Touch of Flame

Ravina’s face flushed as her bravery faded and she realized what she had done. Locking eyes with Malachi after that was difficult, and her eyes darted.

“Uh…” she stood up, almost turning around before she spoke.

Malachi grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Where are you going?”

“I need a moment,” she said, wanting to escape.

Hesitantly, he let her go and she hurried into the private room. Her face was on fire but so was her body. What spirit possessed her? She had always been a bit daring, but this… She was surprised at herself.

Malachi waited for Ravina, but she remained gone. He hadn’t wanted to let her go but he didn’t want to overwhelm her either. She looked like she truly needed a moment.

He smiled with a shake of his head. So daring yet running away. While waiting, he changed into a new garment, still feeling dazed by the pleasure he had received.

Ravina splashed cold water on her face and then shook her head to pull herself together. She took a few deep breaths and gathered her courage to go back to the room.

Malachi was there, changed into a new garment. He turned to her and a gentle smile tugged at his lips. His eyes seemed calmer and were back to the familiar coffee brown she knew.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Ravina nodded, trying to keep herself from blushing. Her heart flipped inside her chest. “Yes,” she managed to keep her voice steady.

For some odd reason, his smile widened.

“Perhaps I should just sleep in my room,” she hurried to say.

He frowned. “Princess? You come and leave as you wish?”

Uh… She realized she was.

“Get into bed,” he said, nodding toward his bed.

Ravina went to his bed and got inside, pulling the blankets over herself. Malachi frowned again and then smiled amusedly as he walked over. What was funny?

“Sometimes a lioness, sometimes a rabbit,” he murmured as he got into bed.

She knew he was talking about her but pretended not to hear. Right now, she just wanted to sleep. Her courage was gone. It was a courage that came from the heat anyway. A heat she found odd, and she didn’t know if it was her being a breedmate or if human females experienced it as well.

Her menstrual cycle hasn’t been regular because of malnutrition, so she had no past experiences to compare this to. She looked at her hands. They looked less skeletonized, and while they were still covered in scars, there were no fresh wounds.

She remembered Malachi’s words about how once they mate, she shivered at the thought, the scars would disappear. Strangely, she felt sad about it.

Gazing up, she looked at Malachi, who now lay beside her. His body was still relaxed, and that helped take the tension out of her body as well.

“You were busy today?” He spoke.

“I had a few guests who helped me with the posters Aaron brought.”

“It helped,” he said. “And it earned you a seat in court.”

A seat in court? Her eyes widened slightly.

“Saul pushed the idea and prepared the seat for you.”

Saul?!!

She knew the man would come over to her side sooner or later, but she expected a bit more resistance. Lately, he had been a bit more open with her.

“That is surprising.”

Malachi smiled. “Saul is easier than you think.”

Or he could just be giving her a seat to watch her fail. What better way to defeat her than to let her destroy herself? Maybe he learned something from playing chess with her. She was curious to know his true motives.

“Speaking of Saul, I decided to send him with you to the X-clan.” Malachi added.

Oh, great! She would just leave him with Ares and escape with Nazneen. That would be fun. But her emotional thoughts aside, it was a good plan. Malachi seemed to know now how to involve his brothers. If Saul was his closest adviser, then he should learn as much as possible about the weapons so he can take on that responsibility, if he can be trusted with those weapons. Malachi seemed to trust him, but would Ares? Maybe that was the point of sending him, making him work on the trust to retrieve those weapons.

“It will be fun,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Malachi chuckled. “I am sure he thinks the same.”

“Will you be alright here alone?” She wondered.

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A small smile tugged at her lips and she closed her eyes snuggling against his chest. His heart beat in a different rhythm than a human’s, and she fell asleep to the sound.

When she woke up in the morning, Malachi was gone. He had already informed Nako and Mara about her departure, and they helped her pack a few things when Brenna arrived.

“I see we are going on an interesting trip,” she exhaled and then looked at what Ravina had packed. “I can fly with the whole chest if you want.”

Ravina shook her head. “It is not necessary.”

Brenna shrugged.

“Is Saul here?” Ravina wondered.

“Yes. He is outside grieving.”

They both held back a chuckle.

When they went outside to meet him, Ravina found Malachi there as well. His eyes found hers and he smiled as he walked over. Brenna stepped away from her side.

“I had to see you before you left,” he said.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Saul and Brenna glancing at them. “You didn’t think I would send you without a goodbye,” he continued. “A proper goodbye,” he cupped her cheek, and her head skipped.

Oh no. What…

Before she could complete the sentence in her head, he leaned in and kissed her. A soft touch of his lips that deepened with every stroke and soon she was pressed against him with an arm around her waist and the thought of protesting was long gone. She became disconnected from the world around her, and all her body could focus one was his mouth on hers. God, he knew how to kiss a woman.

Finally, Saul cleared his throat loudly, interrupting their kiss. “You know if you keep this up, we might miss Nazneen and end up finding her grandchildren instead.”

Brenna chuckled. “Or we might end up with their grandchildren here,” she whispered.

Ravina’s face flushed a bright red as she tried to push herself away from Malachi, but Malachi ignored his brother. “Stay safe,” he whispered, cupping her cheek.

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