24. Forward
~ YILAN ~
Melek slept before I did. It took some time for my body to relax. I used that hour to drink in the sight of him and to reach Diadre through the link, that pinch of grief coming again that I couldn’t do the same with Melek.
‘I need clothes for him. No later than sunset.’
‘I take it things have gone well?’
‘Between us? Yes. But the bigger picture is… extremely foggy.’
‘I can’t wait to know the man who has befuddled my very capable Queen,’ my friend sent easily.
‘You’ll get your chance. Pray for us. This is going to be a nightmare.’
‘I’m sure between the two of you, you’ll figure it out. And the rest will follow.’
‘He is insisting that the people have a chance to see him handle himself before we acknowledge the bond—he says it’s the only way they’ll trust him.’
There was a heavy pause from Diadre that made my stomach drop. But I should have known she’d see clearly.
‘A man who values his own character? Among the Nephilim? He must be a gift from God!’
I smirked, but stifled the giggle because I didn’t want to wake the man in question.
My heart did throb with a new rush of love for him, though.
He must have felt it because he stirred and pulled me harder against his side.
I lay my hand on his chest and stayed still until his breathing evened out again.
‘We need the clothing, Diadre. And it needs to be… things that will not humble him. I need them to see his strength.’
‘Don’t worry. It’s handled. I’ll make sure there’s at least one set outside the door before sunset.’
‘Thank you, my friend.’
‘You can show your gratitude by introducing me to his brother, if he has one.’
I blinked… I didn’t know if Melek had siblings. We’d never spoken of it. How was it possible I knew so little of his family? But then I remembered, his mother had died after giving birth to him. A plight he said was shared by most Nephilim.
God, it made me sick.
‘He doesn’t. But trust me, you don’t want one of these brutes anyway. They’re stubborn as oxen and they eat like horses.’
‘All the cattle references lead me to believe there might also be advantages?’
I could feel my cheeks heating and caught myself pressing my thighs tighter together. I spluttered and almost woke Melek again, but she was laughing through the bond.
‘Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m teasing…’
Even though I wasn’t afraid to talk about sex, somehow things with Melek felt different. More… sacred? I was eager to change the subject and grateful when Diadre took pity on me and shifted the conversation to strategy for introducing Melek to the people.
‘I think we’ll take him to Council first. They’re expecting me tomorrow morning. If you could have the wielders remove the hexes on the windows, he could fly us to the roof and we can take the servants stairs down so we avoid most eyes…’
We spoke a few more minutes, then I was grateful to let go of the link and just relax into Melek’s shoulder.
My heart trilled at the thought of having him with me in the Palace. Of sitting at his side at Council. Of sharing the privacy of my suite and—
Holy shit. How was I going to get him in my suite without a ruckus among the Court if no one knew he was my mate?
I muttered a curse under my breath and started picking apart the problem, looking for a solution—I was not putting Melek anywhere else in the Palace—as my eyelids grew heavy .
But there were too many details. Too many obstacles. Too many unknowns. I fell asleep without answers to tumble into endless dreams of Melek disappearing, being assassinated, leaving me because of the crown, and a dozen other nightmares…
…and woke to the ragged cry of my mate.
“Yilan— Love, what’s wrong?”
As my eyes dragged open, stinging and blurry, a massive hand clawed my hair back and I blinked until his handsome face came into focus, leaning over me, his forehead lined and his eyes searching mine.
“I… it was just a dream,” I croaked, then cleared my throat. “Did I wake you?”
“You were crying my name.”
I shuddered, turning to look at the rose-gold dawn seeping the windows and letting that warm glow chase back the dark images in my mind of Melek, his body bloodied and torn, but still crawling towards me, screaming at me to run, to get away, while he was pinned to the earth by spear after spear—
“Yilan!”
I startled and turned back to him, staring.
“Love, it was a dream.”
“I know,” I gasped. “I know. It just…”
“I’m here,” he whispered, the words wrenched from his throat. “I’m here and you’re here, and we’re both safe.”
His fingers trailed through my hair, combing it back, his gaze worried.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” I whispered, my voice hitching with tears I didn’t want to shed—it was just a dream!—but he nodded and cupped his hand over my head, pinning me to the bed as he took my mouth with a low rumble in his great chest.
I threw my arms around his neck, thanking God for those massive shoulders, the steel muscle, the warm skin, the soft velvet of his shaved hair on the sides of his scalp, and the thicker, silkier strands of his warrior’s length as I tangled my fingers into it and pulled him to me.
“You’re safe,” he breathed into my mouth.
I swallowed the words, then gasped back, “It’s you I was worried about,” as he pulled himself over me, settling between my thighs, his thick arousal already sliding against me, tantalizing and thrilling, despite my soreness from the night before .
But I didn’t care how sore I was, or that it was light.
I was still trembling from those nightmares of watching him die over and over.
So I filled my hands with his hair, his neck, his shoulders, his chest. I filled my eyes with the sight of him, healthy and strong, and when he filled me, I threw my head back and sobbed his name, thanking God that he could prove that this was real, and those dark images were nothing but a dream.