Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

Dyna woke warm and cradled against Cassiel’s chest. He lay on his side with one of his wings draped over her like a blanket, soft feathers tickling her cheek. His soft breath ruffled her hair with each soft exhale. All of her attention focused on the smooth, hard feel of his bare skin underneath hers, her leg hooked over his thigh beneath the sheets. She smiled lazily up at his sleeping face. Soft black locks spilled across his forehead like ink. He looked completely at peace, and so ethereal in the early dawn trickling past the seam in the drawn curtains.

Closing her eyes, she breathed the smell of gooseberries from his soap and the ambrosial scent that was only his. Every part of her ached in the most satisfying way. She could still feel where his touch had banded her, where his mouth had kissed. A few black feathers peppered the rumpled white sheets. They might have gotten carried away last night. Once he had her, Cassiel was relentless until they collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Dyna glanced up at the headboard where he’d left the scorched shape of his hands, and laughed softly, making the small feather on her pillow flutter.

With a flick of her fingers, she gathered all the feathers and they floated away to where Dyna tucked them in the nightstand drawer for him. She didn’t need them anymore. Her magic was as strong as ever.

Quietly, Dyna snuck off the bed to the bathing room to use the chamber pot and clean herself. By the time she returned, Cassiel was awake. She flushed under his lidded stare, suddenly shy to be completely undressed, even if he had seen everything last night. He unabashedly watched her approach, silver eyes already heating. “Come here.”

When she reached the bed, he hooked his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him. Cassiel wrapped his body around her, wings enveloping her like a blanket. “I need you closer.”

She giggled. “This is as close as I can get.”

“It’s not enough,” he breathed in her ear, sending a dance of hot shivers down her spine. “I have a need to constantly touch you. Everywhere.”

Good gods.

“Why do you look so radiant to me this morning? You are practically glowing, lev sheli.”

“Well, you may have helped me recover my Essence last night,” she said shily.

“Oh?”

“You know how life force flows into one being and into another through connection and magic…” She trembled as Cassiel’s fingers trailed up her waist. He nuzzled her cheek, his mouth planting more soft kisses on her jaw. “And well, we…”

“Did a lot of that.” He chuckled against her throat.

He said he would devour her and he did—many times. His stamina was absurd. They hardly had any sleep. And he was more than ready to continue.

“Have you not had your fill?” she asked, her breathless voice betraying what the stroke of his fingers was doing to her body.

Faster than Dyna could blink, she was flipped onto her back. Cassiel caught her hands and pinned them above her head.

“Impossible.” He kissed her throat, eliciting from her a soft sigh. “If you make that sound again…” His tongue flicked against her pulse and she cried out.

That was all it took for his mouth to crash into hers. She freely fell into him and the fire he created. Dyna soared along with her body and she was lost to the stars again. When they were finished, they laid there utterly spent and grinning like fools. She couldn’t do much more than tremble as her body seemed to float on an afterglow of pure bliss.

“I don’t know if it will ever stop,” Cassiel said.

“What?”

He tenderly brushed her cheek. “Wanting you. It’s the sweetest addiction.”

She bit her lip, fighting back a grin. The bond was thrumming between them, and glowing brighter than it had ever been. Giving herself to Cassiel, there was something about it that made her feel so connected to him further than their bond. Like he’d become completely a part of her. Being in this bed with him felt as if nothing else existed and could easily be forgotten if she let it.

“We should get dressed,” Dyna said with a sigh as she traced the lines in his abdomen to the trail of dark hair pas this naval. “The others will wake soon and wonder where we are.”

“Let them wonder. It’s not as though they should be shocked. If any of them were standing outside of the door, this time their assumptions would be correct.”

Her face grew hot and she swatted his arm. “Cassiel!”

Laughing, he drew her on top of his chest. She rested her chin over her hand as she watched him with a soft look. She would never be tired of hearing him laugh. It occurred more often these days. The sun had risen further and filled the room with a rosy golden light. It fell over him and his wings in a dreamlike haze.

He brushed her messy curls from her temple, tucking it behind her ear. “What?”

“Nothing.” She sighed happily. “Every day I wake up to you. I share my heart with you. I end my nights looking forward to spending the rest of my days with you. Even after all this time, I still sometimes wonder if you’re real. I keep thinking I’ll wake up one morning and you’ll only be a passing dream.”

Because perhaps it was, with time against them. Nothing would change the fact that her mortal lifespan was much shorter than his. A sad flutter went through her and she squeezed him tight. “If one day all of it fades, promise you won’t forget me.”

To know he would be alone after her passing made her emotional. He worried about her dying before her time, but she worried about the time they would have. By the end of it all, the only thing left behind would be their memories.

His confused smile wavered and she knew he sensed where her thoughts had gone. “Stupid human, you are unforgettable.”

Sitting up, Dyna pulled the blanket around her. Her hair fell in tangled waves around her face as she fidgeted with the sheets. “It would be a lonely thing, to be forgotten,” she whispered. “But worse to remember when no one else does.”

How can a thing be real if not remembered?

Cassiel sat up and he lifted her chin so she would meet his gaze. “During our journey, I found myself always observing you. The way the light of the sun seemed to favor you as much as the wind. I could never decide if the red of your hair was the color I favored, or if it was the green of your eyes. Your honeysuckle scent that followed you everywhere was the most pleasant torture. I despised every moment that kept us apart, and prized every stolen moment I had with you. Those memories are seared into my soul. For as long as I live, I will never forget the moment beneath the willow tree when you chose me. If this has only been a dream, then you are the best one I could have had.”

The notes of his voice formed a warm melody in her heart and she could listen to them forever. He held the back of her neck and kissed the tears from her lashes. A still peace that anchored them together in the morning as he simply held her to him.

“Who knew you were capable of saying such beautiful things,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “You’re cold to everyone else.”

“I have a reputation to uphold. I’m known as the black hearted prince, after all.”

“I hear it’s made of stone.”

“Perhaps they are right.”

If only they knew how wrong they were. Beneath the rough, cold exterior, her mate was a softy.

Softy? Cassiel growled. Her eyes snapped open when his arms clamped around her back and under her legs, jerking them up off the bed. He carried her to the bathing room with a purposeful stride. “There is nothing soft about me.”

“What are you doing?” she squeaked.

“You know what else will be unforgettable?” Wicked smile curved his lips. “Bathing with my mate.”

Cassiel laughed at her protests. For all her squirming, she had no hope of escaping. He pressed his mouth into hers with another sigh-inducing kiss, completely winning that argument.

The brass tub was big enough for two. It was soon filled with water and heated with a touch of his flame. Once he had her seated on his lap and massaging soap in her hair, Dyna decided there was nowhere she would rather be anyway. Cassiel took his time washing her, being very thorough.

She leaned back as he kissed her throat. “If you’re trying—”

He flipped her around so she straddled his waist and he nipped her ear. “Not trying. Planning.”

Her body instantly reacted with want, but the soreness between her legs had increased. She ached all over. Any more and she wouldn’t be able to walk.

Cassiel instantly stopped and his expression softened. “I hurt you.”

A shy laugh bubbled out of her and she circled her arms around his neck. “It’s a good hurt. I don’t know where you find the endurance.”

“It’s an insatiable need to please you.”

“Then you can please me later.” She blushed furiously to say that.

“Anytime you want me, lev sheli.” His eyes sparked with renewed heat and his fingers slid up her thighs, creating little shivers down her spine. “But you are sore, and I’m tempted to tend to it now.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant, but by the look on his face, she had a feeling whatever it was, he would enjoy it—and so would she.

A knock at the door made her jump. They both stilled and fell quiet. Though, what did she have to be embarrassed about? After a pause, the knock came again.

He groaned. “The day calls.”

She hid a smile. Thank the gods for that.

Cassiel stood and the water streamed from his back and wings. She had a wonderful view of his many assets as he stepped out of the bath. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever laid eyes on. Body sculpted like marble, strong and molded to perfection. And he was all hers.

I feel you looking, he said through the bond.

I remember you saying I was free to look to my heart’s content.

He flashed her a grin over his shoulder before stepping into the room. And?

I am very content.

His low, answering laugh floated into her thoughts. Stay there.

As if she planned on greeting whoever it was. A more insistent knock beat on the door. Cassiel bumped into something and cursed. The rustle of fabric followed.

“By all the gods, this better be important.” The door creaked open and his shock fluttered through her chest. “Zev.”

Dyna stifled a gasp. Surprise, relief, and mortification had her quickly sinking in the water. He was finally back only for her to be naked in the next room.

“What took you so damn long?” At the sound of his gruff voice, she decided embarrassment was worth seeing him before he decided to run off again. Dyna quickly clambered out of the tub and threw on a robe.

“I was—”

“Never mind that,” Zev huffed. “I need to talk to you.”

“Wait, you should probably—”

Dyna rushed into the bedroom as her cousin stormed inside. He stopped short at the sight of her. She did too because he looked different. Lighter. Like the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

But Zev’s yellow eyes grew wide, his nostrils flaring with a sharp inhale. His gaze bounced from her to Cassiel, who wore only trousers and was still barefoot, then to the disheveled bed. His face, she had never seen him turn so many shades of red.

Zev quickly looked away, clearing his throat. “Uh, I’m sorry to d-disturb you. I came to warn you. I thought you should know. Both of you.”

“Know what?” Dyna asked.

The expression he wore filled them both with a sudden bout of dread. “King Yoel has come.”