40. Kian
KIAN
Gods, she was beautiful. And fucking adorable to boot. I was about to become a plant geek just to understand what had her so captivated at each and every turn.
It was as if she followed some trail that only she could see. The expressions she made as she examined the different flowers, shrubs, and fallen leaves were hilarious and endearing. But when she tugged her lip between her teeth to explore a specific bloom, I nearly groaned.
I swore I could still smell her need. The echoes of her breathy, little moans played in my ears even now. And the image? Her back arched, those dusky, little nipples peeking out of the water? It would haunt me for the rest of my days.
“You okay over there?” Pax asked, amusement lacing his tone. “You look like you’re having a stroke.”
I flipped him off. “Maybe you should worry about your King.”
A flicker of genuine concern flashed across Pax’s face as he glanced behind us to where Rhys was making sure the horses got water. “This wasn’t what he expected for his future.”
Damn it all to hades. I felt a flicker of sympathy for the asshole. I couldn’t imagine losing one of my parents the way he had. I didn’t have siblings, but I had lost my best friend growing up, and Rae’s disappearance had fundamentally changed me.
I had no idea what had gone down between Mikel Morningstar and Rhys’s father in those woods.
Mikel had sworn the killing of the girl had been an accident.
That one of his men had thought her a doe in the trees.
Supposedly, the Firelight King had lost his mind in a fit of rage and attacked.
But knowing the hatred that lived in Mikel, I was starting to have my doubts.
I glanced at Pax. “He’s had a decade and a half to come to terms with his future. That’s not enough time?”
Pax’s mouth thinned into a hard line. “He never saw her.”
“What?” Shock rocketed through me. He’d kidnapped Rae, installed her with a new family, and simply…left?
“He left me with her. I kept watch, made sure she was taken care of. And she was. But he…couldn’t handle it. Not to mention that hunting parties from Lumaria were combing Earth, looking for him.”
I remembered those hunting parties. Countless Luminary raiding parties had ridden out. And there was a time when we’d all wondered if there would be war between the Luminaries and the Nocturnae.
The breeze shifted as Rae bent to examine a flower, pure wonder on her face. All of this was new to her. Even if all her memories returned, they’d be faint, and it wasn’t as if she’d spent any time in the Firelight Kingdom.
As the wind picked up, I caught a scent. Something foreign. Something that definitely shouldn’t be there.
My body braced, my muscles turning to stone as I opened my mouth to shout for Rae. But it was too late. The figure moved, practically gliding out of the trees. A curse slid from my lips when I recognized him.
The long, white-blond hair. The countless scars. The cold rage.
I should’ve known the Cruel King would make a play for Rae. Fated to both Rhys and me, she would be the perfect bargaining chip. The ultimate power play.
He stared at her with a single-minded focus that had alarm bells going off in my head. Lifting my hand, I called a blade from the air. The wind picked up in response to my rage.
Each of the four Nocturnae kingdoms had an elemental affinity. The Firelight Kingdom held theirs in its name: fire. The Blood Moon Kingdom was earth. The Demilune Kingdom, water. My kingdom—Starlight—was air. And each leader had an especially strong affinity for their element.
So as I looked at Onyx Bellerose—Nyx, as he apparently preferred to be called—I wondered if the Cruel King would call on water today.
Nyx’s gaze snapped to me as he flicked a hand in the air, calling for his own sword. His was covered in ice—or perhaps made of it.
I moved faster than I had in years, meeting Nyx in a collision of steel and ice.
Rae let out a strangled sound as Pax grabbed her, moving her back and out of the fray.
I wouldn’t have trusted Rhys with a damn thing…
except Rae. Because, as much as he didn’t want to, he cared about her.
More than just keeping her alive. There were tiny little tells that gave him away.
Like knowing her favorite foods, the clothes she preferred.
“Unhand her, or I will make you bleed,” Nyx snarled, his ice blade nearly missing my carotid.
“So you can hold her hostage in return for land and resources? Force us to be your puppets? No thanks.” I twisted my body so I could kick to the side, striking Nyx right in the ribs.
He grunted as he stumbled back a few steps but quickly righted himself and went on the offensive again. He was smarter this time, feinting left but striking right. His sword caught me at the waist in a slice that had a howl of pain leaving my lips.
But I didn’t let him stop me. I twisted out of his path, raking my blade across the back of his knee. Any normal person or magical creature would have let out a sound of pain. Not Nyx. Not with what he’d survived. He didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he whirled to bring his blade across my neck. Rae let out a shout of warning, but I’d already seen the blow coming. I swung my sword up and blocked the hit.
We moved then, picking up speed in a potentially lethal dance of blows. One more spin, and we both froze.
We’d each seen an opening at the exact same time. There was just one problem: It left us both exposed.
My steel blade pressed to Nyx’s jugular. His ice sword pressed to mine.
An impasse. Too evenly matched.
“I won’t let you have her,” I growled low in my throat.
There was no reaction whatsoever in Nyx’s expression. No fear. No rage. Nothing. “Then you’ll have to die because she’s my fated.”
I knew my face gave everything away then, but only two words escaped my mouth. “Oh fuck.”