The Mirror in the Mountain (The Mirrored Trilogy #2)

15. Eva

Chapter 15

Eva

W hen we walked into a tall wooden home, there was a loud, recognizable squeal. My jaw dropped as Quinn Sagray rushed forward, my best friend I had last seen in another realm. She wore a scarlet dress that complemented her tawny-brown skin, silver threading crisscrossing up the bodice. Her normally wild curls were swept back in a tight bun, her mouth spread in a wide smile, those amber eyes alight with joy. Until her expression turned to horror, and I remembered I was still covered in a mix of Aviel’s blood and my own.

“It’s not all mine,” I said weakly, unable to think of anything else to say in my shock.

Quinn lifted her hand to my face, her fingers hovering over my bruised cheek. “How hurt are you?”

“I’m—”

I let out a sharp gasp and then burst into tears, my eyes filling so alarmingly fast that my rapid blinking to clear them only caused more tears to roll down my cheeks.

Quinn pulled me against her, her hand rubbing my back in careful circles. Everything I had bottled up since the last time I had seen her seemed to burst out of me as I sunk into her familiar embrace, clinging to her so tightly my arms hurt. She nodded over my shoulder, and I heard the front door open and close as the others left us.

When my sobbing faded to wet-sounding hiccups, I pulled away, noting the matching tears staining Quinn’s face. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, wincing as I pressed against a bruise there.

“Quinn—”

A blueish glow radiated from her outstretched fingertips as she reached for my cheek, gently smoothing my hair away before she rested her hand lightly above the wound.

I gaped at her, still too shocked at seeing her here to think clearly. While I had suspected she was fae, to see the proof of her here, pointed ears and all was staggering. And she was healing me. Though I had known what she was from her amulet alone, it was another thing entirely to watch her use magic.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. After her parents died, someone had built the wards around my apartment.

I should’ve realized she would be a healer. In college, Quinn had been pre-med, though she had moved into research after we graduated. For her to have this ability was fitting in a way that anything else would have been unimaginable.

“First, you need to sit down and let me heal the worst of your injuries,” Quinn said in a concerned yet no-nonsense tone so typical of her that it made me want to cry. “And then I owe you a long overdue explanation.”

She ushered me into a well-appointed kitchen, the space warm and inviting. Pulling out a chair at a long, wooden dining table, she gestured for me to take a seat before bringing me a glass of water that I gulped down. She sat down next to me, her hands immediately coming to hover over my stomach, unerringly finding the spot where my side ached with each breath. Her magic ran over me like a cooling stream of water.

“You’ll need to be careful with your ribs,” Quinn murmured. Her brow furrowed as she placed her hands on my wrists, the torn skin fading into reddened lines, before moving to the matching marks on my ankles. “And you’ll still have some bruising.”

“Thank you,” I said softly. But there was an edge to the words, despite their sincerity. As happy as I was to see her, I hadn’t forgotten the fact that she had lied to me, at least by omission. Even if I hoped there was more to it—that her actions had been driven by some necessity rather than another betrayal.

Quinn took a deep breath, hesitating as though working up to the explanation I knew was coming.

I grabbed her still-glowing hand from where it had reached for the bite mark on my neck, suddenly impatient. “How long have you known? And why on earth didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Those amber eyes flicked up to mine, their usual warmth tinged with guilt. “When did you guess that I knew?”

I snorted. “About two minutes after I realized what the amulets were for. Add that to how your parents were equally crazy about training you as mine were, plus the fact that there were wards on my new apartment after they died.” I gave her a sympathetic look. “Not a plane crash, huh.”

It wasn’t a question.

Quinn let out a long breath, shaking her head. “When your family was killed, my parents told me everything.” She spoke slowly, carefully, as if not wanting to miss anything important. “Who you were…well, are . They told me to stay with you, to keep you hidden and safe as they journeyed to Soleara to determine if it was finally time to bring us back.” She swallowed hard. “But they never came back.” Our gazes met and held, her eyes flickering with a mix of sadness and sincerity. “So I waited, wondering every day how to find a way to tell you. But they used the amulet to stop me from doing so—bound by my oath and my blood. Binding it so that the protection remained even if they died, unless you were in danger. So I practiced what magic I could figure out on my own—sparingly and carefully so as not to leave a trackable trace—and yes, created the wards on your apartment after you wouldn’t move back in with me from the instructions I’d been left.”

I didn’t want to interrupt the explanation I had been waiting for, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Bound by your blood?”

Quinn grimaced. “Blood magic is powerful and can be very dangerous, especially when used for the wrong reason.”

I nodded with a wince, thinking of the way Tobias’s blood had been used to infiltrate my dreams. The thought of Quinn’s parents using it on her, even if it was to keep us safe, made my stomach turn.

“I hated the position they put me in, but my parents were just trying to protect us. So I waited and scoured the books they left behind to learn about this realm, trying to find a way to tell you even as I wondered if it was better if you never knew…so you never had to return to this secret world still stuck in a secret war.”

She gave another weary sigh, and I gripped her hand tightly, silently reassuring her that I didn’t blame her, for which I was rewarded with a grateful smile, even as her eyes glimmered with unshed tears.

“I left one of the books out once, by accident. You sat down right next to it, and it felt like my tongue had stopped working. But you were too lost in your grief to notice, and the second you left, I felt that compulsion to hide it again. It made me realize there was a way around my bloodoath. But after my parents never returned, I knew it wouldn’t be safe to bring you back. And you were finally starting to live again, and I told myself it could wait just a little longer. That it would give me more time to find a way to tell you besides blindsiding you and putting your life at risk should the crossing alert those looking for you. And to see if I could communicate with the Solearans here to determine when to bring you back. I didn’t realize my attempts were being sent to an empty castle. But you were where I knew you’d be…safe.” She let out a choked laugh. “So I practiced my magic in secret—though there was only so much I could learn on my own from the few books my parents left behind, especially when I was worried any large display might bring about the very danger I was trying to avoid. I was about to give in and take you through the mirror after your birthday, consequences be damned. I figured taking you to Agadot would put you in enough danger that I’d finally be able to tell you everything on our journey to Soleara.”

She had been so close. Just as my parents had been the night of our Seventeenth. The stark reality of what might have been seemed to curdle with the bitter aftertaste of almost . If I had entered this realm more prepared…And yet, despite all that had happened, it was hard to fully regret the path that had brought me to Bash, and to the friends that felt like family.

But I couldn’t change what had happened. Only forge a new path forward.

“When I realized the wards I’d placed to protect you had fallen, I knew someone must have found you,” Quinn continued. “I came for you, but I was too late. When I saw your missive, I didn’t realize that I could respond in kind after all my failed attempts to reach Soleara. So I traveled alone through the mirror to the Faewilds and made my way north as quickly as I could. I was able to buy some supplies and a horse in Imyr with the assets my parents left for me. But I didn’t dare try to mirror here, nor could I risk asking too many questions on my journey. I spent the whole time hoping that it had been our own people who had taken you and not the False King’s.” Her eyes filled with tears, her lower lip trembling. “I’m sorry I didn’t find a way to tell you. To keep you safe from him in the end. I’m so sorry, Eva.”

I was already shaking my head, pulling my chosen sister into a long hug, my tears matching the ones now streaming down her cheeks.

“You have nothing to apologize for, my friend,” I whispered. “I’m only glad I found you again.”

“And I’m glad you came back to me,” she hiccupped.

I held her close, waiting until her tremors had stopped before asking, “Your parents?”

“They were captured before they reached Soleara, betrayed by one of the False King’s supporters.” Her expression shuttered. “They were taken to Morehaven, and never heard from again.”

I shuddered, remembering all too clearly that dank dungeon, and what Tobias had told me Aviel did to the prisoners there. The stealing of their power and magic to fuel his own youth. I closed my eyes, hoping Quinn had at least been spared that detail of their deaths.

Her hands found mine, her words choked as she asked, “Always forward?”

My gaze met hers. “Never back.”

I took a quick shower to remove the blood and sweat before filling Quinn in on everything that had happened since we last saw each other. It was strange sharing my misadventures aloud. Quinn gasped on cue at each new reveal as I patted my hair dry with a towel. Her amber eyes filled as I stammered through the worst of Aviel’s treatment—the magic-blocking collar, Tobias’s imprisonment, and what he had done and almost done to me. As I explained that Bash was my anima —“ Obviously ,” Quinn remarked—I shrugged on the long-sleeved gray dress and cozy woolen socks she had laid out for me. It felt strangely like old times as we sat on her bed, trading stories, Quinn braiding my hair to pull the still damp strands away from my face.

Until she gestured at a crate of leather-bound journals in the corner of the room.

My mouth went dry as Quinn carefully untwined the braided leather belt from around one, and the familiar writing stopped me in my tracks.

“Your mother’s,” Quinn whispered. “She has some interesting ideas on incorporating a more democratic form of rule on this realm. Many have already been implemented in Soleara, but she obviously had hopes to extend her plans further. Pari delivered them here for you. They’re normally on display in the Solearan senate.”

My fingers flew through the pages, greedily drinking in the words that felt like a lifeline—no, a roadmap—for the future my mother must have once thought would be hers, that, I realized with no small sense of awe, now would be mine. At least, if we succeeded in stopping Aviel.

I had just picked up the second journal when the air went static. My pulse quickened, my blood seemed to heat…and I abruptly lunged to my feet, nearly dropping the priceless book in my hands. I thrust it at Quinn, who opened her mouth to say something before stopping at the look on my face.

My heart leapt as frantic anticipation flooded down our bond, matching mine. I was halfway down the stairs before I heard a chorus of familiar, concerned voices, my heart hammering madly in my ears. Distantly, I heard Quinn calling my name as I practically flew down the remaining stairs, letting the tug in my chest lead me.

I didn’t even try to slow down before I reached him, just launched myself into his waiting arms. Bash’s name was a sigh of relief, a prayer answered as he hauled me tightly against him without hesitation, his shadows circling around me like they had missed me too. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms locking behind his head as I clung to him as tightly as possible. Breathing in the scent of petrichor—relishing that feeling of home . I could feel Bash shaking as he bent his head down to mine, holding me like any space left between us was unbearable.

When the tears started, I couldn’t make them stop. A sob left me as I burrowed my face into his neck, feeling his pulse frantically beating through my trembling lips.

“Eva.” My name was a broken whisper.

“You’re here,” I croaked. “You’re here .”

“I’ve got you,” Bash breathed into my hair, his hand rubbing small circles on my back.

I pulled away, sucking in a shallow lungful of air as I stared at him for an endless moment, taking in the worry lining his face, the stubbled shadow of his auburn beard, the tears gleaming in his eyes. The crushing weight of his heartbreak across our bond as he wiped my tears away. Those turbulent two-toned eyes searched my face, and I knew I could forever fall into that stormy sea and willingly drown.

“Once again, you’re just a hair too late to save me yourself,” I said, my attempt at teasing lost to the hiccup in my voice.

Bash’s mouth twitched like he almost wanted to smile. “I will always come for you. Even if you keep beating me to it.”

But I could see the guilt in his gaze, multiplied across our bond, feel how much he blamed himself for not being able to save me back in Morehaven. How much it killed him that he hadn’t.

“Hellion,” Bash rasped, the rough caress of his voice making my heart skip a beat. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Quinn healed the worst of it before you got here.”

His gaze raked over me almost desperately, like he had to check for himself. Fury flashed across our bond, brackish and burning, as he caught sight of the ring of bruises I knew were still around my throat, dark against the white of the scars that circled around my neck.

“When I realized that I wouldn’t get to you in time to stop him…” Bash swallowed, his eyes stormy. “I—I should have had faith that you would…that you will always have the strength to save yourself.”

Vaguely, I was aware of Tobias standing beside me, Yael and Rivan grinning madly next to him, as Quinn looked on from the stairwell. My eyes met my twin’s, colder than I remembered—the man standing in front of me startling in comparison to the jovial, gangly teenager that lived in my memory. “You’re free.”

His head dipped slightly. “Thanks to you. Though I’d like a word later about your methods.”

Bash lowered me to the ground, his hand reaching to twine our fingers together as if unwilling to let me go entirely. I turned to Tobias and threw my other arm around him. He tensed slightly before relaxing into the hug. Then Rivan and Yael’s arms were around me, and I smiled through my quickly blurring vision—no longer sure whose hands were whose as we held each other, almost giddy with the relief of being reunited.

“That was an incredibly reckless thing you did,” Rivan grumbled as he pulled me closer.

“You would’ve died if I?—”

“Thank you.”

My mouth dropped open, then stretched into a smile.

Yael touched her forehead to mine, her eyes bright. “I’m furious with you, I hope you know that.”

“You all would have done the same for me,” I said quietly as we pulled back for air. Yael shrugged as if to say, fair enough.

Quinn now stood next to me, Tobias’s arm still around her despite everyone else having let each other go. He stiffened as he noted the direction of my gaze, quickly lowering his arm to his side. But Quinn’s eyes danced in delight as she looked at Bash’s hand still firmly clutched in mine.

“Don’t start,” I begged her.

“FINALLY,” Quinn squealed. “It’s about time for you to be happy. I might have found a way to tell you the truth sooner if I realized you would finally be with someone longer than fourteen seconds, but here I thought?—”

“ Quinn, ” I exclaimed, cutting into her diatribe. I felt my cheeks heat as Yael let out a muffled snort of laughter, Bash’s lips pressing together as he tried to contain a smile. “This is Bash. And Yael,” I said, gesturing at them both in turn. “And?—”

“Rivan.” He stepped forward, grasping Quinn’s hand in his own larger ones. I saw her big amber eyes blink slowly as she stared up at the burly male, whose mouth twisted in a roguish grin before he let go. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Quinn fixed him with a look that I knew meant trouble.

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” she said tartly, arching an eyebrow at him.

Tobias bristled, his shoulders squaring slightly though I was certain I was the only one who noticed. I could feel Bash’s amusement across our bond, though it dissipated as his gaze lowered to where my sleeve had ridden up—the freshly healed red lines where my chains had dug into my wrists now clearly visible. Shadows swirled from his hand to mine, winding carefully around my arm in a slow caress.

“Interesting company you’re keeping these days, Eva,” Quinn murmured to me. “I didn’t know you had fallen in with a whole faction of arrogant fae warriors.” She gave me a pointed look as she turned away from Rivan, and Yael snickered loudly. “Though I suppose it’s a little late now to warn you away.” Her voice warmed as she looked at Bash.

Reluctantly, I let go of my anima , turning to Tobias and holding him at arms’ length so I could really look at him. He was taller than I remembered, too pale and thin from his imprisonment, yet sculpted in a way that I knew he must have spent his time training in that damp cell. His eyes were still haunted as he took me in, darkening as he scanned the bruises visible on my face and neck.

Tobias’s gaze dropped below my collar, and I realized my neckline had shifted enough to show off the bite marking the skin above my collarbone, still healing atop the scar below it. His eyes flashed with something that looked like lightning—nearly washing out the familiar crown of gold around his pupils. I stiffened at the memory of that power holding my friends, my anima , down as it choked the life from them, then shook my head. Though it was hardly Tobias’s fault his power had been stolen from him.

He lifted a hand, smoothing my hair back from my face. “Hey, sis.”

It was an effort to speak through the lump in my throat. “I thought I’d lost you, again.”

“I thought I lost you , this time,” Tobias murmured. “When I’d only just gotten you back.”

“Never again,” I said firmly, hoping it was true. I squeezed his hand, relishing the feeling of finally having him back with me as we nodded at each other in silent promise.

“Let’s get everyone settled and fed, and then we can discuss what comes next in the morning,” Quinn said in a light voice. “There are a few rooms down the hall from me, and more on the floor above that. I can show you the way.”

I was still staring at Tobias as he turned to Quinn. And I wondered if he knew how much he gave away as he looked at her with his heart in his eyes. His mouth tightened…and I watched as his guard went up, shielding his true feelings from the world. Like after so long in that mask, he had forgotten what it was like to live without it.

It would take time for him to open up again, and I knew better than to push after the trauma he had endured. The years he had spent being tortured in that cell, guarding our secrets in order to keep me safely hidden, had no doubt taken a toll I couldn’t begin to understand. Even if I hated the fact that he had carried that burden without me, I knew he had done it for me. A fact, I realized, that applied to Quinn as well.

Had he always had a thing for my best friend? Maybe that had been there all those years ago, and I simply never noticed until now. Though Quinn clearly hadn’t either.

Perhaps I was reading too far into it. But as Quinn came forward to envelop us both in a hug, I grinned widely at my brother’s too loud swallow.

My friend didn’t seem to notice. “It’s been too long since our trio has been together.”

“I’m glad you were there for Eva when I couldn’t be,” Tobias said, his voice low and earnest.

Quinn’s head cocked to the side, giving him a searching look before she looked away. “Me too.”

My brother continued to watch her intently as Quinn gestured at the house around us. “This was where your parents lived when they weren’t holding court below,” she explained. “Your true home. It was built to accommodate visitors.”

A thousand questions were on my tongue, but I was suddenly too tired to voice them. Quinn gestured at the main stairs and Tobias followed her lead, Yael and Rivan close behind. Before I could move, Bash gathered me up in his arms, sweeping me off my feet.

“How chivalrous,” I murmured into his ear and his lips quirked. Of course he had felt my exhaustion.

I laughed as he took the steps two at a time until we reached the third floor, taking me into the first empty bedroom. It was decorated with mahogany furnishings and intricately embroidered curtains. The sage green linen bedding matched the stone inlay above the built in fireplace. It crackled merrily as if in greeting.

Yet Bash’s brows were drawn as he set us on the bed, pulling me across his lap and holding me there. His renewed concern swept across our bond, swarming me in its intensity. My chest ached in response. I tried to quell my answering echo of fear and anguish that surged within me as it all came flooding back.

Bash’s voice broke into the cacophony of my recollection. “What do you need?”

“Just you,” I sighed. His arms wrapped more tightly around me, tugging me against him as he tucked my head under his chin. I used his steady heartbeat to count my breaths, letting my panic melt away with each exhale.

Bash pulled away slightly as I found some semblance of calm, then hooked a finger under my chin, lifting it gently. “What exactly happened, hellion? We were trying to find a way into Soleara when I could finally feel you again.”

His face darkened, and I couldn’t help my swallow. I knew exactly the moment he had felt me again—the volatile mix of fear and rage he would have sensed as Aviel took that collar off, knowing my anima would feel every second of my torment.

My voice broke as I said, “When I came to, I was back in his bed.”

Slowly, I continued from the moment I woke without him, everything spilling out in fractured bits as I haphazardly strung them together. I told him about Alette’s fire magic and how she had blasted a hole through Morehaven. He frowned, though I could feel his grudging admiration across our bond, even as he grumbled, “She could have killed you”.

I shook my head. “I think she’s more powerful than Aviel ever realized. That he underestimated her as much as I did.”

Bash held me as I told him about the aftermath of the explosion, vibrating with fury even as he whispered reassurances into my hair when I faltered. Pure rage burned across our bond when I reached the iron box. He gently brought my hands up to kiss the still healing marks on my wrists, murmuring soft apologies against my skin. My lips quivered, then Bash tugged me back into his embrace. I hadn’t realized how much I was shaking until he wrapped himself around me as if holding me together, careful to avoid the worst of my remaining injuries.

I sagged against his chest, listening to the furious beat of his heart. Clinging to him as he simply held me, his shadows flitting around us protectively.

My chin wobbled as I thought of how much I had yearned for this in that iron cage lurching through the darkness. For one horrible second, I could feel that icy metal leaching the heat from my skin as easily as Aviel had stolen my magic, that forever cold band tightening around my throat.

I closed my eyes, and his harsh, warm breath brushed against the hollow of my neck.

All my life I’ve had to take what I wanted. You, my darling, are no different.

Bash’s expression turned wary. “Where did you just go?”

I shook my head, trying to banish that feeling along with his question, but I knew he wouldn’t be dissuaded that easily.

As if reading my mind, Bash quietly added, “Are you okay?”

His hand found the dimples on my lower back, rubbing small circles between them with his thumb.

“Of course,” I lied. Like he couldn’t sense the sudden pressure in my chest. As if he didn’t always see right through me, even before our bond became permanent. I counted my breath in, before letting it out to the same slow beat.

“Eva, look at me.”

I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself but failing. Convinced the compassion in his gaze would destroy the flimsy dam holding my tears back.

“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” Bash whispered, his fingers tracing a tender path down my jawline. I gave in and looked at him at the silent plea in his voice, watching as his eyes filled with quiet shadows. “I know exactly how strong you are.”

The tears I had been fighting spilled over, streaming down my cheeks in warm rivulets. His mouth pressed against one cheek then the other, catching my tears as they fell, before pulling me back into his embrace. One hand ran comfortingly through my hair, the other curled protectively around my waist.

How many times had I thought of being back in the safety of his arms while we were apart? Just as many as I had been certain I would never be again; not as I had been taken further and further away from him.

“Breathe, Eva,” Bash said hoarsely. He held me as if he expected me to shatter in his arms, his fingers trailing up and down my spine. “Please, just breathe.”

He kept talking to me in low, soothing murmurs as I counted each breath. Holding me until I could breathe again.

It took a minute to get myself under control, my trembling surrendering to the reassurance of him. Distantly, I recognized that talking about what happened was helping even as it hurt. Like sharing the burden had lessened its hold on me.

I cleared my throat. “When we reached Soleara, they used my blood to open the door. Seeing the castle…it triggered more memories from before my parents fled. Of when we were happy here.”

Bash winced. “I wish you’d been able to return here under happier circumstances.”

I nodded, sucking in my lips. Trying to find the words for what had happened next.

Bash seemed to sense my trepidation. “If you’re not ready to talk about what happened, you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s…cathartic to talk about.” I took a deep inhale, breathing him in, that familiar scent grounding.

“Good,” he said softly. “Then keep going.”

In a broken whisper, I told him how I fought Aviel off, and why he had removed the band. What he had hoped Bash would feel through the very bond he sought to break.

Bash’s mouth had set in a thin line. “Sensing your terror in that moment, knowing I couldn’t do anything to stop it, was…” He swallowed, like he couldn’t put words to it. “But I also felt your resolve. Your unimaginable bravery. And even if you hadn’t been able to stop him, I’m glad I would’ve been able to be with you in at least that way. To be there through our bond when I should’ve been there to stop him from touching you in the first place.”

My heart lurched painfully, the memory of his helplessness mixing with my own. “He didn’t rape me.” My voice broke as I envisioned what he had done, my hand reaching up to unthinkingly touch the bite mark on my shoulder.

“He did enough.” Bash’s eyes darkened with shadows as they formed a shield around us. His fingers trailed down the bruises marring my skin as if making note of each one to seek vengeance for, his icy rage seeping down our bond at what he hadn’t been able to stop.

“I should’ve killed him,” I said, my voice shaking. “Once again, if I’d only been faster, I could’ve stopped him, and this would all be over. I should’ve?—”

“We’ll stop him together, hellion,” Bash murmured. “That’s not your burden alone.”

Shaking my head, I took his hand. A small tendril of darkness trailed between his fingers, looping around mine like they could bind him to me forever.

“I missed you,” I said, my voice splintering. “Every second, I missed you.”

His lips parted. Then he gently pressed them to mine, the kiss so heartfelt it stole my breath away.

“I’ve never felt more helpless.” Bash’s eyes grew haunted, a line forming between his brows. “Every second you were away from me, I just kept seeing my father’s face when the False King killed him...when Aviel killed him. And then my mother, who I couldn’t save either. I couldn’t save either of them. And when it comes to you, Eva—” He sucked in a ragged breath. “If something happened to you too…”

His latent grief nearly cracked my heart in two.

Bash shook his head, the shadows in his eyes having nothing to do with his magic. “But this isn’t about me. Not after what you went through.”

“No, this goes both ways,” I said firmly. “My ordeal doesn’t diminish yours, nor are your feelings any less valid.” My lips brushed his in a too brief kiss as the catching sensation in my chest faded away. “But I’m okay. I’m safe. And all I need is you.”

His eyes guttered, swirling darkly as he stared at the bruises around my throat. “I wish I could swear to you that he would never take you from me again, but I’ve already failed you in that particular promise. And I won’t make you another that I can’t keep.” He touched my cheek, then lowered his hand to my neck, hovering over the bite mark there. “You saved us—our friends, our family—and endured everything after that with unflinching courage.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen me in that iron?—”

Bash was already shaking his head. “Especially then. Because even when you lost hope, you found a way back to it again. Then managed to survive him despite your lack of reinforcement…plus some rather impressive pickpocketing.” He bent his head in the slightest of bows. “I am so very unworthy of you, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be.”

“You are worthy, Bash,” I said fiercely. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. That’s on him, and only him.”

He pulled me closer, as if reminding himself I was still there. I could feel his guilt like acid as he buried his face into the crook of my neck. How much he blamed himself for not being able to protect me. How much it killed him that he hadn’t.

“I hate that I couldn’t save you,” Bash said, his voice guttural. “I hate that I left you with him again.”

Taking his face in my hands to make him look at me, I found his irises once again a slate gray. His shadows had trickled around us like they had also needed to hold me, their wispy strands twisting around me. With an exhale, I let my darkness join them, swirling together in dusky shades across our skin.

“You never left me.” I brushed my lips against his, feeling a hint of his tension melting away. “Besides,” I added with a grim smile, “you can be right alongside me when we finally end him.”

Bash leaned back, tracing the dimple that had appeared on my cheek with his thumb. Stopping only as my smile faded at the undercurrent of self-reproach still coursing down our bond.

“Tell me something true,” I said in a half-teasing whisper, determined to erase the bleakness from his face.

A hint of a smile curved his lips. “Something no one else knows? I have no more secrets from you. And I plan to keep it that way.”

Slowly, I kissed a trail along his stubbled jaw, snaking my arms around his neck as I reached the corner of his mouth. His lips met mine far too fleetingly, his kiss both promise and apology.

I needed more. Needed him to erase the feeling of another’s hands on me. To remember what it felt like to be safe and wanted. To hear him breathe my name against my skin as we lost ourselves in each other.

“ Eva ,” he groaned, pulling away as his eyes flicked over me. I could feel his hesitancy, his need to make sure I was okay, warring with his desire to follow through with what we both wanted.

“Please,” I whispered, knowing he wouldn’t deny me this—wouldn’t deny me anything. “I don’t want you to be careful with me.”

There was always something so intoxicating about the way Bash looked at me, like he would never be able to get enough of me. Like I was everything he ever wanted, and he was realizing all over again that I was his.

“You say the word, and we stop,” Bash murmured. “No questions asked.”

“Stop treating me like I’m made of glass. I’m not. I want this. I want you .”

“I don’t deserve you,” Bash breathed, his eyes raking over the still healing marks that would no doubt leave fresh scars. But his gaze darkened as it lowered, the mix of lust and protective fury surging across our bond leaving me breathless.

“You’ve always been worthy of me,” I said softly. “And I’ve always been yours.”

Bash’s eyes flashed, the last of his restraint escaping him in a breath. Then he kissed me, soft and slow, gathering me against him. And it felt like coming home.

I pressed my body into his, desperate to erase any space left between us until there were no boundaries between where he ended and I began. His tongue nudged inside my mouth, possessive and thorough. My back arched as his teeth found my earlobe, his hand tightening in my hair.

“Always,” he whispered into my ear. “And forever. Promise me.”

“Yes,” I moaned, not caring about anything else but him as I curled my fingers into his back to pull him closer.

Bash captured my chin in his hand, his thumb tracing my lower lip—and when my tongue flitted out to lick it, his mouth replaced it with a growl. His kiss was starved, yet achingly tender, like despite my insistence, he was still holding himself back. I moaned into his mouth, and he tilted my head to the side, taking me deeper, kissing me as if he could fit everything he felt for me into it all at once.

There was too much clothing between us. I pulled away despite every cell in my body screaming to do the opposite, moving to stand between his legs as I tugged my dress over my head. Then watched Bash take in every last one of my remaining marks, every fading cut and bruise left over after Quinn’s ministrations—the fact they still remained evidence enough of what I had endured. His eyes flashed murderously, a vortex of whirling gray that matched the shadows that reached out to me, carefully curling around my arms, my legs, my torso. They trailed lightly along each abrasion, as if creating their own list of all the ways that Aviel had harmed me so they might enact a precise form of vengeance when the time came.

“I’m okay,” I said again. “And I need?—”

I gasped, arching into that shadowy touch as they moved lower.

“I know exactly what you need, hellion.”

Bash pulled me closer, his mouth tracing the same path as his shadows across my stomach, mapping out every bruise on my skin as I writhed under his touch. His tongue grazed my breast, and I sucked in a loud breath before letting it out in a moan as his hand slipped between my legs, lightly teasing me in a way that was almost unbearable. Those soft, deliberate brushes against that sensitive nub of nerves had my core clenching with need, an impatient whine leaving my throat as Bash took his time playing with me.

His eyes flicked up to mine as I reached for the ties on his pants, but he didn’t object when I eased them down—as starved for him as I could plainly see he was for me. I trailed my hand over the impressive bulge straining to get free—and smirked at his ensuing groan.

“You’re still wearing far too many clothes,” I chided him.

I barely pulled up his shirt before he tore it off in one quick motion. When I yanked down his undershorts and curled my hand around his cock, he made a desperate noise in the back of his throat, his length twitching in my hand. Straddling him, I slowly pumped my fist up and down between us, twisting my wrist so my palm brushed against his sensitive head.

“Tease,” he murmured.

“You started it,” I said breathlessly.

He gently moved me onto my back, leaning over me before quickly moving to my side. My chest ached at the reason why.

“I’m okay,” I whispered. “Don’t stop.”

He flashed me that crooked smile, then he kissed leisurely down my chest, humming appreciatively under his breath. I shivered at the ghost of his lips on my skin.

I needed more.

As if reading my mind, his shadows slid teasingly against my clit before wrapping around my thighs, spreading them wider—my low moan of need earning me another sinful half-grin.

“It’s been far too long since I’ve tasted you, hellion,” he whispered against my navel.

A spark of heat shot down our bond, an ache settling into my core as our desires merged into one.

“Is that so?” I managed to gasp as he nipped at my inner thigh.

“And that won’t do.”

A fog of lust clouded my mind as his hand trailed down my slick warmth, his fingers skillfully taunting and teasing, his lips and tongue following their path. By the time his mouth reached me, I could barely remember my own name, his tongue robbing me of every thought except my own need for him. More shadows drifted up my stomach, and I let out a gasp as they flitted across one nipple, then the other. His fingers busied themselves inside me in a steady, torturous rhythm.

When I came, my helpless cries of pleasure rang through the room, my fingers twisting in his hair as my back arched off the bed. Bash’s name fell from my lips, and his answering groan vibrated up through my body as I splintered apart yet again. I couldn’t tell where one climax ended and the next began as his tongue continued wreaking havoc on me until I was limp and shaking.

My head fell back against the pillow. When my eyes opened, a slow smirk had stretched across Bash’s face—full of pure, male arrogance. I gazed up at him, still coming back to my body from whatever realm I had ascended to.

“What do you want, my queen? You’re in charge here.”

The velvety suggestion in his voice already had me panting for more.Sensing my need, he lowered himself over me. I wrapped my legs around him, tugging him closer.

“Please,” I managed to say. “Please, Bash. I need you inside me.”

“Hellion…” He groaned against my lips. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Bash’s cock slid against me, and I whimpered. His hand moved up from my breast before it wrapped gently behind my neck, holding me there like he wanted to spend the rest of his life memorizing every inch of my mouth.

“ Eva ,” he rasped as I canted my hips against his, desperate for more. “You’re too hurt for all the things I want to do to you.”

“I don’t care,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the thick length of him, angling him at my entrance. “I won’t break. And I need you not to be gentle with me.”

I could feel my arousal slicken at the way he groaned my name and sense the way his control was fraying exactly the way I wanted it to, his need for me mirroring my own. He settled between my thighs, the head of his cock nudging against me.

His tongue slipped in between my parted lips at the same time he slid all the way in, his first thrust mind-meltingly slow. Everything inside me pulled taut as he filled me to the hilt, my core clenching around him as I adjusted to the sudden fullness.

Bash took his time, moving tantalizingly slowly as he rolled his hips in a leisurely thrust. His shadows made me gasp as they brushed teasingly down my body, making heat prickle through every part of me. I returned the favor as I bit on the lobe of his pointed ear, his gasp turning into a groan as I moved under him.

There was something about the way his eyes kept finding mine. The deliberate way his hands savored the curves of my body paired with the care in which he did so. The loving way his mouth, his shadows, brushed against every inch of me. The perfect way we fit together—this joining echoing the love streaming so freely down our bond I couldn’t tell where his ended and mine began.

Bash panted against my lips, our breaths mingling as he sighed, “Gods, I love you.”

He was buried so deeply inside me that for one precious moment, we felt like one. Then he kissed my neck exactly where Aviel had bitten me, his lips achingly gentle against the still healing wound.

“You’re mine,” Bash growled, as his lips tracked a trail down my chest, his teeth grazing my nipple. The tiny sting made me gasp, my head falling back as he sucked and teased me, each accompanying movement inside me bringing me closer to the brink.

“Yes,” I panted, barely able to form words as I edged closer to that familiar tipping point. “ Bash .”

“Say it,” he demanded as he thrust back into me, his hands tilting my hips to somehow reach an even deeper angle.

“I’m yours,” I gasped. “And you’re mine.”

A smile flirted with the corner of his lips. Then his shadows dipped between my thighs, sliding over my clit. And I lost myself—clenching around him as I came, pulling him right along with me.

He collapsed beside me, pressing kisses against my neck, my cheeks, my lips. One arm was draped around me, his fingers curling against my ribs. He gently traced the mottled bruises down my arm with his fingertips before his lips ghosted along the same path.

“I never want to be apart from you again,” I said earnestly, willing it to be true from now on. “I needed?—”

“I know,” Bash said, his gaze half-lidded as his stormy eyes met mine, swirling leisurely in contentment. “I always need you.”

His lips moved to my stomach, working his way up my midline. “I’m going to need verbal confirmation that you’re never going to give yourself up for me ever again, hellion,” he murmured between kisses, though his words held a bit of an edge to them.

“Whatever you say, freckles,” I said, squirming as he kissed his way up between my breasts.

His lips formed a sly smile as he reached my face. “Or should I stick with ‘my queen’?”

“Not unless you want me calling you ‘my king’.”

He made a face, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He kissed me hungrily, as if to capture the sound.

“Your Majesty?” I asked, teasingly.

“It seems more appropriate for you , considering all I want to do in front of you is get on my knees.”

I could feel a blush heating my cheeks despite everything we had just done. His eyes danced in delight, those blue and green swirls mesmerizing. But laughing about titles…

Bash raised an eyebrow in concern as my face fell.

“High Queen,” I said with a swallow. “This is all because I’m supposedly fated to be High Queen. But why would the people of Agadot even accept me?” I shook my head, a strand of hair that had freed itself from my braid falling across my face. “I didn’t even know this realm existed a month ago. And, somehow, I’m destined to lead it?”

“They’ll accept you because of who you are and who you’ve proven yourself to be,” Bash said, suddenly serious. His finger gently twirled into the curl of my hair, wrapping it around his finger before tucking it behind my ear. “Though most will accept whomever the Choosing decrees, since that’s the will of the realm itself. Especially once they learn the truth behind their so-called savior’s identity. But I don’t doubt they’ll fall in love with you as easily as I did. Not when you’re fighting to create a world for them that’s far better than what it is now.”

“I don’t want to fight forever though, Bash,” I whispered, suddenly feeling exhausted at what lay before us and the battles I knew we would have to face. “I want to live to see this realm at peace again. To see what it was like before this endless war and explore it all together. I want to live in a world where people can laugh freely. Where they can play music and read and dance and fall in love.”

Bash nodded solemnly. “One day, we’ll make that world together.”

And we could, I realized. If I lived to become High Queen.

As I pulled away, Bash tensed, sitting up as I got to my feet. I found myself momentarily distracted by the way his abs rippled as he did so. Shaking my head, I walked toward the bathroom, asking over my shoulder, “And if I follow my mother’s footsteps in creating a more representative form of government?”

His eyes raised from where they had fixed on my ass, finding mine. Then the right side of his mouth tilted upwards, the left slowly following just after, as always, in that crooked smile that I would never get enough of. “Then I look forward to helping you establish the new world order.”

When I returned, I barely yawned before Bash tucked me into his side, pulling the blankets over us. His arms wrapped around me, and I felt my eyelids droop as I relaxed into that feeling of safety. I was almost too warm as his body heat enveloped me, but I refused to move a single inch.

Pressing my face against his chest, I listened to his heartbeat under my ear—in sync with mine, beat for beat.