INICIAR SESIÓNMAGNUS’ POVKeira’s breathing evened out against my chest within minutes of the last tremor leaving her body. Her limbs stayed soft and heavy where she had collapsed. One of her hands still rested loosely against my ribs. I stayed motionless and counted the slow rises of her back until I was certain she had slipped fully into sleep. Only then did I ease my arm free, slide out from under the sheet, and sit on the edge of the mattress for a moment longer to make sure the movement had not woken her. The scent of sex clung to every inch of my skin. I stood and walked into the adjoining bathroom, closed the door quietly, and turned the shower on hot. Steam rose fast. I stepped under the spray and let the water pound across my shoulders and down my back while I worked soap over my arms, chest, and stomach. The hot water cut through the evidence of what we had done. Midway through rinsing the soap away the memory of Torin on the stairs returned with sharp clarity. The tight set of his mout
KEIRA’S POVHe stood, unfastened his trousers, and pushed everything down in one motion. His cock sprang free, thick and already hard, the head flushed. He climbed onto the mattress and stretched out on his back. I moved between his legs, wrapped one hand around the base, and lowered my mouth over the head. The first slide of my tongue across the sensitive slit made his hips twitch hard. I took him deeper, cheeks hollowing around the thickness, then pulled back to focus entirely on the tip. My tongue traced the small opening again and again, pressing into it, while my fingers stroked the underside in firm, twisting pulls. I sealed my lips just under the crown and sucked hard, then released him with a wet pop only to take him in once more. Spit slicked the shaft. I used it to work my fist in long, deliberate strokes while my mouth stayed busy on the head, tongue pushing into that narrow slit, teasing the exact place that made his breath stutter and his stomach flex. “Keira… fuck… t
KEIRA’S POVHe stopped walking the moment the words left my mouth. His eyes darkened with a slow, naughty heat that sent a shiver straight down my spine. The corner of his mouth curved into something almost sinister as he studied my face. “Are you sure you can handle me?” he asked.I kept my arms locked around his neck and met that look without blinking. “Of course. I was made for it.” A low laugh rumbled in his chest. He adjusted his hold under my knees and back, then started up the stairs two at a time. The muscles in his arms flexed against me with every step. We rounded the landing and nearly collided with Torin coming the opposite direction, his expression already tight with urgency. Torin halted and straightened. “Your Majesty. I need a word with you. It is important.” Magnus did not slow his climb. “I am not available right now,” he said. “Check in much later.” “It is serious, Magnus. You need to hear this now. It cannot wait.” “Nothing is more important than what is alre
KEIRA’S POVThe insults aimed at me rolled off without sticking. Dangerous. Unstable. Stain on the bloodline. I let every one of them land and stay quiet. None of it touched the core of why I sat in that chair. Then Elder Roran opened his mouth about Magnus being weak, about the crown that should have gone to an uncle, about emotion overriding duty, and the voice inside my head rose sharp and clear. “Let me take over. Let me rip his head off. Let me take over.”Aelira pressed hard against my control. I stopped fighting the push. Power flooded my limbs. One minute I was seated beside my husband, the very next minute my hand was locked around the elder’s throat. I held the grip long enough for the room to understand, then flung him across the table. He struck the wall and crumpled, groaning. I turned to the rest of them, my voice cold and steady.“Say one more bad thing about my husband and find out how evil and dangerous I am.” Silence crashed through the grand hall. Chairs scraped.
MAGNUS’ POv She kept twisting in my arms the second I lifted her from the archery line. Her fists struck my back. Her voice stayed sharp and unbroken. “Put me down,” she yelled out. “I am not done. One more set. That is all I need.”I felt anger burning hot under my skin. I had asked her twice to stop. I had warned her about her health and the need to rest for the child’s sake but she refused. She had looked me in the eye and kept drawing the bow until her knees gave out. I shifted my grip, flipped her clean over my shoulder, and started across the courtyard with her weight secured against my back. She pounded her fists harder. “Magnus, let me down right now. You cannot just haul me around like a sack.”I kept walking. “Watch me, Sunflower.” Two maids near the rear doors caught sight of us and covered their mouths. Soft giggles followed us into the main hall. Another servant stepped aside quickly, eyes bright with the same amusement. I ignored them all and strode toward the livin
KEIRA’S POVThe residual anger at my father still burned under my ribs as I sat at the dining table. That man had watched every year of my life turn into a series of cuts. He knew Lyra lied. He knew the truth about the day Keiran died. My brother had shoved me aside and taken the blow meant for me. I was the one who should have left this world at nine years old. Instead Mother decided I was the curse that stole her favored child, and Father became the quiet weakling who never once raised his voice in my defense. Kneeling on someone else’s floor and speaking soft words to my husband changed nothing. The hatred stayed lodged deep, sharp and familiar. A maid set a fresh pot of tea near my elbow without the old careful distance. Another placed warm bread within easy reach. The chef himself carried out the main plate and set it in front of me with a small nod and a quiet “Luna.” No one stepped back. No one answered from three paces away. They moved around me the way they had before the







