Epilogue #2
I widened my eyes meaningfully at her, hoping she would take the hint. She nodded, then looped her arm through her father’s. “Let’s grab some drinks, shall we, Father?”
Judas muttered a quick farewell before his daughter steered him away. I shot Eira a grateful look, vowing to catch up with her more thoroughly later. She had assured me they would remain in the Shadow Court for a few days, which would give us plenty of time.
I squeezed Varius’s hand. “Are you all right?”
He looked down at me, his eyes full of warmth. “Yes, dannahla . I am more than all right.” With his free hand, he cupped my chin and lowered his mouth to mine. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him fully, wrapping my arms around his neck and relishing the heat of his body against mine.
Hours later, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much as we greeted one guest after another. The square had transformed into a place of merriment and revelry. Drinks and refreshments had been brought out. The people were dancing and laughing and drinking.
I was chatting with Enzira and a few of her friends when I caught sight of Varius. He stood off to the side, having withdrawn from the crowd a while ago. His arms were folded over his chest as he watched the celebration. Despair darkened his features, and I knew where his thoughts had turned.
He was still haunted by what he’d done as a beast. He had buried the fallen soldiers himself, had even visited the grieving families, offering to provide for their needs as long as necessary.
My husband had worked tirelessly to make amends and serve his people as much as possible to atone for what he’d done.
But it would never be enough. It was a start, but nothing could erase the trauma of that night.
I squeezed Enzira’s arm and bid her farewell as I crossed the square to where Varius stood. When he noticed me coming his way, his expression warmed, though his eyes still remained heavy with grief.
“Dance with me,” I said.
His mouth quirked in a halfhearted smile. “Sybelle…”
“You are my husband, and I want to dance with you.” I lifted my chin.
His eyes heated as he recognized those exact words from the revel. His smile widened, revealing his fangs. With a long-suffering sigh, he took my hand in his and escorted me toward the throng of dancers.
Our bodies moved together, matching the rhythm of the music.
Varius’s hands felt hot on my waist, and my chest was flush against his.
The longer we danced, the more his body seemed to loosen, as if the weight of his thoughts and fears drifted away with each passing moment.
He even managed to twirl me in his arms, eliciting a surprised laugh from me.
My face flushed, my skin heating as I remembered our dance during the revel.
Stones, things had been so different back then.
Varius brought his mouth to my ear. “That crown looks magnificent on you.”
I suppressed a shiver as his breath caressed my skin. My grip tightened on his arms as our bodies swayed together. “Perhaps I’ll keep it on for every hour of the day.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “Even in bed.”
He growled, his fingers splaying along my back as his hips met mine. “You wear nothing but that crown tonight and I swear to worship every inch of your body. With my tongue.”
Liquid heat pooled between my thighs. My voice was slightly strained as I said, “That does seem like a service fit for a queen.”
His sultry gaze held mine, and my heartbeat quickened.
He leaned in, and I arched upward to meet him as he kissed me.
His tongue collided with mine, and a moan escaped me as his fangs gently caught my lower lip.
I gripped his tunic, drawing him closer as my hands roamed the hard planes of the exposed parts of his chest. Stones, I wanted him. I wanted all of him.
He broke the kiss with a gasp, then took my hand and steered me away from the square. I let out a soft yelp, glancing over my shoulder at the crowd. Eira was laughing alongside her father. She caught my eye and winked suggestively.
I couldn’t even process a response because I was hurrying to match Varius’s quick pace. He guided me toward an unfamiliar building. We stepped through the doors and made our way up a winding set of stairs that led to the roof.
“Varius, what—” I broke off with a startled cry as he scooped me into his arms, then started sprinting toward the edge of the roof. My heart jumped into my throat when he leapt over the edge. My stomach hollowed, and I crammed my eyes shut, waiting for us to plummet to the ground.
Varius’s wings snapped open, and we glided, the momentum of his jump carrying us over the square.
My eyes flew open, and I uttered a soft gasp as we floated over the myriad buildings spread below us.
It wasn’t quite like flying with Azure—her massive wings could lift us as high as the clouds.
Varius’s were only meant for gliding. And, thankfully, the Pern District rested on a hilltop, allowing us to fly freely toward Agnarr Castle.
I held my crown in place, afraid it would fall and be lost forever. When I looked up at Varius, I found him smirking down at me.
“That was terrifying ,” I said, slapping his chest with my free hand. “You could have warned me.”
“Ah, but where is the fun in that, dannahla ?” He flashed a wicked grin at me.
We coasted in the air until the hill leveled out. Varius gracefully landed on the road that led past the Noxen Forest. To my surprise, he didn’t lower me but kept me nestled in his arms.
“I can walk just fine,” I protested.
“This is faster,” he insisted, his grin downright feral as he broke into a run.
I squealed in surprise, huddling against his chest as he sprinted down the road and toward the castle.
My laughter was breathless, and he chuckled along with me, not even winded when we reached the entrance doors.
A pair of guards obediently pulled them open for us, and we made our way down the hall.
Varius turned the handle of the first door he could find.
The castle led us straight to our bedchamber. Even after the curse was broken, the sentient castle remained, which led us to believe the walls had always held magic; it had merely come alive with Jessinda’s spell.
It would also explain why the castle had refused to help Gerard, Jessinda’s son. The castle had been on our side. Not his.
And that was how it always would be.
Varius kicked the door shut and carried me to the bed before gently depositing me on the soft mattress. I kicked off my shoes and sat up to tug at the row of buttons holding my dress together.
With an impatient growl, Varius slid his claws through the fabric and ripped it in half.
I scoffed. “Was that really necessary?”
“The offensive fabric was impeding my devout worship of your body,” he said defensively, sliding the torn lace away from my arms and back.
I slid off his tunic, which was far easier to remove, since it was already open at the chest. My impatient fingers wriggled underneath the band of his kilt before tugging it down to reveal his hard length. My throat went dry at the sight of it.
Stones, I would never tire of this. I would never tire of him .
I was still surrounded by piles of fabric, but Varius made quick work of discarding the pieces of my dress on the floor, then hovering over me with a hungry look in his eyes.
“You’d better keep that crown on, too,” I whispered.
His eyes darkened as they roved over me. A low rumbling sound resonated in his throat. “As you wish, my queen.”
He brought his mouth to mine, his tongue sweeping over my lips.
He moved his mouth to my cheek and jawline, then my throat, sucking and nipping at my neck.
I moaned, arching into him, my fingers winding through his curls.
Still, his tongue moved lower, slipping between my breasts.
He captured one in his mouth, his fangs brushing against my hardened nipple.
Heat flooded my veins, setting my blood on fire.
My hips bucked, and I bit back a cry of ecstasy.
His hands were on my thighs, spreading them wide. He groaned at the moisture there, then dipped his head between my legs. With one long stroke of his tongue, I was completely undone. I jerked wildly, my eyes closing and my head rolling back.
“So delicious,” he murmured. “I could feast on you all night, dannahla .”
“Varius, please,” I rasped, then cried out when his tongue met my core again.
I writhed under him, urging him onward, and he obliged.
He thrust deeper, his long tongue reaching farther than I thought possible.
My head was spinning, pleasure coursing through me in violent waves.
Tension mounted within me, coiling tighter and tighter until I thought I might explode.
“I—I need you,” I panted. “Varius?—”
“Mmm,” he purred against me, then sucked on the tenderest parts of me. I let out a whimper, a plea. “So much to worship… I don’t think I’m quite finished, my queen.” His lips pressed into me, his tongue tracing circles as he licked and sucked.
When the edge of his fangs brushed against me, I shattered completely. My hips rolled, and I thrust against him. He continued to feast on me, chasing me over that edge, drawing out the sensations that fired through me.
He withdrew, his arms coming around me and sitting me atop his lap. He righted the crown, which had fallen sideways on my head. “Eyes on me, dannahla . I want to look at you when I come.”
My eyelids fluttered open, my body molten from his efforts. I didn’t have my diamond dagger this time, but we had conducted plenty of experiments in bed, both with and without the help of diamonds. It turned out my fae blood granted me more strength than I realized.
And my body was growing accustomed to fitting Varius’s length inside me.
He spread my legs again, and I wrapped them around his middle, my heels digging into his back.
“Take me, Shadow King,” I commanded.
He kissed me, hard and bruising, his fangs digging into my lip just before he plunged into me with a singular powerful thrust. I cried out, but he silenced me with his tongue, claiming my mouth again and again.
He slid out, then drove back into me, harder this time.
My fingernails dug into the skin of his back, and I buried my face in his shoulder.
“No,” he growled. “ Look at me.”
I leaned back, my eyes fixed on him. His pupils flared as he thrust again, a deep and rasping groan tearing from his throat.
He set a hard pace, pushing deeper and deeper, his hips lifting with each movement.
Still, I held his gaze, watching the way his eyes grew wilder.
Shadows poured around us, framing the bed like a curtain.
“Sybelle,” he moaned, slamming into me. The bed creaked loudly from our frantic movements.
The sound of his animalistic grunts mingled with our skin slapping together.
My legs tightened around him. He shifted, lifting me higher so he could bury himself at a sharper angle.
My throat was raw from my guttural cries.
He filled me so completely. The friction of his skin grinding against mine was so potent, so intoxicating. Stars danced in my vision, and my own shadows exploded around us, tinting the darkness with midnight blue.
Our powers collided, and I cried out his name. His teeth scraped my bare shoulder, my throat, before he drew back to look at me again, to pin me with that feral gaze. I felt him everywhere. Our bodies were one.
He pounded into me, holding nothing back.
I screamed again and again, unable to contain myself.
With one more violent thrust, he spilled inside me, his cock quivering from the force of it.
I followed soon after, my mind spiraling, my body dissolving from his touch.
I was nowhere and everywhere. Nothing and everything.
Time stopped. The world ceased to exist.
It was only me and Varius and the thrashing intensity that burned between us.
Varius shuddered against me, leaning his head against my shoulder as we caught our breath. My legs were still wrapped around him, our bodies slick with sweat.
Slowly, he lowered us down until we were reclined on the bed, still entangled in one another. Our crowns fell against the pillows, and we both chuckled.
“Are you all right?” he whispered, leaning back to look at me, his eyes full of concern. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
I smiled, tucking his sweaty hair behind his ear. “No. That was… perfection.”
He kissed me, long and slow, so unlike the desperate and wild kisses from before. This one was deliberate, as if we had all the time in the world.
And perhaps we did .
“You deserve nothing less than perfection,” he said against my lips. “My Shadow Queen.”
He rolled us so I lay atop him, my arms around his neck as he kissed me fully. Our legs were still intertwined, the sheets bunching around us. My sighs mingled with his deep voice as he murmured promises of the eternity we would spend together.
An eternity with my husband. My king.
My beautiful, monstrous dannahla .
If you want more steamy fairy tales, read Crown of Poison , a Snow White retelling about Sybelle’s friend, Princess Eira!