Ash was shaking his head.

“The mortals don’t need to know about me. We can have other gods answer their summonses and have Rhain or Rhahar be known as the—”

“It will mean you are never known,” he interrupted, eather piercing his eyes. “And you have lived long enough without being known.”

“I know—”

“I cannot allow that.” His hand cut furiously through the air. “Your name will be known, as well as all you have accomplished and sacrificed. There will be stories and songs written about you. People will celebrate your name. The name that brings others joy. You will not be unknown—”

“Ash,” I whispered, cupping his cheek and blinking back tears. I knew why he wanted to deny this. And gods, it made me love him even more.

“You cannot tell me you will not be hurt by this, Sera.” His cold fingers curled around my wrist. “You won’t only be unknown. You will eventually be forgotten.”

Hearing that did make my stomach drop. I couldn’t deny it. Being forgotten was almost the same as never existing, and Ash understood how much it had hurt not to be known by anyone. How it had made me feel like a specter among the living. But something struck me in that moment. That was then. It wasn’t me now.

“You know me,” I said. “My children will know me. Attes will, and everyone else I care about will know me.”

The muscle in his jaw clenched against my palm. “That isn’t enough.”

“But it is.” I leaned over and kissed him softly, then rested my forehead against his. “You are enough.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Two months later…

Ash stared down at me, his eyes never leaving my face as he entered me with one hard thrust of his hips that shook the glasses and dishware on the antechamber table.

We had just finished breakfast and should be getting ready. The other Primals and gods wanted a celebration, and Ash and I not only thought it was a good idea but also figured it was time. The last several weeks had been for mourning those we’d lost, and this event was to celebrate their memories as much as it was to mark our victory. The event would be at the City Hall, and Rhain was running around like a madman. He would probably have a breakdown if he knew what we were doing.

We hadn’t planned to end up this way. It just sort of happened. I’d stood to ready myself and mentioned that Erlina had made adjustments to the gown I wanted to wear. It had become too tight around both breasts and my lower stomach. The growing bump wasn’t entirely noticeable to the eye, depending on what I wore, but Ash had such a voracious reaction. He’d kissed me, and that single kiss had turned into one that ended with me splayed across the table, my robe unbuttoned, and Ash between my thighs.

“If we’re late,” I said, biting my lower lip as pleasure darted through my veins, “Rhain will be so mad.”

Ash moved slowly inside me, clearly in no hurry. The hand on my hip tightened. “We’ll just tell him we took our time with dessert.”

A giggle snuck free. “Dessert with breakfast?”

“Mm-hmm.” His gaze left mine and traveled downward. He cupped a breast with his other hand. The sweep of his thumb over my nipple had my back arching off the table. A smoky grin appeared. “They are so much more sensitive.”

They definitely were. Sometimes, even clothing irritated or aroused them.

Right now, it was the latter.

Ash’s head dipped. His lips found mine once more, and I tasted cream on his tongue. He sipped from my lips and kept up that slow, torturous tempo with his hips. His mouth left mine, blazing a path over my jaw and then down my throat. He lingered there, kissing and licking until he reached where my pulse beat wildly. I tensed around him in sweet, heady anticipation. After a heartbeat, I felt the graze of his sharp fangs. My fingers pressed into the skin of his chest as the scrape sent a burst of desire through me with only a hint of unease. That was progress.

A lot of progress.

Over the last two months, we’d been slowly working together to overcome my trauma related to feeding. Maybe overcome wasn’t the right word. I’d come to believe that trauma wasn’t always something you could overcome and no longer be affected by. The mind didn’t work that way, be you mortal, god, or Primal. Trauma stayed with you, sometimes returning at night or during the quieter parts of the day. Other times, it disappeared for days or weeks. But I was beginning to live with it. To acknowledge it and then handle it, just like I had when it came to my anxiety. Neither were the sum of who I was. It was just a part of who I was.

Either way, Ash hadn’t wanted to push it at first, telling me we could wait until our sons were born, but it wasn’t something I was willing to put off until then. We still had time before I was too far along in my pregnancy for Ash to be able to feed, and I wanted to share that with him again before the babes came. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but it was important to me. So, Ash had relented. And to be honest, I think he started to enjoy the process after a while. The teasing drags of his fangs, the brief, shallow bites that only drew a drop of blood, had gone from causing me to lock up in dread and shame to something that had my blood pounding with lust and need.

He gave me one of those tiny bites that drew just a hint of blood, then chased it away with his tongue, making me moan. He stilled for a few seconds afterward, like he always did. I knew what he was doing in those brief heartbeats. He was tasting my emotions, making sure I was okay.

And right then, I was more than okay.

I was ready.

“More,” I whispered.

Ash chuckled against my pulse, and then his tongue slid over my skin, causing my breath to hitch. He drew the flesh of my throat into his mouth, wringing a gasp from me, but he moved on.

A hint of disappointment rose. “Ash?”

“Hmm?” His lips danced over my collarbone.

I slid my hands to his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

Ash froze for just a second and then shuddered. “I know you are.” He pushed into me, grinding against my clit. “You’re soaking wet.”

Warmth hit my cheeks. “I wasn’t talking about that.”

“I know.”

“Then—”

Ash moved with lightning speed, closing his mouth over mine. His deep kiss was like a match striking flint, kicking off a shower of sparks. It was possessive. Almost feral in its neediness, and I fucking loved it.

I lifted my legs, curling them around his waist, and pushing up to meet the plunge of his hips. He groaned against my mouth, and a full-body tremor swept through him. My lips felt swollen when his mouth left mine.

“I want you to watch me,” he ordered in a voice wrapped in silk and shadows. He kissed my chin and then the crook of my neck. “I don’t want you to take your eyes off me. Understand?”

I nodded, watching him as the edges of his hair teased the side of my breast.

He halted, his breath cool against my nipple, and his gaze flicking to mine. “I want to hear you say it, liessa.”

My eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes.”

That shadowy smile returned. “That’s my Queen.”

His head lowered once more, but his gaze remained locked onto mine as he took the peak of my breast into his mouth. The graze of his fangs against my soft flesh sent desire streaking through me. He drew the turgid peak into his mouth, and even if he hadn’t ordered me, I wouldn’t have been able to look away. His tongue swirled over the hardened bud, and my eyes started to flutter shut as I rocked against him. Acute wisps of pleasure spread through me. I was aching by the time he let go.

“Keep watching.”

“I am,” I panted.

“Good.” His hair teased my skin as he moved to my left breast. His tongue traveled up the swell. “Whose mouth is on you?”

I blinked. “Yours.”