Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Silt stalked away from the balcony and charged up the stairs.
“Not interested,” he snapped at the stair orgy when they reached for him.
Pausing outside Kosmina’s door, he heard grunts and groans. Cut-off bellows. She’d already been seduced by one of the wastrels here!
A thud pounded against the wall. Then another. It sounded like they mauled each other. Jealousy seethed, and that weird feeling of wrath shaded his thoughts, swelling his muscles.
The thudding died down, and Kosmina said in an exhilarated tone, “That was amazing!” She was out of breath.
Silt quaked as much as this realm continued to do. He should be in there, taking her body and accepting her praise. She would’ve fallen for him. Why hadn’t he just told her the truth about his powers?
Because there’s no future. A princess like her didn’t want more from him. He didn’t want more from her. So why couldn’t he just walk away?
“Where did you learn to move like this?” Kosmina exclaimed. Then another thud sounded. “You’ve impressed me.”
Silt’s hands clenched, and the sand in his pouch churned.
“Lots of practice,” a male said. Xodin? Fucking Xodin? “But I think you are simply a natural at this.” A natural!
“Time for another go, demon.”
Xodin’s hands on her . . . making her moan . . . his wings wrapped around her body . . .
Enough. Silt backed up a step. With a yell, he booted in the door. He launched himself at Xodin before the male could defend, and they went flying across the room.
“What are you doing?” Kosmina cried.
Before they crashed into a wall, Xodin sculled his wings and changed the trajectory. So Silt swung a fist with all the wrath inside him.
Xodin’s head whipped around, wings juddering.
“Stop this, Silt!” Kosmina’s voice sounded far away against the pounding of his heart.
He dimly noted the two were dressed. Had Xodin been training with her? Atop a table were maps and a pitcher of blood next to a mug of demon brew. How godsdamned cozy. He unleashed another hit.
Xodin growled, horns and fangs lengthening. “Though violence is forbidden, I will defend myself! Your next hit will be your last, sorcerer.”
“No violence? But you got an exception to train in this room, right? So let’s do this.”
Kosmina snatched a sword from a nearby scabbard and rushed between them. “Enough! What is wrong with you, sorcerer?” When Xodin extricated himself from Silt’s grip and backed away, she told the demon, “I can handle him. Please go.”
He swiped blood from his lip. “I don’t want to leave you like this.”
“I’m fine”—she twirled her sword—“but I’m about to blister his ears.”
“Very well. Then I’ll let you have at it. Tomorrow, princess?”
“Unless Enti succeeds with my weapon before then.”
“Exactly. It might be soon.” Xodin knew the weapon wasn’t possible.
Seeing the demon dissemble with such ease made Silt a little less proud of his own lies. Want nothing in common with that wastrel.
Giving Kosmina a courteous bow—and Silt a rude gesture with one wing—Xodin turned toward the rapidly repairing door.
Silt stayed on guard, gaze locked on the demon until the door shut behind him, then he rounded on her. “How much time have you been spending with him?” Her eyes had reddened—which just upped Silt’s agitation.
She glared. “That’s none of your business. What gives you the right to attack my friend?”
“Xodin’s not your friend. He’s using you.”
“Using me? By going over maps of Nightside, bringing me updates on the weapon, and helping me prepare my body for battle? How could he?”
“Battle’s not the only thing he wants to prepare your body for. He’s seducing you.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Then she thought for a moment, glancing at the door with interest. “Do you really think so?”
Venting that wrath, Silt snapped, “You’re not Xodin’s. You’re not the Gravewalker’s. Vampire, you belong to me .”
“Belong? Are you hearing yourself?” Silt’s behavior harkened back to the time in the cave when he’d been so crazed. A mere week ago!
Yet this seemed . . . different. Before, he’d appeared to be ruled by his habits and his past; now by jealousy. Or by his heart.
Hers stupidly clamored for him.
Over these last three days, Mina had willed herself to concentrate on her mission. She’d tried not to picture him indulging in all the debauchery here. She’d tried to ignore her worsening nightmares and growing thirst for him.
But her concentration had been wrecked when Xodin had let it slip that Silt wasn’t indulging—at all. Why, why, why? She kept thinking, What if he cares for me?
Now the sorcerer paced before her. “That demon is not for you!”
Silt’s possessiveness made her chest twist, her body already responding to him. This man—so flawed, so wounded—called to her, a clarion call as strong as fate’s. But it was too late for anything more between them. “Are you always so jealous?” She set aside her sword and drew a breath to give his ears the blistering she’d promised.
Yet her words died in her throat when he rasped with bewilderment, “ Never. Do you understand me, princess? You’ve done something to me.” His tension was like a force in the room. “Do you want that demon?”
“I don’t want him, and I don’t want you—ahhh!” The rána scalded her throat on that lie. Cupping her neck, she gasped, “I don’t want to want you. But, gods help me, I do,” and the burn eased.
Silt looked as if the sight of her pain was too much to bear. He strode over and leaned down. “You can’t lie to me.” He kissed her neck, soothing her there, while making the rest of her body burn. “I don’t want to want you either. But you’re inside me like sand in an hourglass. I don’t know that I’ll work without you.”
What would have happened if they’d met under different circumstances? Didn’t matter; they hadn’t. “Your rash words will always stand between us. One sentence destroyed any chance we might have had.” Voicing that truth aloud brought stark comprehension. Tears welled, and she whispered thickly, “You’re so far away from me that you might as well be a ray of sun.” A blood-tinged tear tracked down her face.
His eyes went wide. “Shh. Don’t cry, sweet.”
“This could have been something. You and I both know it. We’re each drawn to the other, more than we ought to be.”
He didn’t deny it.
Another tear spilled, embarrassing her. “That’s why this hurts so bad. And I’ve already got enough hurt coming my way. The last thing I need is more pain, and that’s all you offer.”
He cupped her cheeks. “Kosmina, I won’t harm your brother.”
“You’ll have to. Your vow will force you to!”
He thumbed her tears away. “Then it’s a good thing I have the power to break it.”