Chapter 2
Vlash was aware of Mason’s gaze on him as he danced and talked and pretended he was enjoying himself.
He didn’t mind weddings, but this one was too similar to the life he’d lived before the collapse.
It was the ceremony and the gathering of the important mythos and the damn uniform.
The wounds he thought long healed bled afresh.
Everyone in this room had lost someone. He wasn’t special, but tonight, with all the magic and everyone dressed up, it was as if nothing had changed, even though it had been over a decade since the collapse. The loss of his wife and daughter in the collapse clawed at his heart.
And all he wanted was to forget.
To lose himself and exist in the moment in a way he hadn’t done in what seemed like centuries, even though it was probably only decades. In the same heartbeat, he didn’t want to forget because then they would be gone forever. But he was so tired of existing.
When he’d grabbed Mason for a dance, it had been because he’d seemed lonely and a little sad—something he recognized and tried not to acknowledge—but there’d been a glimmer in his eyes when he’d pulled him close. A spark Vlash hadn’t seen since…
He pushed the thought aside. This felt like the past, but it wasn’t.
It was a painful lie because the king wanted to remember for a little longer.
He made it through another two songs and a conversation with Xan, the werewolf alpha, before he let his feet take him to Mason’s table.
The human man looked up as if surprised to see him, but shock gave way to naked desire in less than a second.
No one had dared look at him in that way for a very long time.
He was the head archer. Elves regarded him with fear.
They jumped to obey. Humans hated him, sometimes simply because he was mytho, other times specifically because he was an elf and would outlive them.
To anyone watching, he was making sure the guests were having a good time.
Doing his job and making sure everything went smoothly and that no fights broke out.
Although a fight would be a nice distraction.
He’d been disappointed Carlin Howard had confessed so quickly.
Instead of praying for violence, he should bask in the lust.
Vlash held his hand. “We can cry into mead later. We should dance now.”
He should’ve just asked him to dance, but his intent was clear. Neither of them was having a great time, and crying into mead sometimes purged the wound.
Mason opened his mouth, and for a couple of heartbeats, Vlash thought he was going to refuse. Then he stood, and his fingers closed around Vlash’s.
The heat in Mason’s eyes didn’t dim.
On the dance floor, Vlash pulled him close again, in a way he hadn’t with his other dance partners. With other mythos, his rank got in the way, and the other humans didn’t look at him the way Mason did.
That Mason was human wasn’t so easy to brush aside, but the way he looked at him was intoxicating.
It was as if Mason didn’t care that Vlash had rank in power.
Well, he had those things tonight. The rest of the time, he was just the struggling owner of a corner store with a grown-up son, intent on embracing the human world and forgetting where he came from.
Because he didn’t remember. And sometimes Vlash envied Lekso.
Mason's touch was cautious, as though he wasn’t sure what he was allowed to do.
Vlash wasn’t sure, either. How far would he take this?
How far did he want to go? It would’ve been safer to ignore Mason and leave him sitting on the chair by himself.
Because now he was holding him close, he didn’t want to let him go.
He wanted to drown in the liquor-fueled heat in the human’s eyes.
That he wanted to be seen as a man was a weakness he could never admit to anyone.
Usually, he didn’t admit it even to himself.
He swallowed the snarl of annoyance that wanted to form. How had a human gotten beneath his armor so fast? “I won’t bite.”
Mason’s lips twitched. “I’m sure you know at least ten other ways to kill someone.”
Vlash laughed. That was the second time Mason had made him laugh. “Oh, I know more than ten.”
Mason’s eyes widened, and heat flared. “Want to show me?”
Mason thought he was joking. How cute. How human.
Yet, he did want to show him. It had been over ten years since he’d been with anyone.
At first, he’d been lost after the collapse.
The death of his wife and daughter had consumed him.
He’d only gone on because of his son and because the king and other mythos needed him.
By the time they were allowed to walk freely in the human city, he was back to being head archer, and he’d developed a loathing for humans, which was at odds with the way he held Mason. The way Mason watched him was enough for Vlash to forget himself. A luxury he didn’t have.
He wanted to grip the back of Mason’s head and kiss him. Would he respond or panic and push him away? He couldn’t deal with the latter. And there were too many people watching for the former.
He eased his hold, putting a few inches between them, already missing the feel of Mason’s body against his. “I’m going to get a bottle of mead and go back to my room.”
“Is that an invitation?”
Vlash considered Mason for a moment. “Only if you want it to be.”
If not, he’d drink alone.