Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
His dark brows rise. “Killed? Is that how far you’re willing to go for your revenge? The only line too far to cross is death?”
“Do you swear?” I repeat. Thrace murdered my mother. I would shove him from a cliff and fall with him if it were the only way to assure his death. I would drink from a poison cup just to induce him to do the same.
There is no line too far. But I can’t let a faery know that.
“I swear it,” Luthian answers in the space of a blink. “Surrender to me, and I will deliver a crown and two untouched wishes to you on a platter, with room to spare for your murdering stepfather’s head. But be warned: if you enter into this endeavor with me and you do not see it through, I will find someone more deserving of your wishes. And you will be left with nothing but ash.”
There will be consequences, my conscience screams. It sounds unnervingly like my mother. But even her voice can’t drown out the exhilarating, laughing hatred in my heart at the thought of Thrace’s future suffering.
Judging from his smile, I think Luthian can hear it, too.
Nothing without a price.
I place my hand in his.
“We have a deal.”
Chapter Three
The moment our palms touch, a shock reverberates around the room, in rings of invisible intensity. It’s as if someone’s dropped a stone in a puddle of magic, rippling the environment around us.
Luthian releases my hand, and I wiggle my fingers. They buzz as though they’re crawling with insects, and it’s a long moment before the sensation passes.
“There. Our pact is sealed. Now, you remember what I asked of you?”
“All of my trust. I will do as you say. And I will drop every inhibition.” On the other side of a magically sealed agreement, it seems so much bigger. Just words before. Now…
He can do anything to me.
Luthian’s gaze holds mine. I don’t dare to breathe, wondering what he plans behind the starry depths of his eyes. His mouth twists into a cruel grin.
This is not the charming faery with whom I bargained. The Luthian before me, in total control of me, is predatory and terrifying. He feels the fabric of the robe with haughty disinterest, flicking it away from his fingers.
“Take that off.”
I hesitate only a breath before remembering my vow. What a waste, to make such a bargain, to give him my wishes as collateral, only to default immediately.
I agreed to let him mold me into a seductress fit for a prince. A king, really. Did I think that he would teach me from a book? That my inhibitions, which he so clearly mentioned in the terms, would not be tested?
The robe slips from my shoulders and to the floor, leaving me in the gown of sheerest silk. I don’t cover myself.
“You’re embarrassed,” Luthian says, never taking his eyes off mine as he traces a line from my collar bones to one tight nipple poking at the silk. My knees wobble at his touch and a breathy cry forces its way up my throat when he pinches that dusky peak, silk and all.
“This is new to me,” I explain softly. “I’ve never had someone pay such lustful attention to me before.”
“You’ll soon abandon your shyness. I hope you’ll enjoy most of our lessons,” he says, stroking delightful sensitivity into my flesh. “Some, you will not.”
His nails bite into the silk, into the skin beneath, and I gasp at the shock of razor-sharp pain before he releases me.
“To survive the Court of Pleasure and Torment, you must learn that the two cannot exist without each other. Without pain, one can never know true ecstasy. And I will give you pain, honey flower.” He falls to his knees and examines my breast, the blossom of blood on the silk. He covers it with his mouth and I’m weak, leaning forward to brace myself with my hands on his shoulders. The tiny crescent wounds throb beneath his tongue, while the surrounding flesh screams out in rapture.
All too quickly, he stops, standing and leaving me to sway on my feet, dangerously unsteady.
“No matter what I ask of you, remember what you stand to lose if you deny me.” Luthian’s tone is utterly cold. “Think of your sad little life as the sad little wife of that disgusting Cadwyn Thrace, and how you will spend every moment of every day wondering how things could have been different if you’d simply fulfilled your vow to me.”
I can’t stop my limbs trembling enough to wipe the tears from my lashes.
“Take off your nightgown.”
My fingers are stiff, but so is my resolve. I would sooner die than accept the life he described. The silk falls around my feet on a whisper.
“How do you feel?” he asks, walking around me to examine me from all sides.