The water had grown lukewarm by the time we finally untangled, our breathing slowing to something resembling normal. Evelina didn’t move far, just shifted to rest against my side, her head on my shoulder, her fingers tracing lazy circles on my chest.

"You’re thinking about something annoying," she murmured.

"Annoying, really?"

"Yeah, if you’re going to think about something like that, just say it instead of making me read it off your mind."

I caught her hand, stilling her fingers against my sternum.

"Children," I said.

Evelina went still against me, an exasperated sigh escaping her immediately.

"Children," she repeated, testing the weight of the word.

"You keep saying your life was too vast for children right now."

"I remember."

"I’ve been thinking about it since."

She lifted her head from my shoulder, propping herself up on one elbow to look at me. Her white hair fell across her face, still damp, and she didn’t bother pushing it away.

"That’s a dangerous thing to think about," she said. "Especially after what we just did."

"We’ve done that plenty of times before. Never got pregnant."

Her crimson eyes searched my face. "Because I’ve been purposefully stopping it."

"But you still think about it."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she lay back down, her head returning to my shoulder, her body curling against mine.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "When I’m alone. When it’s late and the estate is quiet and I can hear myself think."

"What do you think?"

"I think..." She exhaled, slow and deliberate. "I’d rather give them a good home first before we actually make them."

"And that is?"

"The entirety of this continent. The moment I become queen, empress, whatever you want to call it, that’s when I’ll be ready."

"You’re still thinking about that dream?"

"Honestly, it’s starting to slip my mind the more we talk." She sighed. "Maybe I’d be happy just inheriting the duchy and living with you as two powerful mages. But then I remember my father would never let me hear the end of it if I decided something like that."

"Well, whatever it ends up being, I’ll be here to support you."

"You’re starting to sound like a broken record." She laughed.

"Maybe. But it’s true."

Evelina shifted against me, her leg sliding over my thighs, her body pressing closer. The warmth of her skin seeped into mine, chasing away the last chill of the cooling water.

"Truth or not," she murmured, her lips brushing my collarbone, "you keep saying it like you’re trying to convince yourself."

"Maybe I am."

She nipped at my skin, just hard enough to sting, then soothed the spot with her tongue. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Doubting." She lifted her head, her crimson eyes catching the candlelight. "I chose you. I keep choosing you. Every day, every night, every time you come back to me bloody and exhausted and still wearing that stupid smirk."

"My smirk is not stupid."

"It’s incredibly stupid. I love it."

She kissed me before I could respond, soft and slow, her fingers curling into my hair. For a moment there was nothing but her mouth on mine and the steady thrum of her heartbeat against my chest.

When she pulled back, her lips were wet, her cheeks flushed.

"Bedroom," she said. "Now."

"Already?"

"Already."

She climbed out of the tub in one fluid motion, water cascading down her body in rivulets that caught the candlelight like liquid gold. She didn’t bother with a towel, didn’t bother with modesty, just stood there dripping on the marble floor, one hand extended toward me.

"Are you coming or not?"

I laughed and took her hand.

She pulled me to my feet and didn’t let go, leading me through the bathroom door and into the adjoining bedroom.

Evelina pushed me onto the bed without ceremony, crawling over me before I could orient myself. Her wet hair dripped onto my chest, cold and warm all at once, and she straddled my hips with the confidence of someone who had never doubted her place in the world.

"My turn," she said.

"Your turn for what?"

She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she reached behind her, her fingers wrapping around my cock, already half-hard again despite everything. She stroked me slowly, deliberately, her thumb circling the head with practiced precision.

"To be on top," she finally said, her voice low and rough. "You had your fun in the bath. Now I want mine."

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Far be it from me to deny a lady."

"A lady." She snorted. "You’ve never treated me like a lady."

"Right, I meant a goddess."

"That title still sounds ridiculous coming out of your mouth." She positioned herself above me, the heat of her hovering just out of reach. "Especially since we’re not really that different in strength."

"So you’re fine with the others calling you a goddess?"

"Of course, they’re weak; that’s the only way they should see me."

She sank down onto me in one slow, deliberate motion, and the sound she made was something between a gasp and a moan. Her head fell back, her white hair cascading down her spine, and she stayed there for a moment, just breathing, just feeling.

"This is what I needed," she whispered. "After everything. After the library and the archmage and the trials."

She began to move, rolling her hips in a lazy rhythm that made my fingers dig into the sheets. "Just this. Just you. Just us."

I reached up and cupped her breasts, thumbs brushing over her nipples. They were already peaked, sensitive from the bath and the arousal and the way she’d been teasing herself even while she claimed this was for her.

She groaned, her rhythm faltering for just a moment before she found it again.

"You’re distracting me." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Good."

She leaned forward, bracing her hands on either side of my head, her hair falling around us like a curtain. Her hips moved faster now, harder, the sound of skin on skin filling the room.

"Look at me," she commanded.

I looked.

Her crimson eyes burned into mine, fierce and vulnerable all at once. This was the woman who had nearly made me pass out when I first saw her. The woman who treated me like a pawn yet was attracted to my body.

The woman who had cried in my arms because she didn’t know anything else about me than being a lustful devotee.

"I love you," she said, and the words came out broken, fractured by the pleasure building between us.

"I know."

"I’m not just saying it because— ngh— because of the sex."

"I know that too."

She kissed me, hard and desperate, and I felt the tension coiling in her body, felt the way her inner walls began to flutter around me.

"Come with me," I murmured against her lips. "Come with me, Evelina."

Her cry was muffled by my mouth, her body convulsing around mine, and the sensation of her release triggered my own. I spilled into her with a groan, my hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise, and we clung to each other through the aftershocks.

She collapsed on top of me, her face buried in my neck, her weight warm and familiar.

"That’s never going to get old," she mumbled.

"I hope not."

She laughed, soft and breathless, and I felt the vibration of it all through my chest.

"We should probably get dressed eventually," she said. "Marcellus will be expecting us."

"Eventually."

"Eventually," she agreed.