Reign of Ash

by Meg Anne

  She could feel her breath hitch, the gentle caresses at complete odds with the hunger she could see in his eyes. The same hunger she was feeling. Von lifted his other hand, both grasping the thin cotton before rending it in two.

  Helena looked down, shocked. Large aqua eyes looked back into his, “I liked that dress!”

  Von chuckled, “I’ll get you a new one. We’re now even for the time you ruined the one I liked.” He peeled the dress away, his hands continuing their exploration of her body. His touched faltered when he caught the subtle shimmer of her Jaka in the soft light. He was silent as he traced the tattoo along her side, his touch sending flickers of electricity throughout her body. His thumb brushed the underside of her breast as he followed the swirling marks that represented their bond.

  “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bring me great pride to see you wearing the mark of my people.” Von’s low growl was as sensual as his touch. His eyes were molten silver as they bore into hers, “But I hate that you were marked by another.”

  Helena tried to bite back her smile, “I knew you would say that.”

  A corner of Von’s mouth curled as he purred, “Did you now?”

  She tilted her head to the side as she teased, “I would have to be an utter fool not to.” He chuckled at that, his eyes dropping to her lips as she continued, “But even you cannot deny that you are more than adequately represented in the mark.”

  His eyes filled with pleasure as they swept over the Jaka again, “Aye.”

  The possessive pleasure she heard in the word also reverberated through their bond and she felt her lips tip in delight. This was her Mate. The man who, with only a look, had her soul cry out ‘Mine.’

  Von knew the instant her mood shifted from amusement to arousal, his nostrils flaring as his eyes darkened in response. He bent to kiss her, pressing his body against hers until there was not even a sliver of space between them. The kiss was a fierce claiming, his mouth and tongue moving against hers in an erotic prelude to what their bodies would do. Helena shivered at the contact, feeling her nipples contract into tight points while heat flooded her core.

  He pulled back to rest his forehead against hers, chest rising and falling with his harsh breaths. “I do not think I can be gentle,” he warned her, cherishing the added intimacy of speaking to her through their bond.

  “Then don’t be,” she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing up onto her toes. Her fingers threaded through his silky black hair as she kissed him with all of the pent-up desire she’d been feeling. Von’s hands gripped at her hips, fingers digging in deeply as he took a step back and sat down hard on the bed, pulling her body on top of his.

  Helena straddled his lap, rubbing herself against the straining bulge beneath his pants, “I need you,” she whispered hotly against his lips, biting and sucking on them as he ran his hands along the sides of her body.

  Von growled low in his throat, twisting so that Helena fell onto her back and he was kneeling between her spread legs. He moved his hands up her thighs, stretching her wider.

  “Please,” she whispered, wanting the feeling of completion that would come when he slid into her.

  He let his fingers slip through the slickness at her center, smiling at the harsh gasp and lift of her hips the movement caused. His eyes bore into hers when he slipped a finger inside of her, “Is this what you want?”

  Helena shook her head from side to side, “N-no,” she moaned.

  “No?” he asked, lifting a dark brow, his fingers stilling inside her.

  “M-more,” she panted, pressing down around the finger that was curling inside her.

  Von slid another finger in, working her slowly as his other hand released the binding of his pants. “Better?” he asked in a carnal rumble.

  “No,” she whimpered, eying the flesh now exposed and hanging thick and heavy between his legs.

  Von grinned, tracking her eyes, “Feeling greedy, Mate?”

  Helena nodded, her tongue darting out to wet her lips, “Very.”

  His eyes darkened at the sight of her tongue and he let out a low grunt. Von pulled his fingers slowly out of her, rubbing her wetness into the small bundle of nerves and causing her to groan. He removed his pants and returned to her, grasping her around the knees and pulling her toward where he was standing. He used his power to create the phantom hands that continued to run over her body as he took his thick length into his hand and ran it along her center.

  “Is this what you want?” he asked again, his voice harsh with need.

  “Yes,” she moaned, trying to press the tip of him deeper inside her.

  “Good,” he growled, slamming into her in one long thrust while his fingers, real and phantom, rubbed and plucked at her.

  “Von!” she cried, arching off the bed and coming apart around him.

  “Mine,” he snarled, bending over to capture her lips with his.

  He began pushing into her, thrusting hard and fast. Her heart raced in time with his, each of them reveling in the feeling of being joined again. Helena met him thrust for thrust, nails digging into his back as she held him.

  She could feel him all around her: his smell, his body, his love. It was overwhelming. Her need began to spiral again. Sensing it, Von bit down on the skin between her neck and shoulder, hips driving faster. Helena broke, crying out his name. He followed, stealing her cries with his lips as he emptied himself inside her.

  They lay there, wrapped around each other, hearts still pounding and bodies slick with sweat. “Now I’m home,” he whispered.

  Her heart was too full for words, so she held him tighter, not letting him move away from the cocoon of her body. She let her hand continue to run up and down his back, tugging on the strands of hair that had grown long while he was away.

  He chuckled, and looked down at her, “Enjoying yourself?”

  “Aye,” she responded, hands now squeezing the firm muscles of his butt.

  His smile fell and his eyes glittered, “Keep it up.”

  The sexual warning had languid muscles tensing with desire. “Like this?” she whispered, hands cupping the heavy weight of him.

  Von flexed into her, hard once more.

  “Already?” she teased.

  He gave her a look, equal parts adoration and arousal, “Always. I will always be ready for you, Mira. To remind you that you belong to me,” he whispered, taking her lower lip between his teeth and running his tongue along the length of it.

  “Mmm,” she murmured in approval.

  “Besides, Mate, we have barely begun to make up for the time we lost.”

  She smiled, fingers running up his back and into his hair, “If you insist.”

  “I do,” he said fiercely, his body reinforcing the promise of his words.

  Helena’s eyes rolled back, feeling whole once again as a broken part of her soul finally fell back in place.

  Chapter Thirty

  Helena woke up slowly, enjoying the feeling of being curled around Von. He ran his hands over her hair, pressing his lips into the top of her head, “Good morning, Mate.”

  “Morning, my love,” she whispered, snuggling deeper into him.

  “Timmins has already sent word. The Circle is meeting to discuss the formal steps of declaring war against the traitor Rowena.”

  Helena scowled, annoyed that the bitch had found a way to sour her morning already.

  “We cannot put it off much longer, Mira,” Von said with soft understanding, “her army is vast already. We need to call on our allies if we are to have any hope of defeating her.”

  She pressed her face into his neck and muttered inaudibly.

  “What was that?” he laughed, pulling away to see her face.

  “I know,” she sighed, rolling her eyes and sitting up.

  Von’s gaze darkened as he took in the sight of her naked body, his hands moving to trace over the sparkling swirls of her Jaka. He replaced his fingers with his lips, pressing a lingering kiss over the c
entral mark between her ribs before looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

  She slapped his hand away with a breathless laugh, “You’re the one that said we had to go.”

  He frowned, looking like a child that had been denied his favorite toy, “What’s five more minutes? We’re late already.”

  Helena smirked, “Only five minutes?”

  Von grinned lasciviously and made to move on top of her when a knock sounded on the door.

  They each let out annoyed sighs and pulled the discarded remnants of clothing up to quickly dress. Helena laughed when she found the torn dress she’d worn the night before, Von winking as she used her magic to repair the damage.

  Alina popped her head in, her smile radiant as she took in her mistress slapping away the hands of her Mate. “They are calling for you, Kiri,” she announced once she caught their attention, trying not to laugh at Helena’s flustered expression.

  “We’re on our way,” Helena informed her maid.

  With a quick nod, Alina disappeared back through the door.

  Once they were both dressed, and appeared mostly unrumpled, Von grasped Helena’s hand in his and led her down toward the Circle’s Chambers.

  The men were milling around the hallway, chatting in quiet but jovial voices when they rounded the corner. Helena smiled when she saw that Ronan had been invited to join them. Still an unofficial member of the Circle, he had more than proven that he deserved a place as one of her trusted advisors. Helena had briefly contemplated asking if he would consider being the leader of the Rasmiri, but his loyalty to Von and the people of Daejara had held her back. Perhaps it was something she and Von could discuss later.

  A sense of peace greeted her at the sight of the ones she had come to love; safe and whole at home. There had been a moment, when Helena had considered unleashing everything she had at Rowena, but the energy required for such an attack would have left the rest of them vulnerable. She’d had to choose between eliminating her enemy and protecting thousands of nameless others, or saving the lives of the ones she’d already sworn to protect and letting Rowena go. It had not been an easy choice, but she’d made it gladly. Seeing them here, now, laughing and joking with one another, only reinforced that she’d made the right choice. They would deal with Rowena together.

  Kragen saw her first, lifting an arm to wave, “There they are! We were about to draw straws to see which of us was going to have to haul you two lovebirds out of bed.”

  From the glower on Darrin’s face, Helena could already tell who had drawn the short straw.

  “Lucky for all of you, none of you were foolish enough to try,” Von drawled as he punched Ronan on the arm by way of greeting.

  Ronan frowned and rubbed his shoulder, “What was that for? I wasn’t the one that was going to interrupt you…” he trailed off, smirking smugly as he added, “this time.”

  Von grinned, “That would have earned you a punch in the balls instead.”

  Ronan gave Von a skeptical sidelong glance as he protectively placed his hands in front of his crotch; years of friendship and familiarity causing him to doubt such a blow wasn’t about to be delivered anyway.

  Noting the stance, Von snickered, “At ease, bastard. I was only paying you back for touching my Mate.”

  Ronan looked confused for a moment, trying to ascertain when he’d inappropriately touched Helena, before his knitted brows lifted and he laughed with understanding.

  “It was beautifully done,” Von added in a more subdued tone, referring to the Jaka he’d so lovingly traced earlier that morning, “I could not have done better myself.”

  The red-haired warrior shrugged in a show of dismissal, but Helena noted the way his cheeks tinged red at the compliment.

  “It was also incredibly useful,” Helena added, offering her own appreciative smile.

  The two men made murmurs of agreement, although Von’s lips twitched with laughter as he threatened, “Don’t think that means you can do it again.”

  Ronan winked at Helena, “Only if the lady asks me to.”

  “Dream on,” Von sneered, punching his friend again.

  Ronan’s shoulders shook with laughter and Helena shook her head in amusement at their antics before kissing Von’s cheek and stepping past them toward the others. “Shall we get started?” The men nodded and followed her as she made her way into the familiar room.

  A black lacquered box sat unopened in the middle of the table shining in the soft glow of the firelight. “What’s this?” she asked with delighted surprise as she stepped into the room. “A present? It’s not my name day.”

  She stepped toward it quickly, filled with giddy anticipation. Her hands eagerly reached for the lid, lifting a cream piece of parchment. It had been sealed with a deep purple wax; a knot of thorns its emblem.

  Helena looked up from the box and back toward her Circle. The smile began to fade from her face as she took in the expressions of confusion and unease. The same feelings grated against her mind’s inner barrier through her connection to each of them.

  Her blood turned to ice and her brows knit together.

  “Helena,” Joquil cautioned. Her aqua eyes were transitioning to iridescent as she scanned the box for any lingering sense of magic, something that would indicate who it was from or what was inside it. There was nothing.

  Using a nail to peel back the seal, Helena unfolded the small piece of parchment. Two words were scrawled in a feminine hand: Your move. The note fell from Helena’s trembling fingers. Kragen moved quickly to snatch it before it hit the ground. She struggled to open the box’s latch until it finally came free with a soft click.

  “Helena!” Von shouted, realizing who the package was from after reading the words over Kragen’s shoulder. Her name also reverberated within her mind as he reinforced the cry through their bond.

  He blinked, crossing the distance between them with his power, but he was still too late. Helena had already opened the box. Her face drained of all color and her mouth opened on a keening wail that amplified the men’s fear tenfold. The Circle closed in around her.

  Von looked into the box and felt his stomach lurch. He made a move to grab Helena when her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. He caught her and fell with her so that they both knelt on the floor. He tried to comfort her by tucking her into his body.

  “No,” she sobbed, seeming to gasp for air. All traces of the happiness she’d felt just moments ago completely vanished and were replaced by bone-deep terror. Von tried again to wrap his arms around his shaking Mate, but she pushed him off. On her hands and knees she panted, struggling to breathe.

  Darrin peered into the box before staggering back. Horror and revulsion stole across his handsome face. He heaved and barely made it to the window before becoming violently ill.

  “Breathe. Breathe, my love,” Von murmured, stroking her back and adding through their bond, “Please, Mira. You’ve got to try.”

  Helena took a deep shuddering breath, her entire body shaking. Von winced as he felt her nails crack and break as she scraped them along the ground. He watched as she grasped and crumpled the forgotten piece of parchment that Kragen had let slip through his fingers, blood smearing along its creamy surface. Watched as she slowly sat back on her heels, threw her head back, and screamed.

  The scream shattered every piece of glass in the Palace, and echoed through the grounds and beyond. Birds scattered from their perches in the trees, taking flight in an attempt to flee the pain and rage that created that sound.

  In her fist, the note began to smoke and caught fire. It burned quickly until all that remained was a smoldering pile of ash. The men paled as they took in the sight of her. Her hair flew around her like flame and her eyes glowed with swirling light as she stared past them, unseeing, and snarled the words that were both promise and verdict.

  “My turn.”

  * * *

  To be continued in Crown of Embers

  FROM THE AUTHOR

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  Meg@MegAnneWrites.com

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  Acknowledgments

  I can’t believe it’s already time to sit down again and thank the people that helped make this book possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your patience, kind words, and encouragement. I continue to write because of you.

  Grandpa: The safest place I’ve ever known was curled in your lap. You inspire me even now. I miss you. See you in my dreams.

  Maggiepants: You’re not even a reader and you love my books. I can’t tell you what that means to me. You continue to be the strongest woman I know, no matter what the world throws at you. I still want to be like you when I grow up: dancing my way down the halls and eating ice cream for dinner.

  To the Lady that Borne Me: Hearing you pimp my book to literally everyone makes my heart want to explode. I’ll never forget being at book signings (as a reader) and having other authors come over and tell me they are looking forward to reading my book. I am so lucky I get to call you Mom. I love you forever.