I press my cheek against his hand as every part of me is pulled towards his energy. “And you’re not.”
He laughs breathlessly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t care.”
Altair sweeps me into his arms, holding me tightly. I clutch at him, shoulders trembling. I don’t care if I’m vulnerable in this dream, I only care that I can be with Altair even if it’s only in my mind. He pulls away, his hands finding my cheeks. His gaze is intense, raw, and his eyes are rimmed with red.
And then his lips are on mine in a desperate kiss. I fall into him, urging his lips apart with my tongue. He nips at my lips and pleasure sweeps through me. I regret every time I rejected him, turned him away after I grew to know him. This should have been our relationship from the start after the curse was broken.
Altair leads me gently towards a nearby chaise and I let him drape me over it. I run my fingers through his hair, twisting his growing locks around my fingers. “Your hair,” I say against is lips, “Is growing so long.”
“You like it?” He asks, grinning.
I giggle. “It makes you look like a pirate.”
Altair leaves a trail of lava on my skin as he drags his lips towards the sensitive skin of my neck. “That sounds like a good look,” he purrs.
I shiver as he runs his tongue over my jugular and my core throbs with desire. I pull him tighter and he eases between my legs. Pleasure floods through my body as he rolls his hips against mine. I gasp, arching my back. His kisses grow wilder, more desperate. He pulls away long enough for our eyes to meet and I lose my breath staring into his animalistic gaze.
Tentatively, I trace one of his ears and he shudders violently. Altair bites his lip, groaning. I think back to the day he first told me about the sensitive ears of the Fae. If only I had taken advantage of it more often, I think wryly. I strain to kiss him, pulling him back into me.
We move together on the long chaise and I wish desperately that I wasn’t encumbered with this ragged night gown. Altair’s fingers trace the muscles of my neck down to my chest. I gasp softly when he cups my breast as if they were as precious as fragile gems. His tongue tangles with mine as the fire between us blazes like a wildfire. My nails dig into his back as his thumb grazes a stiff nipple.
My eyes fly open and I take short, desperate breaths. It’s dark, and I feel my legs tangled in heavy blankets. The night isn’t silent anymore, and there is no chaise. All I hear are the quiet howls of the demons in the distance. Altair is gone.
I drop back onto the pillows and cover my face with my hands. It was so real. It felt like everything I’ve wanted since I realized what a terrible mistake I’d made. It felt like I was truly in his arms. But he’s dead. And my mind is playing tricks on me. I reach for the dagger beneath my pillow again and curl my fingers around it.
This is all I have left.
Chapter 10
Altair
I clutch at the balcony railing, taking deep, ragged breaths. I can still feel Verity’s lips on mine. I can feel her fingers grazing my skin. I know she was here. At first, when she strode to my side and stood quietly, I thought she was only a vision of my desperation and my regret. But when I felt her body heat as she reached for me, I knew I was wrong.
I can’t help the wild grin that spreads across my face as I remember our encounter. A chuckle escapes my lips and I drop my head to my chest. Verity was just as surprised as I was when we touched. Her apology echoes through my mind and my heart aches in my chest. When we last met, she hardly wanted anything to do with me. This time, it was as if I was beginning to get back my Verity.
A soft breeze carrying nothing but silence ruffles the paper gripped in my hand. I turn back to it, knowing I won’t be able to get Verity off my mind. The elegant scrawl on the front tells me immediately that the letter is from Thal. I slice it open with the tip of a knife and break the seal.
Thal has been gone almost a week now, long enough to get him past the mountains on the southern end and get into the wastelands. I can’t imagine where he is now. Our maps are bare, leaving the wastelands in mystery for thousands of years.
“Altair,” I read aloud. “You bastard. I’ve found nothing in the wastes except for half-buried cities of red stone. There is evidence of a once magnificent civilization and a well-traveled highway. It’s empty now. We continue east, towards a strange structure that punctures the sky. Holland is dead, killed by a stray demon when we crossed the mountain pass. Send my regards to his family. Thal.”
I close my eyes, sighing. Four of my best went with Thal, and already we have one casualty. The demons have already extended past their own territory, leaving their armies behind to wander. When this war is over, I’ll fly the length of my kingdom, searching for strays. Until then, I need to send a messenger to Stellium, where I hope Holland’s family has sought shelter with the rest.
Crumpling the letter in my hand, I turn away from the balcony as a horn sounds. A chill trickles down my spine, like ice cold water. I break into a sprint, bursting through the doors of my room and out into the empty halls. I can hear the chatter of activity through the stone walls of
