Desire in His Blood

I could feel his frown. He pulled back to look down at me. “Of course I would. You forget, wife, that you are the Kylaira of Laras. Whatever you wish, you will get. Especially when it comes to me.”

I leaned forward to kiss him, his heat and closeness an incredible comfort, almost as comforting as his words.

“I’ll ask them what they want to do,” I told him.

Azur inclined his head, threading his fingers through my hair.

A brief moment of silence lapsed between us.

Then he said, “Your father’s trial will likely not begin for quite some time.”

I blew out a shuddered breath. I’d had no contact with him, but I knew how long it would take the High Quadrant Council to build the case, to gather the details, to record testimonies and statements, to track down the others involved. And that didn’t include having to drag the Pe’ji War back into focus.

“I know.”

“And I heard from a few sources,” he told me next, “that the United Alliance is already trying to get the charges thrown out, though your father confessed to the crime.”

“Of course they would,” I said, the news chilling my heart. “Because his testimony would implicate the United Alliance. That they were involved.”

“Yes,” he said. “It will be a long road for your father, Gemma. A long road for you. For my family. For your sisters. We all need to be prepared for it.”

I nodded, meeting his eyes. “We’ll get through it. I know we will.”

Azur exhaled a long breath. “We will,” he agreed softly. And hearing that quiet confidence in his voice was enough for me.

I turned in his arms again when our words died away. The beauty of the morning felt like a sharp ache. Soon, I would never see this place again. Even still, I couldn’t wait to leave it behind.

“It’s so quiet,” I commented when the sun began to rise over the mountain. “Maybe the crowd has finally died down. Maybe they’ll leave us alone.”

The bands of his arms tightened around me before he led me inside. Back to bed, where I knew we wouldn’t just be sleeping. “I had my ship’s crew disperse them last night when you were sleeping. They’re standing guard on the roads leading from the gates, making sure there are no trespassers. They won’t disturb you or your sisters anymore.”

I let out a small huff of laughter, feeling my heart warm. Such a small thing to do, and yet it felt so huge. Just knowing that there weren’t vultures on the steps of the estate, waiting for little scraps made my lungs feel less tight.

“You did?”

“Mmm,” Azur grunted. “You think I wanted my cock plastered all over the news coms come this afternoon? The crowd would’ve gotten an eyeful if they’d still been out there this morning.”

And even though it felt strange to do, with the heaviness of this house, with the pain and sorrow that still filled us both, I laughed.

And it felt good.

Chapter 49

Azur

Two days later, my Halo orb startled us out of a deep sleep, late into the night. Gemma stirred next to me, blinking blearily in confusion until she realized.

Until I realized.

When I accepted the call, Kaldur’s face appeared, perfectly crafted in colored pixels as they floated between us.

Raazos’s blood, I thought, my heart suddenly pounding.

“Tell me,” I said softly, holding his eyes.

I couldn’t breathe. Gemma’s hand squeezed my arm. Hope rose. Blinding and tentative but beautiful.

“Alaire’s mercy, Azur,” Kaldur said. The sheer emotion I heard in my brother’s voice made Gemma press her hand to her mouth, tears begi

I closed my eyes. Focusing on my breath.

Joy.

Utter, perfect joy and relief.

Mother, she will join you soon, I vowed quietly.

“Bring her home, Kaldur,” I rasped. “Bring her home to us.”

Epilogue

Gemma

Two months later…

It was the night of the moon winds, and the storm was raging.

Even still, I wasn’t afraid. I was in Azur’s arms and he was taking me over the Silver Sea, those red eyes reflecting in the moonlight, his look of pleasure and contentment making me grin up at him.

I still wasn’t brave enough to chance higher altitudes during the storm. These moon winds were strong this month too, tugging at Azur’s wings, though I had no fear that he would lose control over his own body.

I reached out and skimmed my hand over the waves, smiling when a spray came misting up toward us.

Azur was spearing me with that look again. The one that made me breathless. The first time I’d seen it was when he’d taken me flying over the Silver Sea. That very first time. Then afterward, the moment we’d reached the terrace he’d pushed me up against a wall and stolen a fierce kiss that still made my toes curl just thinking about it.

“Beautiful,” he rasped in my ear, the wind nearly carrying the word away, but I still caught it. I held on to it. Held it close.

I laughed, but the wind took that away. Not before I caught his grin.

“Take me back,” I urged, tightening my legs around his waist so he wouldn’t misunderstand my meaning.

A sharp growl left him. He immediately pivoted, the world going quiet for a brief moment as he stilled, and then we were zooming back to the keep.

House Kaalium’s windows were lit up golden. Warm and inviting. It would be a reprieve from the rush of the moon winds, but I wanted to savor the wildness a little while longer.

So when Azur landed us in the courtyard, I pulled on his hand and tugged him into our secret corner. Hidden by starwood blooms, which were growing larger and larger with every passing week, and the staircase that led up to the main terrace.

“Wife,” he breathed, the wind whipping all around us. Azur flared his wings to help shield me from them.

I was already aching for him. Wet and needy. The moment I caught sight of that relaxed pleasure on Azur’s face from flying, my body responded to it. There had never been a time when he’d taken me out flying that hadn’t ended with me on my back or Azur on his.

Reaching up to tug on his horns so he hunched down to me, I kissed him, pouring my need and desperation and delight into it. He groaned, his hands squeezing my backside before lifting me up onto the banister so that our lips were level. There, he devoured me as tingles spread across my scalp, making me smile and shiver.

On the wind, I swore I caught the strain of music.

There was a dance tonight in Laras. Every moon winds, there was a community-wide feast and celebration as the storm raged above.

The Kylorr, I’d discovered, took every opportunity to throw a party. There was even, allegedly, a steam cake festival in the spring, one I was very much looking forward to, though Azur was already grumbling about attending.

The moon winds celebration was where Mira and Sorj, Piper, and Fran were tonight. Ludayn and Kalia too.

We would join them later after we stopped at House Kaalium’s shrine. I’d picked one of the most beautiful starwood blooms to leave for Lyca, Azur’s mother, and Azur was bringing a small, wooden dagger he’d found in an old storage chest for Aina. A wooden dagger that she’d once used to train him, his brothers, and Kalia with.

But until then, this moment was for Azur and me. My husband and me.

Azur’s grip was getting tighter and tighter, his wings begi