The others in the cells around us screamed, howling until it became deafening. My heart dropped as the cold steel of a sword touched against my chin.
“The king has come,” Landon whispered, staring behind me with a look of worry mixing with wonder in his darkening depths.
“That’s not the king,” I groaned, smelling Torrin’s scent heavily in the surrounding air.
“Oh, but I am, my sweet mate. I am the King of Night, and you are now mine.”
My heart stopped beating as Torrin lifted the blade, baring my throat as he moved out of the dark shadows that swayed around him. I hadn’t even heard him over the sound of the people within the cells going crazy. I was grabbed and held against the bars by Landon as Torrin stepped closer, lowering his blade as he searched my face.
“I should have known from the first taste of you that you were created for me,” Torrin growled, lifting his hand to trail his knuckles against my cheek. “Hold her there for me, Landon.”
“I told you to run,” Landon whispered with regret filling his tone, his fingers biting into my arms.
“You’re not the king,” I whispered through trembling lips as the sound of swords crashing together echoed through the prison.
“You, of all people, should have figured that one out. I am a warrior and don’t belong hidden behind walls. Aragon is the face of the kingdom, but I am the king. You, Little Bird, were created for me and only me.”
“You’re the darkness,” I seethed.
“No, my mother is the darkness. I am the night, and you’re the light. The child growing within your womb is of both.”
“I am not pregnant,” I argued, watching his lips curving into a wicked smile.
“Listen,” he whispered, placing his lips against my cheek. His breath heated my face as he slowly ran them over it, sucking my lip between his teeth before he released it, kissing my forehead.
A tiny heartbeat sounded, and I frowned, shaking my head. “I don’t understand,” I whispered thickly. “How is that even possible? It was last night, Torrin. This isn’t possible so soon.” He nodded, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“I found Landon spouting nonsense about the Sun Clan bloodline behind my kingdom walls, but I didn’t believe him. Of course, I had to see you and your team to know for sure, so meeting you in that village was by design. You see, my mother is responsible for losing my first mate. When she killed my father, she was cursed to become the darkness, commanding all the creatures that live within. Seeing this, the ruler of the Sun Court sent his daughter, my intended mate, away, fearing that I was as evil as my dear mother.” Torrin smiled, and it was all teeth as he narrowed his gaze. “I was told she had perished. I never dreamed that she lived and had a family of her own. Not until you told the story last night, and the pieces fell into place.”
Landon’s hands tightened around me, and he whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry, Alexa.”
“I made a bargain with a seer two hundred and fifty years ago to bring my mate back. I had given up the hunt, convinced my mother had taken my mate from me once again. When I found you, I had hoped that I was getting a female of the sun bloodline who could read from the Book of Life. I never imagined that you were my mate, placed into the pretty, little spitfire package that fought me. Not until I saw your markings last night, and then I knew you were mine and that I would never let you go.” Torrin lifted his hand, cradling my cheek. “Now you house our child, also by design. I needed to bring life into this world to help break the curse I unknowingly placed on the land, craving the mate I lost. I can’t say I’m upset about it being you. Not after last night, Alexandria. The world, as you knew it, is gone forever. Now your new life begins with me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, and Torrin’s eyes turn to obsidian as he brushed his lips against mine.
“You’ll see soon enough, won’t you?”
The End, For Now
About the Author
Amelia Hutchins is the number one national bestselling author of the Monsters series, The Fae Chronicles, and the Legacy of the Nine Realms series. She is an admitted coffee addict who drinks magical potions of caffeine, turning them into spellbound, fantastical worlds. Amelia writes alpha-hole males and the alpha women who knock them on their arses, hard. She doesn’t write romance. She writes fast-paced books that go hard against traditional standards. Sometimes a story isn’t about the romance; it’s about rising to a challenge, breaking through them like wrecking balls, and shaking up entire worlds to discover who they really are. If you’d like to check out more of her work or just hang out in an amazing tribe of people who enjoy rough men and sharp women, join her Author Amelia Hutchins Group on Facebook.
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