathed, eyes wide. “I’ve never seen water colored like this before.” The beauty of it stunned me. Hypnotized me. I vaguely remembered hearing of places like this in the human realm, coastal spots with rare black sand beaches or unusually dark waters, but I’d never been able to travel far enough to see them. I had never even left Ash Town before.

It was a small town, sure, but it had always felt big enough. Hiking trails, secluded lakes, even its own beach. It had been enough to make me feel like I’d experienced the world. But now? Now that I was here?