Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 48

C HAPTER 48

NADIR

A fter our discussion with the rulers, Cedar, Bronte, and Cyan agree to destroy their arks in the morning once they’ve had some rest and have the full force of their power. We’ll do it inside the ruined walls of Heart, hoping to contain any catastrophic blowback. I’m not sure what we’ll do about D’Arcy yet. This endeavor is an all-or-nothing proposition. Maybe we can convince her yet.

Amya and Mael will also head out once we’re done, returning to the Keep to discover anything useful, including where Father is keeping the ark.

The kings and queens who have agreed to join us will travel north in our company. I’m not surprised that D’Arcy declined to help us—she’s never been one to get in the middle of anyone’s affairs, even to her own detriment, but I’m grateful for the help we have.

I don’t know how anyone could hear Lor’s story or see the plea in her eyes and turn away.

It’s late by the time we’re finished talking, and Lor and I retreat to our room overlooking the Heart Castle. When I exit the bathroom, she’s staring out the window, and I can practically see a million thoughts swirling around her head in the tense set of her shoulders.

I walk over and circle my arms around her waist, pressing my chin into the curve of her throat. Her hands slide over mine as she leans back and looks up at me.

“Nadir. We have to talk about the bonding and the final condition Cloris shared with us.”

I sigh and let her go, rubbing a hand down my face and heading for the fire, bracing my hands on the mantel and dropping my head.

I’d already told her my decision, but I knew she wouldn’t accept this without an argument.

“If you don’t want to go through with the bonding, I’ll understand,” she says. “I can’t ask you to give up your crown for me.”

I whip around to face her. “Of course we’re going through with it,” I say. “How could you ever say that? Lor. I’m giving up my position as Primary of The Aurora.” I stride over to her and wrap a hand around the side of her neck. “It was never a question.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she says.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. ”

“Nadir . . . but what about everything you’ve wanted? All the years you’ve spent trying to bring down your father?”

I shake my head. “You still don’t get it, do you, Lightning Bug?”

“What don’t I get?”

“I never wanted a crown, Lor. That was never my motivation.”

She watches me, those big dark eyes filled with conflict and emotion. Those eyes drown me every time I look into them.

“I want to end my father, not because I want a crown but because I want The Aurora to have a better ruler.”

“And?” she asks.

I tip my head and smile. “While I can’t be sure of who the Torch will choose, I have an idea.”

Lor pauses, and then her eyes widen. “Amya.”

“Amya,” I say.

“Are you sure about this?” she asks.

Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I could never ask Lor to give up everything she’s fought for. Everything she dreamed of every night she rotted away in Nostraza. I can’t give her those years back, but I can give her this.

“Lor, I want to end my father and release my mother from his hold. But what I want more than anything is to stand by your side. To be with you every day we have left on this earth. To stand with you and be your rock. To be your mate and your partner.”

The flicker in her eyes is uncertain. “But I’ll be stronger. I’ll have more magic than you. ”

My answering smile is wry. “You’re already stronger than me, Lor, in every way possible. It’s what I love so much about you.”

“Nad—”

I press my thumb to her mouth, silencing every protest she can summon. “Stop it. It’s my fucking honor to do this for you. I promised I would burn down the entire world for you, and I meant it every single time.”

“This isn’t burning the world down,” she says. “This is changing who you are.”

I shake my head. “It’s not who I am. I meant I’d do anything, and if it means changing a piece of myself, then I would do that too.”

I sweep my thumb over her cheek, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“What’s bothering you about this?”

“I don’t want you to regret it. I don’t want you to resent me or the choice you made. I don’t want you to do this just for me.”

“I’m not,” I say. “I mean, I am, but not in the way you’re implying. I’m doing it for us. I’m doing it for Heart, The Aurora, and all of Ouranos. We can’t beat my father without the bond. And you can’t destroy the ark without it. This makes sense.”

“Just because it makes sense doesn’t mean you might not regret this one day. And didn’t you tell me once you couldn’t risk the magic of The Aurora going somewhere else?”

“If I’m no longer the Primary, there is nothing stopping me from killing him. If I step down willingly first, then the Torch will not punish us. And if we don’t stop Zerra and my father, there will be nothing left to protect. ”

She blows out a breath and presses her forehead against my chest before looking back up. “How did we end up with villains on every side of us?”

I smirk. “I never thought I’d end up fighting for everyone. But that day we escaped my father in Heart, I knew then I was protecting you not for myself, but for every single being on the continent.”

I touch her cheek, and she lays a hand over mine.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“I don’t care. I wish I could open my brain and let you see that I don’t care about a crown. I have never cared about a crown. I care only for you.”

Then I lean down and kiss her, hoping that I’m conveying everything my words are saying. I don’t care. Maybe when I was younger I liked the idea. Even a few months ago, if you’d asked me the question, I might have told you I wanted it, but Lor has changed me in ways that I can never return from. The crown isn’t important. What matters is family and friendship and this burning flame I carry for her in my heart. One that I won’t let be snuffed out. The Empyrium aren’t taking her from me, and Zerra certainly isn’t, and we’ll find some way through all of this.

My mouth finds hers, our lips fusing together in a slide of warmth. Her tongue grazes the seam of my lips, and I part them. We kiss, luxuriating in the decadence of its slow perusal, discovering one another over and over.

I’ve never been so grateful to live a nearly immortal life. I have never been so relieved to know that should we survive any of this, I will have so many years to explore every layer and facet of this incredible woman who, despite everything, has chosen me.

“I love you so much,” I murmur as I pull her in closer, my hand sliding down her back and over the delicious curve of her ass.

“I love you too,” she whispers.

And once we’ve bonded and Lor ascends to her throne, then we’ll have another eternity to enjoy each other in the Evanescence. Even then, none of it will ever be enough.

I maneuver her to the edge of the bed, but at the last moment, she spins us around and pushes me down.

“Sit,” she says, a smirk curling on her face. Then she falls to her knees and places a kiss on my chest. Her hands slide under the fabric of my tunic, exploring the map of my body, her fingers curving over the contours and planes as I respond with a shiver.

“Remember when I wouldn’t let you touch me in the Keep?” she asks, and I chuckle.

“How could I ever forget?” My hands slide into her hair before I tip her face up to mine. “I remember everything, Lor. Every moment. Every smile. Every seemingly insignificant look. Every second has become a part of me, and I will do anything to hang on to this.” I give her a smirk of my own. “And that was still the hottest fucking blow job of my life. Even the particles of dust I become someday will remember it.”

She laughs. “Hottest? Surely I can top that.”

My face splits into a smile. “Care for a challenge?”

“Always.”

She leans down to kiss me before tugging up the hem of my tunic .

“Take this off,” she says. “I still like looking at you.”

I do as she asks, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the side.

“Last time, you refused to do the same.”

“I did,” she muses, and I’m almost positive she’s about to defy me just to make me suffer, but she stands up and then slowly peels off her clothes. I can’t take my eyes off her as she reveals every inch of her warm brown skin.

I love every curve and line. Every tiny mark. I study the scars left on her body, deciding at that moment to let go of the anger I feel every time I see them. When I look at her, I will see only the evidence of her strength and resilience. The proud way she holds herself and the loving passion she brings to everything. If she chooses to wear them as badges of honor, I can view them like that too.

I lick my lips as I think of the sweetness of her pussy as she allows me to drink in the flare of her hips and the softness of her thighs. Her round breasts that are the perfect size for my hands, and then her lips and her eyes and the nose that I love to kiss. The birthmark on her hip that I’ve just realized looks like a heart. How have I never noticed that before?

When our gazes meet, she smiles before approaching and falling before me again. Her hands slide up my stomach and chest, sweeping over my shoulders.

Then she reaches for the ties on my pants and slowly pulls them open. She hasn’t touched me anywhere below my navel yet, but I’m already so hard I have to grit my teeth. She takes her time, humming as she drags out each lace with agonizing slowness .

She shifts close enough that I feel the barest brush of her breasts against my cock, and I choke on a moan.

“Lor,” I growl.

“Yes?” She blinks up at me innocently.

“Hurry the fuck up, would you?”

She laughs, the sound churning from the bottom of her chest. It’s warm and feels like sunshine, and gods, it’s the most beautiful fucking thing.

“Surely you know better than to order me around, Aurora Prince?”

I grin. “I was hoping you’d go easy on me today.”

She laughs again and then grips the waist of my pants and tugs. I lift my hips so she can slide them off. When she’s done, she stares at my cock, and that makes me even harder.

“Is this what’s bothering you?” she asks with mock pity, and I let out a sound that is half laugh, half sob.

Then she puts me out of my misery and wraps a hand around the base before she closes her warm, wet mouth over the tip and sucks.

“Fuck,” I gasp. She takes me deeper, swallowing more of me. I’m not going to last. Her cheeks hollow out, and she slides up, her hand pumping me at the same time.

“Better?” she asks after she releases me with a pop.

“Better,” I grit out as my hand slides into her hair. This time, I will be touching her. “You always look so fucking pretty with my cock in your mouth.”

She grins and resumes her movements, drawing me deep as I shiver with each sweep of her tongue and the heat of her lips. My hips move, thrusting upwards into her mouth, sliding down her throat as my vision blurs and my fist tightens into her hair.

Her hands find my waist, and she grips it as she lets me take over, guiding her where I want. “Fuck, you feel so good,” I growl, thrusting over and over. “That’s my girl. Take all of me.” And then I feel myself thicken before I come, spilling into her mouth.

She swallows me down and then slides off before wiping her lips with the back of her hand. “Hotter?” she asks, and I laugh.

“Fuck yes, Lor. Every single time is hotter.”

She smiles, and then I pull her up so she straddles my lap. My hand slips between us, and she’s so warm and wet that I nearly come again. My middle finger slips into her as she whimpers, my thumb teasing her clit while her hips writhe against me, making my cock hard all over again.

I flip her over onto the bed, and she lets out a delighted scream. Starting with her ankles, I kiss my way up her body, inhaling that smoky scent of roses and lightning.

When I finally reach her mouth, I consume her. My kiss is every promise I’ve offered and the heart that I’ve given to her body and soul. As we kiss, I nudge my hips between her thighs. Using my knee, I push her leg up, and then I position myself at her entrance, sliding into her hot, tight pussy as we both moan.

She feels like an endless cycle of want and need. Desire and friction coming together with the most exquisite bliss in our little corner of heaven. My hips thrust into her as my thumb circles her clit, my movements slow but forceful .

“Nadir,” she gasps as she clings to my shoulders. Our eyes meet as I pump into her, the walls of her wet heat fluttering around me. I lean down to suck on her neck as I slowly bring her to the edge. Our magic rises, filtering out and twinning together. Gods, will it be like this every time? Every moment with her is magic.

I can feel her melting, and I want to make her fall apart. I want nothing more than to be the one who makes her cheeks flush and be responsible for those heady sounds every single day.

She cries out, her back arching as she comes around my cock, tightening with the most mind-numbing pressure. I continue moving, chasing another release, and then I spill into her again as our bodies roll together like the tides under a waning moon.

I kiss her again, and I could do this until the sun rises. I could kiss her forever. Until the stars burn out and the world turns to ash.

I just hope that day doesn’t come anytime soon.

And if it does, that we’re still around to see it because as long as I have her, it will all be worth it.