Chapter 31 #2
Valen’s eyes dart to the side. “Weirdly, I don’t have footage of her being killed. But the others, I do. I’m just assuming he blocked the camera for her, his first victim.”
“But if they didn’t care that he did it, or even would cover it up, why? Why did he do it?”
He grows very quiet, contemplative. “The person wearing a cloak, the one who I think has been watching me, and I followed them in the woods. He or…she pointed out Reggie wandering around the cottages.”
“So what are you saying?” I ask.
“What if someone actually did want to make sure he got caught? What if there was someone trying to undermine his efforts?”
A shadow passes over his face—like this weight he carries has become a part of him.
He’s watched these men for so long and has pocketed away their crimes, knowing no one else would pay attention.
But then his eyes find mine again, and something shifts.
His expression softens, the darkness receding for just a moment.
It reminds me of the moment at the bar with Elliot saying he didn’t care if he lived or died…before he met me.
“Enough of that for tonight,” he says, squeezing me tighter. “I don’t want to think about him anymore.”
“Me neither,” I whisper as I lean into his chest.
He lets out a soft, rueful laugh. “You know, when you’re mad at me, it’s like I can feel it in the air.”
I give him a teasing smirk. “Oh? And when I’m not mad?”
His lips tilt into a faint, almost boyish smile. “Then it’s like the sun’s finally come out after years of rain.”
I laugh lightly, warmth flooding through me. “I think I’ve forgiven you.”
“Have you?”
My hand finds his, bringing it to my lips, kissing each knuckle. “Because you saved me.”
He smiles as his eyes lock onto mine. “I was only returning the favor. Life before you? It was nothing.”
The tension between us shifts, like a heartbeat quickening. His hand slips to my waist, pulling me closer.
“You’re mine, Monarch,” he says, low and firm. “All of you. Even the parts that hate me.”
Humming a breath out, I whisper, “I don’t hate you. And you’re mine, Valen. Both sides of you.”
He leans in, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Then prove it.”
A shiver rolls down my spine. “How?”
“Come with me.” He takes my hand and leads me to the bed, his fingers warm and sure. “Let me show you how real this is.”
His hands on my waist, his breath hot on my ear, it’s so different from the violence and betrayal that’s haunted us. I let the memories of Blackwell fade, let the pain wash away.
Even as the truth crashes over me, his touch steadies me. My anger fades into longing—because I know, somehow, my soul has always belonged to him. And I want Valen and Elliot and Vanq, no matter how dangerous.
Ivy and soft, faded sheets cover the bed. A faint scent of roses from the overgrown indoor garden drifts through the cracks in the floor, mixing with the smoke from the candles as they dance around us.
Valen lowers me onto the bed like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he doesn’t hold me close enough.
“Ride me,” he whispers against my lips. “I want to watch you and for you to see all of me.”
Slowly, I peel off and toss my dress to the floor as he watches my every move.
Then, he mimics me by shedding his sports coat and his button-up shirt underneath in a hurry.
I undo the bands of my garter belt and let it slip off.
He then joins me by unbuckling and throwing his trousers across the room.
I giggle as I undo my bra, letting my breasts free, and he smiles, maintaining his gaze on my eyes, then letting them trail over my whole body.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous.”
If I doubted how he felt about me when he told me that he loved me, the look on his face now is full of honesty. I’ve never felt insecure with Valen.
As I hook a finger into my thong and shimmy it off my hips, he shoves his boxer briefs off, and I behold his firm erection. For someone inexperienced, he certainly knows how to please me.
We kneel, facing each other on the bed, the air between us softened with sweetness.
He presses his lips to mine, gently at first, tasting me like I’m a secret he’s kept for too long.
My hands roam over the hard lines of his shoulders, the curve of his throat.
His skin is warm, and the steady beat of his heart grounds me.
He cups my ass, not in a lewd way, but as if it belongs to him.
I’m pulled straight back to our first kiss—when I pressed Elliot against the tree, breathless and undone. That moment had consumed me. And now…I’m still lost for this man. Especially knowing he’s both of them. One and the same.
When the kiss deepens, his lips parting, tongue slick against mine, it feels like our souls are caught in a private heaven. Just us. Nothing else exists.
“Valen…” I whisper, breath hitching as he shifts to lie below me, guiding me over his length until I settle onto him with a slow, teasing glide.
“I’m here.” His voice roughens with something that echoes reverence. “I’m yours.”
Every movement is tender, every sigh a confession. He reaches up to hold my face with both hands. When I lean in, his lips brush my cheek, my jaw, the soft skin below my ear. I cling to his shoulders like I’ll never let go.
We move together in a rhythm that feels both frantic and unhurried. It’s as if we have all the time in the world, even knowing that we don’t.
Magic lies in the way his hips join mine. Our hearts beating against each other. Tiny breaths swapping between us…
I remember saying that love is for the safe.
But his love is dangerous.
And I accept it anyway.
When the orgasm hits, it’s with his name on my lips, my nails digging into his chest. And when he follows, it’s with a groan that sounds like prayer.
“Olivia…”
I lay my body on top of his, candles glowing around us. Despite the fact that he killed my ex. That he was sent to kill my father. And I’m supposed to kill him.
I’ve never felt more comforted. Even if he’s the blade at my throat, the darkness that has become my light, I think I could love him, too.
He must blow out the candles, because I only know that I’ve fallen asleep in his arms. For once, I don’t feel hunted. For once, I am safe.
I wake to the faint glow of dawn seeping through the broken windows. My body aches in the sweetest way, the memory of his touch lingering like a brand on my skin. The bed squeaks as I roll over and look around for Valen, but he’s not here.
On the dining table near the foot of the bed, a red envelope perches against a wineglass. Valen’s sharp, deliberate hand has scrawled my name across the front. Wrapping the sheet around me, I snag the paper and open it. In addition to the card, a note with a poem falls out.
I’ve watched you slice through flame and night,
A whispered vow kept out of sight.
For every sin I carved alone,
Your name lit fire inside my bones.
So if I burn or if I break—
It’s still your hand I choose to take.
When I slide the heavy paper out of the sleeve, my heart stutters…
Inside is an invitation—my name is inscribed alongside his.
Olivia Marie Cardell has been appointed to
Valen Elliot Von Dovish
Your Culling Ceremony Shall Take Place in
The Cathedral of Seven Moons
Tears blur my vision, the words swimming. How? Who did this? Did he?
It’s not an official letter. There’s no seal or signature, but I wouldn’t expect there to be, given that the president has ordered me to kill him. And him to kill my father. But…Valen must’ve written it. Has my father agreed to this?
A noise downstairs makes me freeze, the paper trembling in my hands. I drop the sheet and throw on his discarded black T-shirt, then scurry toward the hall, my bare feet silent on the cold stone floor.
In the old kitchens, Valen’s sculpted back is to me in front of an ancient wood stove.
No mask, no games. Just him, with a Delta branding on his shoulder, sandy hair tousled, shirtless, and showcasing some impressive muscles as he stirs something in a pot.
The scent of coffee and wood smoke mixes with the mist of the morning air, grounding me.
He turns at my footsteps, a smile softening the lines of his face. Elliot’s cute dimples deepen as he scans my frame. “Morning, my Monarch. I love that shirt on you.” Not-so-subtly, he reaches down to adjust himself in his sweatpants.
I hold up the invitation, my voice shaking. “What does this mean?”
He doesn’t look away, doesn’t flinch. “It means I’ve figured out how to end it. How to end everything.”
I swallow, my mouth dry. “How?”
Valen sets the spoon down, wiping his hands on a rag. With sure steps, he walks toward me, gathering my waist in his arms. “Your father and I made an arrangement. One that will make you mine. Officially…”
My breath catches as my heart trips over itself. “Appointed?” I whisper.
“And, well, married.”
He nods, pulling something from his pocket—a small silver pin, the Delta crest glints in the morning light. “It’s a silly thing. A symbol, nothing more,” he says, but his voice is tender as he kneels in front of me, pinning it to the fabric near my breast.
The tears rush to me before I can stop them, hot and sudden. Whenever I’d imagine who I would be appointed to, he was none of those visions. But now…
He’s everything I could ever want.
“Don’t cry,” he says as his thumbs brush them away. “This is what I’ve wanted from the start. You. Me. Together forever. And no more masks.”
He presses his lips to mine, and I savor every morsel of his kiss, deepening it and wrapping my arms around his firm figure.
“Valen…” Blinking at him through wet lashes, I’m warmed by the sight of his own eyes tearing up. And that sensation of falling into him becomes less of an abstract thought and more of a reality.
I swallow hard, my fingertips tracing the pin. “But what do you mean…about ending everything?”
His eyes glint with something I can’t name—something dark and resolute. With a graze of his lips against my ear, he leans in and whispers, “We’re going to kill the president.”