Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms 3)

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not wrong.”

“How can you say that? I’d begun to believe my magic was good, but if it can make me feel this . . . this darkness I can barely control even with this ring . . . then how can it be right?”

“You have to stop doubting yourself. There’s darkness in the world, of course, but there’s always a balance to it. You’re living proof of that balance. To accept the good, you also have to accept the bad. If you keep fighting this truth, it will only tear you apart.” His expression grew anguished. “Damn it. I don’t want lose you. I don’t want to ever lose you. Do you understand?”

“But, Alexius—”

He pulled her closer, his hands on either side of her face, and kissed her deeply. She gasped with surprise against his lips, then sighed with relief. This was what she needed—his touch, his assurance that all was well. His mouth against hers in a kiss that never stopped, only deepened further.

It was a kiss unlike any other they’d shared, comparable only to their first in her dreams, which had shattered her unconscious world to pieces all around her.

This kiss held every bit of passion that that one had, only this one was real, flesh and blood. But it too made her feel as if her entire world were breaking apart, this time leaving behind nothing but Alexius.

“Please,” he whispered against her lips, “don’t ever doubt yourself. You’re perfect to me in every way. I love you, Lucia. I love you so much.”

He kissed her again, and she fully returned it this time, opening herself up to the bright glow deep within her that helped chase away what darkness remained in her heart.

It felt so good. She wanted more.

Lucia worked to find the ties of his shirt, pulling them away to reveal the golden swirl on his chest. It was darker today than when she’d first seen it in her dreams and again in the throne room, appearing more as a tattoo than the physical evidence of his Watcher origins. She brushed her lips over it, feeling the rapid pulse of his heartbeat beneath.

He inhaled sharply, his hands gripping her arms, halting her. “Princess . . .”

She looked up at him with sudden doubt. “Do you want me to leave?”

He let out a very light chuckle. “No. I don’t want you to leave.”

“So you want me to stay.”

“Yes.”

The single word pleased her greatly. “For how long?”

A shadow crossed his face. “Here in this room, alone with me?”

She nodded.

“If it were up to me, I’d never want you to leave,” he whispered. “Ever.”

She smiled up at him. His words were a salve for her invisible wounds, healing her and renewing her joy and hope.

“Good,” she whispered.

There was confusion and pain in his gaze, so much suffering that she wanted to ease. But alongside the suffering she also saw something deeper and endless, and directed only toward her.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice hushed as she pulled off his shirt, letting it drop to the floor. “You were so upset a moment ago; I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for.”

“I’m sure,” she told him, more confident now than she’d ever been about anything. “And I am ready.”

“You’re so young . . .”

“I am my magic, and my magic is as old as the stars.” She smiled, unwilling to give up. “And I’ve waited long enough. I love you. Make love to me, Alexius.”

She thought he might hesitate again, give her a look of doubt, or try to argue some more. But his silver eyes just filled with bottomless desire as he cupped her face between his hands.

“As you wish, princess.”

When he kissed her this time, there was no restraint. Just as the skies had opened up at her command and brought a storm down onto temperate Auranos, this kiss created a portal into a deeper, more beautifully chaotic corner of her soul.