Queen of Death

Chapter 26

"Good morning, Solana." His lips slant up with a smirk and he begins to close the distance between our lips. Before he reaches me though he detours down to my neck where his Mark is permanently embedded. The warmth of his breath against it is enough to melt me, so when he presses his lips against it, applying light suction and teasing his tongue over it, liquid desire floods between my legs and my body goes limp against his.

"Ace," I plead breathlessly. For what, I don't know. For him to stop, for him to keep going, for him to go further.

"Hush, princess. Eli is still asleep. That's why none of us have spoken a word." He murmurs against my skin.

"That doesn't make any sense. I heard you guys. Tate wanted to come upstairs but you told him not to."

Ace pulls back to stand upright, giving me an unobstructed view of my bite on his neck, the ghost of a smirk from earlier now a full blown grin.

"You mean like this?" Ace says the words but his mouth doesn't move.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise and my head whips around to confirm with the others.

"All of you?" I test the theory through mindlink and when they all nod yes to me my hands fly up to my face covering my mouth.

"This is insane. How?"

Ace and Hunter beam at me, and motion for us all to move over to the lounge. I take up a seat next to Ace but am quickly plucked from my seat and usurped by Hunter who lowers me back down into his lap. Dean sits on my other side and Tate sits himself on the coffee table in front of me.

"How? Do you really not remember?" Ace asks, dropping gentle kisses to my bare shoulder.

A heat rash spreads from my chest up my neck. Of course I remember. It's a night that is literally burned into my memory. And every rumble of their voices, every wisp of their breath against my skin makes that memory all the more tangible.

"We're bound. Mated." I say.

"Marked and sparked," Dean boasts proudly, leaning over and stealing a kiss from me for himself.

"Please never say that again," Tate groans at his corny brother and we all share a laugh.

"How long were we out for?" I've heard horror stories about girls being knocked out cold for days after being Marked and that's just by one person let alone five.

"I woke up after a few hours. These guys about a day later and now you another day later." Ace answers simply.

That explains what Tate meant by over two days. It's how long I've been out for.

"Why hasn't Eli woken up yet?" I ask.

Ace takes my left hand and flips it so it rests palm up on my leg. Hunter sets his hand next to mine, followed by Dean and Tate. All of them have the word "Death" branded on their knuckles, the same ace of spades replacing the "a" like the one on my wrist.

"Your mother and Ember believe that Eli is adjusting to immortality. He was the only mortal one of us. Hunter was already blessed by your mom and the rest of us are draconic. So when you —"

"Marked and sparked," Dean supplies.

"— accepted to be our queen," Ace continues, ignoring Dean, "you not only Marked us, but branded us with your sigil. Our Queen's sigil."

They each tug at the collars of their shirts where nightshade blossoms like the ones on my hip trail from their collarbones down across their hearts.

"I have two questions," I whisper, still dazed by how extraordinary all this is. "This is your brand?" I run my thumb over the mark on my wrist.