Free Eluria's Enforcer (The Argadian Heart Trilogy Book 1) by Adrianna Dane Page A

achieved. Whenever he’d
engaged in sensual persuasion for duty, he’d always encased his khout in a
protective covering, not willing to unintentionally create a seal with any
other female.
    With Eluria, there’d been no question of not
sealing. He wanted all of her and to claim and be claimed in the most intimate
and spiritual way possible. What would she feel when she discovered what he’d
found upon waking? The seal they’d experienced went far beyond anything they
could have imagined. That Guardian had acknowledged the seal and bound them
forever in a true balance union.
    He again looked at his wrist, and at the
threaded colors of the markings running down the center of his chest. There’d
been stories of true-balance unions, but to his knowledge none really existed.
He’d thought of them as figment tales only for the ears and entertainment of
youths. Now he knew he was wrong.
    Again, he looked at Eluria as she lay
sleeping. A smile curved her full, pink lips. He lowered the blanket, noted the
new markings on her body, which mirrored his own.
    It was too much temptation. He lowered his
head and captured her lips. They parted for him, and he thrust his tongue deep.
Eluria arched and he heard her soft sigh. So responsive to his touch. Devon
inhaled, allowing her scent to tease him. Her golden radiance flickered faintly
around her.
    He thanked Guardian for this gift. She was
his tafai, his soul-flame, and he would care for her in all ways.
    Slowly her lids lifted. A feeling of
possession and satisfaction overwhelmed him when he saw the color had altered.
Instead of the ruby shadow of a twilighter, they were now the rich dark magenta
of a tafai. His tafai. He ran a thumb across her full, lower lip.
    She turned away and moved to stand. “I need
to get dressed. We have much to plan. It’s time we left.”
    Devon grabbed her shoulders and whirled her
around to face him. Eluria’s expression had become guarded. “What is it?”
    She shifted her gaze away. “Nothing. Why
should there be? We need to find a way to reach Ednos. I assume you disabled my
transport. What about your ship?” She tried to pull away.
    “Look at me,” he demanded. She was attempting
to shield herself from him. Didn’t she realize things were different? “Do you
understand what took place between us? That we are changed?”
    “Nothing has changed. You have a path to
follow. I must find a way to get you to Ednos.” She went silent. Finally, she
looked up at him and he saw, and felt, pain emanating from her. “There can be
nothing more between us. We shouldn’t have sealed. The-the depth of what took
place was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, but it can’t happen
again.”
    Devon yanked her wrist up and held it before
her eyes. “Do you see this?” Her gaze widen in shock. “Look at the markings on
my chest, look at your own markings. My markings are the exact mirror of
yours.”
    “It’s not possible,” Eluria whispered
desperately, yanking her wrist free. “It’s a figment tale, nothing more.” She
pulled free of him and raced across the chamber.
    “You are my tafai, the union is honored by
Guardian. You know this. Your vision was mine. We would not hold the markings
of higher union if it weren’t true. Your eyes are the magenta of union. Union
to me.”
    “You don’t understand,” she said with frantic
despair. “I can’t be your tafai. I’m unpure.” She took a deep breath. “I’m a
twilighter…”
    “You were a twilighter,” he corrected
her.
    “No…no. When I contracted my purity…” He saw
the pain and fear of a cornered animal in her eyes. “When I contracted my
purity…I was modified.” She raised a tortured gaze to his. “I’m barren, Devon.
My body will never carry your children. Never, do you understand?”
    She pounded her closed fists against the rock wall. “Oh,
Guardian,” she cried, “why would you do this to him? Bind him to an unpure
female who could offer no hope for Beyond.