He took my extended arm by the wrist and prowled to my side, pressing his thumb against my pulse. “If I try to help you, are you going to fight me?” His grip tightened as he leaned down to my ear, his gravelly voice dropping low. “Or will you be a good girl for me again and obey?”
My breath hitched. Suddenly, I could feel every piece of clothing on my body, all at once too tight and too loose, its friction maddening against my tingling skin.
“Depends,” I said, a little huskily. “I seem to recall you enjoying yourself the last time I had a knife to your throat.” My eyes drifted to his. “So which do you really prefer?”
A rumbling tempest of want brewed in his gaze, and just like that, Luther and I were back to our dangerous game. Only this time, I was no longer afraid to play.
“Close your eyes,” he growled—an order, not a request. I let my stare linger defiantly for a moment before giving in.
He continued to circle his thumb across the sensitive skin of my wrist as a warm sensation grew at my chest, and I realized his other hand was hovering just over my skin.
“May I touch you?” he murmured with a featherlight brush just above the low neckline of my dress. “Here?”
I squeezed my thighs together and nodded my consent. A moment later, his large, warm hand pressed firmly against my heart—the mirror to the smooth patch of skin on his own chest that had been spared from his scar’s path. “This is where you’re strongest. Imagine your magic gathering here first.”
It was a struggle to think beyond his touch—the skim of his fingertips over the scar on my collarbone, the curve of my breast swelling into his palm as I breathed, and that thumb, that cursed thumb, still taunting me at my wrist—but, in a way, it seemed to help. All my burdens and fears dimmed and disappeared behind a heady, sinful haze that left my mind thinking only of his grip, his mouth, his body. His smile, his heart, his devotion. Everything he had come to mean to me.
And what I stood to lose if I let him walk away.
Please, I begged my godhood. Abandon me if you must, but not him. We have to save him.
A tingling sensation formed under Luther’s hand, and power buzzed beneath my skin as my magic moved to meet it. It crawled at first, then circled and swarmed, its pace growing increasingly intense.
“Do you feel it?” he asked, his breath tickling my neck, and I nodded again. “Good. Now imagine it expanding beyond your body. Let it surround you completely.”
The godhood pulsed eagerly at his words, a hunger to escape that reminded me of the first night I’d unleashed—how it had nearly consumed him. “What if I lose control and hurt someone?”
“You won’t.”
“You were worried I might at the ball.”
“The ball was different. There were strangers there, people there you had no fondness for. You care about everyone here, and your magic will not hurt those you love.” A long beat of silence passed. When he spoke again, his voice was rough. “It’s why I was able to come to your side after your father died. Even when you’d lost control, at your power’s most destructive, I dropped my shield, and it did me no harm.”
My eyes flew open. “Luther, you could have died.”
“A small price.”
“Your life is not a small price,” I hissed. “Not to me.”
His gaze seared into mine with equal passion. “I would have walked into the flaming heart of the sun itself,” he shot back. “If you are suffering, nothing will keep me from coming to your aid. Least of all something as trivial as death.”
I clenched my teeth. “Don’t you ever r—”
The hand on my chest slid up my throat and cupped beneath my jaw. “Look,” he demanded, turning my face forward.
My eyes finally broke from his and grew large at what I saw. A shimmering dome had formed around us, nearly invisible save for the translucent swirls that danced along its edge like silvery rainbows on a bubble of soap.
“Test it,” Luther commanded to Taran and Alixe.
They both flicked a hand toward us, conjuring a volley of barbs that crashed against the shield’s border and dissolved harmlessly into mist.
A quiet, pestering thought in the back of my mind noted that this looked and felt nothing like when I’d survived the Descended man’s attack in the alley, though it was quickly drowned out by my excitement.
“You’re not doing this?” I said incredulously.
Luther shook his head, his face shining with pride. “You and you alone, my Queen.”
To prove his point, he dropped his hands from me and took a step back, and to my surprise, the shield held firm.
He continued to retreat until he reached its edge. As he tried to move through it, the dome thickened and turned opaque where it connected with his body, halting him in place. His muscles pulled taut as he fought, and he failed, to break through.
“Having some trouble, cousin?” Taran teased.
I smirked. “Is this enough to convince you not to do anything rash, like marrying an awful person who doesn’t deserve you?”
Luther lowered his chin, his smoldering stare firing back the response I knew he wanted to say aloud. He let it go, his features smoothing instead into amusement. “I knew all it would take is the right incentive.”
“Hold on, you can’t take all the credit,” Taran interjected. “I’m the one who told her what was holding her back.”
“Technically, that was Teller.” I winked at my brother, who grinned back. “You know, I asked Teller and Lily to be my advisors when they’re done with school.” I eyed Luther and Taran with a disapproving shake of my head. “You two really need to work harder if you want to make the cut.”
Taran pouted. “What about Alixe?”
“Good point.” I cocked my head at Alixe. “You’ve been a de facto advisor for some time, but I suppose we should formalize it.”
“Oh, come on,” Taran moaned.
Alixe gave a low, respectful nod. “I’m here to serve however you need me, Your Majesty.”
I dropped my shield and walked to stand in front of her. “Alixe Corbois, do you agree to serve as a loyal advisor to me on all matters related to the defense of this realm and its people—all its people?”
She beat a fist to her chest and bowed. “It would be my honor.”
“Fantastic! Welcome to my Council.”
“I can advise,” Taran muttered. “I know things.”
“You’ll get there,” Lily soothed, giving Taran an encouraging pat on the arm. “I believe in you.”
“Thanks, Lil.” She squeaked as Taran hauled her into his side for a hug.
“Well?” I asked, turning to Luther. “Have you seen enough?”
He crossed his arms and looked me over. “I’d be happier if I could see you attack. Your shield is strong, but shielding drains your power quickly.”
Lily groaned. “We’re hungry, brother. Let the Queen and her subjects eat.” She gave a savage, entirely un-Lily-like grin. “You can let Diem overpower you again later, if you really insist.”
Taran threw his head back and roared a laugh, and even Luther cracked an affectionate smile in his sister’s direction. “Fine,” he agreed. “That’s enough.”