The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales From Verania 1)

He looked slightly startled. “What!”

“You were jealous. The whole time!” It hit me, every now and then. These little epiphanies that burst through the gigantic cloud that was my obliviousness at the affections of Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart. Little moments that I remembered about our interactions before I knew he wanted to fuck me stupid that should have given it away, but didn’t because I was so convinced I never stood a chance.

“I was not jealous.”

“You were!” I crowed. “You wanted to murder him. I gave him a hand job in front of you! Well. Sort of.”

“To be fair,” Ryan said, “he looked like the type that I could easily murder.”

“You want my babies,” I said.

He sighed. “I chose this,” he said to no one in particular. “This was my choice.”

“You’re welcome. This is still the worst proposal ever.”

“Sam!”

I nodded. “I know. I don’t have any idea how we got here either. You were saying?”

“I don’t even remember now.”

I reached over and patted him on the hand. “You’ll think of it, boo. I have faith in you.”

AND HE did, that night, when we were curled around each other, sweat and spunk drying on our skin. It was actually really disgusting, but I couldn’t find it in me to give a fuck. Especially since Ryan’s legs were tangled in my own, his soft cock resting on my thigh. It spoke of intimacy, even if I was starting to get itchy.

I was drifting lazily when he said, “How do I do it?”

“Do what?” I asked, brushing my nose against his ear.

“Become your cornerstone.”

And that woke me right the fuck up. “What?”

“Your cornerstone, Sam. Is there some kind of ritual? Do we have to dance naked in the moonlight with Randall after he covers us in arcane symbols made from yak’s blood?”

“Sex makes you stupid,” I said fondly. “And awesome, but mostly stupid.”

“I’m serious, Sam. Okay. Not about the naked dancing with Randall.”

“I should hope not. If you were, I would begin to question a few things.”

He pinched my side. “Be serious.”

“Yeah.”

“So?”

“It’s….” I trailed off, unsure of how to explain it. I thought back to all the things Morgan had taught me, that Randall had hinted at. Of bonds made and the magic borne of it. “You know what a cornerstone is.”

“A foundation for which to build your magic.”

“It’s more than that. A cornerstone determines how the rest of the stones will be set. How the entire building will be constructed. It’s the most important piece and without it, there would be discord. Chaos. And magic is the same. Without the cornerstone in place, it’ll grow wildly. Out of control. Exponentially so until one day, it’s a disfigured thing with no rhyme or reason, slowly eating away at the user.”

“The Darks,” he said quietly, tracing a finger along my chest.

“Yeah,” I said. “They’re unstable. They don’t last, not for long. They’re not meant to. But they forsake the idea of cornerstones because to have one is to admit a need most aren’t comfortable with.”

“Which is?”