If Rhys were with him, Kiril knew his friend would caution him about trusting a Dark. He knew the chances, but if there was even the slightest chance that Shara really did want to help, then he had to take it.
Kiril wasn’t senseless, and though his body yearned for her with a passion that couldn’t be explained, he knew there was still the chance that Shara could be luring him into her well-crafted web.
It wasn’t just the all-consuming desire that drew Kiril to her. It was her smile, her sharp mind, her soft touch. It was her eyes that gave away her every emotion, it was the strip of silver in her coal black hair.
It was the way she’d made him feel whole since his dragons were sent away.
Please doona let me be wrong about her.
*
Shara felt … free. It was the only word that came to mind as she stood outside of her family’s home in the back garden. Never in her wildest dreams did she dare to talk to her parents as she had.
She wasn’t sure what had come over her.
Yes, you do. Kiril.
There was no doubt. Kiril had changed her, and not just by the way her body reacted to him. He altered the way she thought and the way she saw things. He made her take stock of her life and how she saw her future, of how she wanted to live.
He was the one who accepted her for what she was and didn’t demand anything from her or of her. He let her be herself, right or wrong. That had shown her what kind of person she could be—what kind she wanted to be.
The confidence she’d always had disappeared while locked away in her room, and somehow she had found it again in Kiril’s arms. She remembered she was strong, smart, and resilient.
Shara breathed deeply, a smile on her face. Any moment now Kiril would arrive so she could take him to the doorway to Balladyn’s fortress. He didn’t know it yet, but she was coming with him. He would put up a fuss. In the end, however, she would get her way because he would realize he needed her.
A frisson of something cold and foreboding ran down her spine. Balladyn wasn’t going to be as easy as her parents. He would have his entire army with him, but he had no idea what she had in store for him.
Like most powerful Dark, he would assume he could punish her for her so-called indiscretion. Shara wanted to laugh. As if she would allow that now. No one would ever again hold her prisoner.
Balladyn had enjoyed her spirit. She would wait for the right time and kill him. Dark like Balladyn would never think a female could hurt them. She didn’t want anyone coming after her when it was all over—not Balladyn, not her family. No one.
She would be the one in control of her life. She would be the one to decide if she took a husband and who.
Shara could hardly contain her excitement for the dawning of a new era in her life, but before she was able to grasp it, she would have to put herself in peril. She was scared, but if Kiril was willing to risk his own life for Rhi, Shara would do the same to help Kiril.
It was frightening how much she was willing to do for Kiril. He had no idea the hold he had on her heart or how, without even trying, he made her see the true path she was destined to take.
“Just wait,” she whispered.
“Wait for what?” asked a deep, menacing voice behind her.
Shara was frozen with shock. This wasn’t the plan.
Thick fingers bit into her skin as Balladyn’s hand reached across her and clamped on her jaw. He slowly turned her until she faced him. The coldness she had glimpsed while he terrorized Farrell was now directed at her, and it iced her veins.
“I asked you a question. You will answer.”
Fear kept her silent for a moment, then she remembered who she was. Shara narrowed her gaze on him. “I’m not yours yet, nor will I be if you continue this.”
“According to your family, you’re mine,” he said and leaned close, squeezing her chin until tears burned her eyes.
Balladyn might be the right hand to Taraeth and a famed warrior. But he was just a male like every other Dark Fae who thought they could rule the females. How she loathed him. What made her ever think to use him? How stupid she’d been to think he was the answer to get out from beneath her family.
“I’m not yours until the Claiming,” she said tightly, refusing to let the pain show.
He loosened his grip a fraction and pulled her against him so that his mouth was even with her ear. “You will be mine. Don’t even think of fighting the inevitable.”
Shara didn’t think she could hate anyone as much as she hated Farrell. How wrong she had been. She envisioned lopping off Balladyn’s head or cutting out his heart. Instead of telling him to go fuck himself, Shara held her tongue. One way or another she needed to buy Kiril time to get to Rhi.
Kiril was smart. He would figure out a way into Balladyn’s fortress. Shara wouldn’t be able to show him the doorway, but she would ensure Balladyn’s attention was focused solely on her.
She jerked her head out of his grasp and raised her chin. “Convince me you’re the male worthy enough for me.”
“Oh, I’ll convince you,” he said and yanked her against him.
It was all Shara could do not to shrink away in revulsion as she felt Balladyn’s arousal.