Page 39 of His Darkest Desire

He recalled Shade’s words.

She is a gentle soul, strong but lost in suffering.

“You three see the world with clearer eyes than I,” Vex rasped.

“These ones see not more clearly, magus,” Shade said softly. “Merely differently.”

Flare ran a ghostfire tendril along the page. “You may yet ease her suffering, magus. And if you allow it…she may ease your own.”

Vex stared at the book as those words settled upon him with all their weight. Had he not lost enough to recognize the pain she’d expressed here? Had he not longed for respite from his pain even as he’d used it to push himself onward?

“Freedom will ease my suffering,” he said, but he did not believe himself.

Gently, he closed the book, returned it to its place, and sealed the box. The blood on the seat beneath it caught his eye as he lifted the container by its handle. Magic again thrummed through his free hand. Flakes of dried crimson rose from the leather seat. They liquefied and coalesced in the air, forming a small sphere of glistening blood which, in a green flash, disappeared.

It would await him in his laboratory. A few simple tests on it would offer some insight into her ancestry, and mayhap her latent abilities.

Vex stepped back and shoved the car door closed with his boot.

“Magus,” Shade intoned, their ghostfire pulsing with sadness.

“Survey our borders,” Vex commanded as his wings took shape at his back. He stretched them wide. “Alert me of any breaches.”

He sensed unspoken words from both wisps; the air crackled with them. But he leapt off the ground before they could say anything more, crashing through the boughs until he finally escaped the canopy.

But even the clear night sky could not comfort him this night. Why, just as he’d found what he’d needed for all these years, was he plagued by doubts? Why was he fraught with indecision when the key to his freedom was right there?

Why was Kinsley’s pain still throbbing in his chest as though it were his own?

Vex swiftly returned to his home. His wings dissipated immediately after he landed, and his legs carried him inside and to his bedchamber before he’d even made the conscious decision to go. Quietly, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Kinsley lay on her side upon the floor, several paces away from the bed. Her hair was mussed and spread out upon the floorboards, the flesh around her eyes was pink and swollen, and she remained clad in only a blanket. She had one arm beneath her head, with her other hand tucked beneath her chin.

Echo, who was hovering over her, turned to look at Vex, flaring with surprise.

Vex clenched his teeth. The sight of her upon the cold, hard floor, where she’d cried until she had succumbed to exhaustion, made something icy coil around his heart and squeeze it.

My mate.

This was wrong. His mate should not have been made to suffer such indignity, such discomfort, such distress.

And it was his doing.

Sighing, Vex strode across the chamber, feeling the wisp’s gaze upon him the entire way. He placed Kinsley’s things on the desk before moving to stand over her.

She looked so peaceful now despite the circumstances. In her slumber, she was freed from the troubles of her waking life. She was freed from Vex and his cruelty.

I need not be so cruel.

How fulfilling would it be to make her smile? To hear her laugh?

He waved Echo away with a gesture. The wisp hesitated, head bobbing as they looked back and forth between Vex and Kinsley. Again, Vex gritted his teeth, but he did not argue. Instead, he knelt and, with as much care as he could muster, slipped his arms under Kinsley and drew her against his chest. She stirred, turning her face against him and wrapping an arm around his neck.

Vex stilled. For a long while, the only sounds in the room were the thunderous beating of his heart and her slow, steady breathing. Her scent enveloped him, so sweet, so natural, so perfect, and her body was warm and soft.

An ache spawned low in his belly, and his cock throbbed, pressure building in it with each pulse.

He craved the feeling of her hands on his flesh. He longed to explore her, to soothe all her worries and fears with his touch, to bring her pleasure.