Page 105 of The Fury She Holds
Tal laughed against him. “What were you going to say?”
“You unravel me.” He tightened his arms around her and kissed her head again.
Tal didn’t say anything because she feared what it would mean.This man. This man had barreled into her life when she’d grown content to block the world out. He made her forget her anger when she wanted to burn it all to the ground. He showed her how to laugh. He made her want to forgive him when she had never allowed forgiveness in her heart for anyone else. She found herself counting down the minutes to when she would see him again. It was an entirely new sensation, letting someone else dictate her happiness. Tal would never admit it, but she didn’t know how she would ever say good-bye.
She moved to the bed, laying with her back pressed into him. Faron’s hands caressed the exposed skin on her legs, sending chills racing through her body. She closed any remaining distance between them and opened up for him. Faron didn’t hesitate. His warm hand explored what pleasured her. He kissed her neck and sent another wave of chills that clashed with the building momentum between her legs.
She wanted to tell him what to do, where to touch. She ached to be filled by him, to feel him thrust into her, but she lay frozen in a state of expectation. She didn’t dare say anything for fear of losing her hold on the growing tide. Her fury beat in rhythmwith his strokes. She held her breath for one heartbeat, two. In the third, the wave of electric ecstasy crashed over her again and again until she had nothing left to give and her body melted into the bed. Tal breathed until the pounding in her ears and in her heart quieted.
She rolled over in his arms and met his gaze. The low candlelight reflected in his eyes, and she found the flecks of gold there. Her eyes traced the lines of his face, the dark hair that was much too unkempt for a king, the expressive brows, the length of his nose, the sharpness of his jaw, and the fullness of his lips. She reminded herself that for a moment, this moment, this beautiful, stubborn, brilliant man was hers, and she would not waste it.
A soft glow filled the space around them. “You’re devastatingly beautiful, Tal.” He traced a finger from her brow to her jaw, down her neck, across her collarbone and placed his palm on her chest where her fury glowed the brightest. It pulsed with her heartbeat, and she knew it beat for him.
She kissed him with a gentleness that even she didn’t know she was capable of. The passion of a few moments ago burned away. Faron didn’t grip her with barely concealed restraint. Tal didn’t press her body into him. Instead, Faron wrapped his arms around her while she rested her own palm over his heart. It beat a steady rhythm against her hand and the song called to her. This kiss, this moment, felt like coming home to a warm fire on a cold winter’s night. And right there in Faron’s arms was the closest Tal had ever come to finding a place of her own.
Faron’s heartbeat pounded against her ear while she lay with her head on his chest. She could hear the moment he fell asleep, when it slowed to match her breathing. His arms around her relaxed and his body sunk further into her bed. Something about the act touched a chord within her. A voice in her head told her to remember this moment. This man, this king,herking, could be anywhere, and he chose to be here with her. In two days, hewould likely have to go back to his duties, back to running the kingdom. And she would pick up the pieces of her life and figure out what to do next. Would the mages return for her tomorrow? The next day? How long did she have before they came crashing down on this life she’d built? Would some other threat ruin it all?
She sighed. For now, the threats were too far away to do anything about. She was safe. Her friends were safe. And she fell asleep listening to the heartbeat of a man who knew all her misgivings and still wanted to be by her side. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. The world melted away and for a moment, Tal was content.
In the early hours of the morning, Tal felt the covers lift. A cool air disturbed the warmth underneath. Faron’s clothes rustled as he put them back on. He kissed her gently on the temple and left the room in darkness. The bed felt colder without him, and she tried not to think too much about what it meant.
She tried not to think about what the future held for them. She tried not to think about last night. She tried not to think about him fighting a mage for her or staying with her during the aftermath. She tried not to think about their fight or him lying to her. She tried not to think about all those times they’d had together before she discovered his title. She tried and she failed at all of it. With him near, it had been easy to live in the moment and not think about the future, but with him gone, she feared she couldn’t ignore the inner turmoil.
She tossed in bed and noticed a paper on the pillow next to her. On it sat a note. “Stay in bed. I’ll be back.”When did he write that?She smiled to herself, glad to know he would returnsoon. Her mind quieted, and she burrowed further into her bed. Soon, she dozed off again.
30
Poison filled Tal’s mind. It reached into her, gripping her fury with dagger-like claws, and squeezed. She suffocated on it, trapped inside her paralyzed body as her fury writhed within her. It wrung her dry until she was nothing but a husk.
She opened her mouth in a silent scream and freed her power. It exploded outward in a white light, clinging to everything. All around, agonized wails pierced her eardrums. An entire forest crackled under the flames. Tal gasped, and it wrenched the magic back toward her. Everything within its grasp was sucked into her as the flames disappeared. Everyone around her was gone. She'd killed them.
She should be frightened. She should feel sorrow. But she only felt hollow. Her fury exploded outward again—this time without her bidding. It burned the sky until Tal was left in darkness. When the magic died, Tal collapsed. She lay prone and empty without her magic. The poison ate through her body, melding with every part of her until she didn’t know where she ended and death began.
“Tal? Tal, wake up. You’re safe. Wake up.”
Faron brushed the hair from her face. She blinked, and he came into focus. Her heart raced. A weight sat on her chest that made it difficult to breathe.
“You’re okay. You’re safe,” he repeated.
Her eyes swept the room, and she sucked in a deep breath.
“It’s alright. You’re safe,” he repeated.
She nodded because she didn’t trust her voice to hide the truth. The dream, the sense of impending doom, felt so real. What did it mean?
She sighed at the familiar thrashing energy within her chest. Her fury calmed when she acknowledged it, as if the magic had been trying to wake her from the nightmare. Tal clung to Faron, counting the beats as her heart pounded. She stared at a spot on the blanket, worried about what she would see if she closed her eyes.
“I brought you breakfast,” Faron said softly when her racing heart had calmed. On the table in the corner of the room sat a plate full of breads, jellies, meats, fruits, and all manner of foods Tal had only tasted a handful of times in her life. He moved slowly, eyeing her reaction, and brought the plate to the bed.
Tal ate slowly, not quite tasting anything, but feeling her belly fill and energy return to her sleep-filled limbs. Faron combed his hands through her long hair, humming one of his usual tunes. When she hadn’t taken a bite in ten minutes, he moved the plate to the end of the bed. “We can save the rest for later.”
Tal nodded. “I’d like to see Septimus today.”
The old man seemed to be waiting for them when the two arrived, though he didn’t say anything to indicate it. He greeted them delightedly, his usual air of elderly impatience absent.
Tal relayed her capture and, as expected, Septimus appeared to have already known. “He cast a spell that rendered me immobile and stuck to the spot. Can you create something that would burn through the spell without injuring the victim?”
The alchemist nodded for a moment while lost in thought. “Give me three days,” he spoke in his smooth voice.
