Onyx Storm

“You have to accept what I already have. The man you love no longer fully belongs to himself.”

“I’ll use Tyrrendor to protect you, not you to protect Tyrrendor.”

“But ‘girlfriend’ is missing the permanent tone.”

“I like our odds. The last time a shadow and lightning welder fought side by side, they managed to drive the venin back to the Barrens for a few hundred years. We’ll figure out how to do it again.”

“How do you want me to take you Violet? Here on your back with me above you? Before me on your hands and knees with your ass in the air? Against the wall so I can drive harder? Astride so you can control the pace? Tell me.

“Swear you’ll keep it safe, even if it’s from me.”

“You’re Xaden Riorson. Shadow wielder. Duke of Tyrrendor. Love of my life. You have nothing to be jealous of.”

“Good thing I fuck like a third.”

“I’ve never seen him like that. Ever. I don’t even want to think about what he would have done if he’d been out here beyond the wards, because I thought he was going to rip the stones from the wall. He’s always prided himself on control—he has to when he wields that much power–and I’m telling you, he lost it when he heard you were crossing the border, Violet. He’s…not himself.

“With that speech? At least a duchess.”

“Just you and me today, honeybear. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.”

“You get one chance to form your own squad, and you choose your ex, your current lover, the quadrant’s resident smart-ass, two people who have tried to kill you in the past year–one over your current lover–and whatever Dain is? These are your choices for the most important mission any rider could possibly undertake?”

“Because you’re the only one capable of killing me.”

“Magic feels different when I change color. Maybe my use of power in that moment altered the venin, weakened her enough to blister.”

“My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else. Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments when it’s worthy–usually when Violet is in residence.”

“I am in love with him. I haven’t so much as thought about you in years. Don’t chase just because you like a challenge. You’ll lose.”

“And it’s always the same fight. I’ll trust you if you stop keeping secrets! It’s my secretive nature that attracted you, and why can’t you just stay out of harm’s way for five fucking minutes.”

“Yes, love. I’m jealous. I’m jealous of the armor that holds you when I can’t, the sheets on your bed that caress your skin every night, and the blades that feel your hands. So when the prince of our realm walks into my classroom and starts talking to the woman I love with what can only be considered intense familiarity, and then has the audacity to ask her out right in front of me, naturally, I’m going to get jealous.”