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“He dreamed of her.
She returned his kisses eagerly, as though they lived in a world where there had never been a war and he was wanted and adored—and that was how he realized he was dreaming.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“You have me on my back.�� Alaric was shocked by the hoarseness in his own voice. “Now what?��
“I don’t know,�� Talasyn mumbled. Her gaze was also focused on his mouth. Her heart was beating a wild, violent rhythm in tandem with his. “I didn’t think that far ahead.��
“Pity.�� His fingers ventured higher up her thigh, caressing the silky flesh.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“First of all,�� he said through gritted teeth, “I don’t know how to react to you. You are infuriating and self-righteous and you get under my skin. Secondly, there have never been any other women—there was never anyone before you—and much to my dismay you have provoked me so much that you’ve wormed your way into my dreams. You are the only one who plagues them. And one last thing”—his voice lowered into a growl—“the next time I kiss you, I want to remember it.��
Raindrops dotted his cheek as he bent down. Lightning streaked the sky as he pulled her to him. The Eversea’s dark waves slammed against the shore as he crushed his lips to hers.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“You should never flirt again,�� he said. “It might be the end of me.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“That’s it, Tala.�� Alaric pressed a feverish kiss to her temple, then another one to her jaw. He sounded as broken as she felt, that deep rasp of a voice guiding her higher. “Come all over your husband’s wedding ring.��

He watched her the way one watched a sunrise.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“I’m done fighting this. Another coherent thought, breaking through the fog of his mind. Here, at last, was something that felt right. Something real. Whatever else happens, I won’t fight it anymore.
And if that made him a monster, made him a traitor—then so be it.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Did—were you—�� Alaric faltered, each word laboriously plucked out from his stupor. “Did you think that I �� would strike you?��
Talasyn remained silent a beat too long. Long enough for him to confirm that her answer, though unspoken, was yes.
“I wouldn’t—�� He hit the floor on his knees and shuffled toward her. She straightened up with the intention of nudging him to do so as well, but he flung his arms around her waist. “Tala, I would never”—he buried his face in her midsection—“never when we’re not sparring,�� he said fiercely. “Never when I’m drunk, never in our room—��
“I know.�� She carded her fingers through his soft hair, in a tentative attempt to soothe him.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“She ran to Alaric, to fight by his side.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Would you like to pet it?�� she asked, gesturing to the dragon.
His reply was immediate. “No, thank you.��
“Scared?�� she goaded him.
“Smart,�� he tersely corrected.
She smirked. “What if I dared you?��
He exhaled.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Talasyn was burning up. Had it really been just thirty minutes? It had felt much longer. Her throat was parched and every inch of her body was on fire. Heatstroke, she thought groggily. Like the relentless summers on the Great Steppe. Too much light, too much warmth. She took a step toward the waterline with some hazy thought of drowning herself in the Eversea. She would do anything for even a moment’s relief, but the treacherous sand shifted under her feet and she couldn’t correct, she was falling��
And Alaric was catching her. Strong arms wrapped around her, hauling her up against a broad, hard frame. The relief was instantaneous everywhere his skin touched hers, her fevered brow to the hollow of his throat, his bare hands on her shoulder and the small of her back. It spread, this cooling, the roar of light receding.
And Alaric was shaking, too. No, he was shivering. His teeth were chattering and he was ice-cold. Talasyn burrowed deeper against his chest, tightening her own grip on him, no thought left to her but to offer him some measure of comfort. Her left hand slipped underneath the hem of his shirt, palm flat on the heaving muscles of his abdomen. His tremors abated and his breathing evened out at the same time as hers.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Not the cold that had made him believe he was dying, and not the way Talasyn’s touch had channeled warmth into his veins like salvation.
Because she was not his salvation.
He had let her get too close. She would be his undoing. Light and shadow couldn’t exist together without one destroying the other.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“You were burning up earlier,�� he whispered. “I reached out to you, and for a moment you were like the dragon. Nothing but flame against my skin.��
She saw the fear then, fear that he had tried to hide before—not for himself, but for her. She reached out and touched his shoulder, and he melted, as though she really were fire, sinking his head toward her hand.
“I’m all right. Because of you.�� Talasyn dragged her fingers down the muscled cords of Alaric’s bare arm. “As soon as you touched me, it drew out the fever. It felt …��
Like someone stopping her fall. Like the end of a long journey home.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“She reached for Alaric, because she was a coward. His icecold fingers laced with hers, soothing the inferno at the same time that his skin gradually warmed.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“His past shouldn't matter; he should hardly even matter, outside of the role he would play in her endgame.
And yet Talasyn kept circling back to that night in his chambers, how he’d been so broken, how he’d asked her to be kind. How sweetly he’d kissed her.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Now she was more dangerous than adorable, and he didn’t know how much more he could take, torn between shaking her for putting herself in danger with some harebrained notion of rescuing him and kissing her senseless for �� for being her. For being his exasperating wife who looked so good in his clothes.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“This kiss felt different from before. There was a lick of anger in the way they moved, yes, but there was also something that Alaric was trying to tell her with his lips and his tongue and his hands—something that her own body echoed back to him.
I need you.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“I was here first,�� she seethed, “you unbelievably annoying man—��
His arms opened to receive her and she crashed into his wide, solid chest, and then they were kissing.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Tala,�� he said, in something between a whisper and a sigh.
“Alaric,�� she said dryly.
“I merely wished to say your name,�� he said.
“Oh gods,�� Talasyn muttered. Her husband was a sappy drunk.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“All right,�� Alaric said softly. “Breathe with me.�� And Talasyn did.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Talasyn clapped a hand over her mouth, transmuting a bark of laughter into an inelegant snort. Even as Alaric struggled not to grin, something in his chest lifted at the fact that he was able to make her laugh.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Look at you, Lachis’ka,�� he said, his voice gravelly and darkly teasing, the words conjured as usual from a heady mixture of bravado and sheer want. “Always scolding your husband, but you’re still going to come all over him. You’re still going to march out there—in front of everyone—and bid me goodbye while I’m dripping down your thighs.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“He couldn’t wait to see her. It was a very strange feeling. Anxious and excited all at once.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“She presented an absurd picture, and yet��
“Um.�� Talasyn bit her lip. “Welcome back. Hi.��
The moment spun through time in a thread of gold. As Alaric stared down at his wife, all of the stress that he had felt over the past month—all of his fears for tonight—melted away. “Hello.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“I just wanted to say—�� Alaric broke off. What did he want to say?
Talasyn blinked up at him. “Yes?��
I am sorry for everything.
I liked writing to you.
I won’t let my father hurt you.
I know we agreed that it’s simply physical attraction between us, but sometimes—sometimes I think��
Ever since we met, I have lived in a dream of what could be.
But he could never tell her any of this.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Stay with me,�� she whispered.
His breath hitched. “You know I will.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“She kissed her way down his scarred face and then their lips caught somehow, and her mirth tapered off into a sigh.

Alaric had never kissed her like this before, so gentle and searching.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Talasyn wasn’t looking at the Night Emperor in that moment. She saw only a boy who’d been sent to the front too soon, like her, and who understood what that entailed. She saw only a man who was determined to be better than the past.
It would be so easy to love you in a different life.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Talasyn placed her own hands on her hips—the universal sign, Alaric thought sardonically, that someone’s husband was in deep trouble.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“This is all because I danced with—��
He tilted his head, all the better to lavish her neck with furious, biting kisses. “I rather doubt dancing was all your suitors had in mind.��
“If so, that’s their problem, not mine! What are you mad at me for?��
Alaric stumbled back. “I’m not mad at you—��
“Could’ve fooled me—��
“I’m jealous, Talasyn,�� he snapped.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising

“Let the Nenavarene see their Lachis’ka ride the Night Emperor’s face.�� There was a ragged edge to his deep voice. His breath was hot against her wetness. “Let them see me make my wife scream. Let them know, beyond the Shadow and the turning of the stars, that you are mine.”
― Thea Guanzon, A Monsoon Rising