Page 144 of Threaded
Mariah sat, kneeling and panting, on the floor behind the throne for several long heartbeats, her palms still bloody, as the waves of power subsided.
When she could finally think again, she had only one thing to say.
“Holyshit.”
A chuckle tickled her ear. Andrian’s deep voice whispered against her skin.
“You are … magnificent,nio. You did it. You fuckingdidit.”
She twisted around to meet his gaze, hyper-aware of his closeness and the wild power still coursing through her veins.
She felt positively feral.
Before Mariah could lunge for him, take him right there on that dais, he leaned back and chuckled again. “We still have an audience,nio. End the ritual, let your guests enjoy the rest of their night,” he paused before leaning close again, nipping gently at the soft skin of her ear. “Just as I intend to enjoyyou.”
She shivered.
With every shred of self-control she still possessed, Mariah pushed herself to her feet, rising to stand behind the throne. She moved to the side, to the crowd waiting for her there. Most now sat in pairs, either on the ground or on the couches, their eyes dazed with the weight of the magic in the air as they clutched still-bleeding palms. The white and gold marble was speckled with red, but as Mariah watched, those droplets of blood began to form themselves into rivulets, flowing directly over the gold veins in the floor, traveling to the panel behind the throne. Her eyes followed the ruby red river, and when the first of that blood touched the panel it sank into the glowinglunestair, just as hers had, joining the magic of the earth.
The pillars pulsed brighter.
It wasworking.
“The magic is bound.” Despite her unsteadiness, her voice was strong. Hundreds of eyes turned to her expectantly. “The ritual is done. Celebrate the blessings of our Goddess; revel in her magic. This power is for you, the people, and tonight we’ve taken it back.”
Soft cheers and murmurs of wonder grew louder as the crowd bowed as one before falling silent and filing from the room, the shroud of magic leaving most in a distant daze.
Mariah doubted any of them, even if they’d attended a Solstice in the capital before, had ever felt magic quite like that.
Within minutes, the throne room was empty. Even her court had slipped out, and her curiosity pricked as she wondered where they’d all gone.
Or who they’d gonewith.
But then, a familiar, firm warmth was against her back. Arms banded around her as Andrian’s hot breath tickled her cheek.
“Come, my queen. Let me fuck you on your throne.”
With a wicked smirk on her lips, she let him do just that.
CHAPTER60
Thelunestairpillars on either side of the golden throne gleamed with an incandescent light that hadn’t been seen in a thousand years.
The opaque stone, once dull gray guardians beside the throne, now shone with so much light it spilled out through the golden veins spindling through the marble floors. The same golden veins that had drawn upon the freely gifted blood of the Solstice attendees, anchoring theallumeflooding into their world.
The Solstice was … everything she’d hoped it would be. Just that morning, Sebastian had returned from a meeting with the captains of the city guard, the look of giddy pride upon his face causing her own expression to break out into one of uncharacteristic glee. Theallumelevels of the wards were measured, he’d told her. And they were burning at a strength that was …impossible. A strength not seen in generations.
She’d leaped into his embrace, and they’d toasted with a glass of the finest wine she could find in the study. Even Ryenne had stopped by Mariah’s suite upon hearing the news. Her demeanor was still so muted and broken, her aging now pronounced by slower steps and a posture beginning to stoop and hunch, but she’d grasped Mariah’s hand tightly and softly whispered her congratulations. She’d been accompanied by a now gray-haired Kalen, leaning heavily on his arm as she retreated back from the rooms, her blue eyes again hollow and distant. It had broken Mariah a little, to see her like that, not knowing when that final piece of magic would leave her and set her free to join Cedoric in the afterlife.
Of all the things they’d discussed, she and Andrian still hadn’t broachedthatsubject.
The sound of soft footfalls behind her pulled a piece of her attention away from her thoughts and those shimmering pillars. She didn’t turn from her vigil, though, not even as warmth enveloped her back, or when a muscled arm looped itself around her waist, slender tendrils of shadow snaking around her head and caressing her cheek. Mariah let Andrian pull her close, let him tuck her body into his, let herself revel in the feeling of solid strength he offered her.
It was a foreign feeling, letting herself be touched by him as an expression of love, and not just lust or a need for distraction.
Foreign, but welcome, nonetheless.
Mariah’s lips tilted up slightly at the corners as she closed her eyes, leaning her head back against Andrian’s shoulder, losing herself for a moment in her happiness. There was still so much to worry about, but this moment … in this moment, nothing could go wrong.