Page 112 of The Incendiary

“Why are you asking about the Duke of Peradine, Fera?” he sighed annoyedly. “And magic? That’s quite far out of your realm of understanding.”

My pulse sped up, anger rising at his condescension. “What’s wrong with the Duke of Peradine?”

He grimaced. “He rules a peaceful city. He’s been on decent terms with us for years. He’s certainly good for some things, but he’s not the most dependable ally.”

Given what little I did know about Peradine—that it was a city with lots of sex—I tried not to think about what some things meant.

“Well,” I began, “I thought maybe you might want to send someone there to see if the book is important, or even if it’s still there. If it’s magic, it could be useful against Molochai. For Simeon Whitlock to use, maybe. Without the queen, we need all the magic we can get.”

Elias folded his hands on his desk. “I thought we were past you telling me how to do my job today.”

I reared back.

A slow, assessing nod, then he waved me away. “I’ve already told you how you can help. I’ll see you at the morning briefing.”

Wishing I’d just kept the thought to myself, I rushed out of the room, unable to get away from him fast enough. How foolish of me to think he might consider my idea, without a crown on the head it came from.

THIRTY

GAVIN SMYTH

I know you’d be proud of me, even though I almost died today. Thank the gods it went my way, because being eaten alive by one of Molochai’s beasts is

not how I would choose to go. Thankfully, I’m still here.

But I wish you were here, too.

—UNSENT CORRESPONDENCE FROM QUEEN ARYELLA I TO THE BUTCHER OF NYRIDA

2nd of Effusia, 402 Years Ago

We hid in a cabin about fifty miles south of Brinnea, tucked beneath a cliff along the coastline of the Windcrest Sound. I’d built it after she told me where she wanted to live if she was ever free from the binds of her power and title. During the last week in Aesta, she’d insisted on staying at her mother’s side during her monthly treatment with the healers. Instead of losing my mind, I’d taken a horse south, gathered and purchased the materials with over half of my savings, and built her a cabin by the sea.

It had taken me six days. I’d done nothing else but build, eat, and sleep. The cabin was small, only one room, but it had a fireplace for cooking and two comfy but tattered and mismatched chairs sitting before it. There were sturdy walls, a strong roof, a comfortable bed, plenty of food, and us.

It had us, and we were happier than I thought possible. I was

unapologetically addicted to every breath she took. Every whimper, sigh, and cry of pleasure. I couldn’t stop tasting her lips, skin, and the divine sweetness between her thighs. I spent every second I could pleasuring her until she was breathless. Panting. Shaking. So delirious with pleasure that she scraped her fingernails across my chest deeply enough to draw blood and begged me to fill her.

I obliged.

We found that her sexual appetite, once discovered, was nearly as insatiable as my own, which explained why she was currently passed out on my chest, leg swung over mine, hair wild and splayed across both our shoulders.

I gently stroked and untangled any knots I’d put there with my own fingers. She tucked the blankets under her chin and nestled into my chest while I counted the seventeen freckles over her nose for the hundredth time. My right leg was exposed to the chill of the seaside morning, but she was fully covered, so I didn’t care. Even though it was summer, the cool wind off the ocean lowered the temperature in the cabin. My own body heat was enough to warm her, so I’d neglected to rise and stoke the fire in favor of leaving my wife undisturbed.

My wife.

I smiled down at the pretty silver band on her finger. She was officially mine now, and she would be forever. My heart warmed knowing I had a lifetime of waking up like this ahead of me.

That was, if we could convince her uncle.

Aryella wanted to stay hidden, but I knew we couldn’t forever. I’d bought us some time by sending Vic and his cousin north and west. They spread rumors of a beautiful silver-haired young woman and a brutish man traveling northwest to Warrich in attempts to mislead Simeon’s men from heading south along the coastline. Even so, the cabin wasn’t visible from the cliffs above, only when down on the beach. It had been ten days, and they still hadn’t found us.

I wouldn’t rule out the likelihood that he could use some of his magic to hunt us down. Our time was limited, but as long as we didn’t let him pull us apart, I was sure we could get through this.

I would accept no alternative.

She whimpered softly while shifting against me. That wasn’t a tired whimper—she’d slept a good nine hours. No, I knew exactly what that was. Being inside her was heavenly, so perfect, hot, and tight that it shattered my existence and reformed around her in an unbreakable shell of adoration and obsession. There were no adequate words to describe how incredible we felt together. For her, too, if her number of orgasms was any indication.