the base of his neck and skid. My left knee buckles, but I hold my arms out for balance and rapidly navigate the spikes of his back against the will of the wind and rain. “Mira?” I settle into the saddle and breathe a little easier once I’m buckled in and my goggles are in place. This is how we’re meant to face combat. Together. “She lives,” he

“Had she not agreed, she would still be in Aretia, and your Dark One would be walking.” Excellent point. “Theophanie took Mira because of me. I’m the reason she’s going through this.” “You

“Harder. Rougher. I can do that.” I nod, then reach into my Archives and yank a strand of Tairn’s power loose. “I’m sure you can, considering who you’re sleeping with,” Ridoc teases.

“My heart beats for her,” he tells Mira without so much as flinching. “I reached for unspeakable power. I turned. I’m the dark wielder she warned your father about, not Violet. Stop treating her like she’s a liability. I’m already the problem.” Oh fuck. Mira’s eyes sharpen on him, then me. “He’s not serious.” “He is,” I confess, my voice barely a

Xaden holds me at night, wrapping his arms and his mind around me.

“I love you more than this city. Do not die defending it.” He crushes his mouth to mine and kisses me quick and fierce.

I exist for Tairn, but I live for Xaden.

“You are every fantasy I’ll ever have.” His lips brush the shell of my ear, and I shiver.

“I keep waiting for it to wear off,” I mutter as he palms my lower back and tugs me toward him. “What?” he asks, sitting in the armchair and lifting me into his lap. My knees bracket his muscled hips, and my heart flutters impossibly fast. “The complete awe I feel when I remember that you’re mine.” I stroke my hands over his shoulders and down his