Chapter 17 #2
I snarled at the demon and turned on my heel, stomping back downstairs to the bar. Storming up to the female, I slammed a fist on the counter, my free hand closing around the hilt of one of my daggers.
“We need a new room,” I growled at the barmaid, who didn’t pause in slopping ale around with her filthy rag or even acknowledge my presence.
“Ain’t no other rooms.”
“How much?” I demanded, thinking I would pry Kaden’s coin purse out of his cold, dead hands if I had to. “How much for you to send one of these drunken fools out on their asses and put me in their room?”
“None of these drunken fools is staying ’ere for the night. The ones who are still ’ere are bound for the madam’s house next door. The rest will sleep in the muck with the hogs.”
“How much for your room?” I pleaded.
The barmaid finally met my gaze, her jowls quivering with annoyance. “Seeing how I share my quarters with my husband and six littles, I won’t be giving it up for that closet.”
My heart sank. There was no way around it.
With an aggravated sigh, I stomped back upstairs, stopping first to wash in the filthy shared bathing chamber so I wouldn’t have to face Kaden so soon.
Once I’d seen to my needs and scrubbed away the grime from our journey, I made my way back to our broom cupboard, trying to ignore the carnal grunts and moans emanating from the closed doors on either side of the corridor.
Pausing outside our room, I sucked in a breath. If the previous night was any indication of my self-control where the demon prince was concerned, I didn’t like my odds of preserving my dignity after sharing that tiny bed.
But when I cracked the door, I found Kaden already nestled underneath the covers with his back to me. His body rose and fell with the slow, even rhythm of sleep, and the light from the lone candle illuminated the streaks of blue in his glossy black hair.
An odd mix of relief and disappointment tingled in my gut, but I shucked off my damp boots, climbed onto the bed, and reached over to shut the door behind me.
Peeling off my jacket and pants, I rooted around in Kaden’s pack until I found a clean linen undershirt. Glancing over to be sure he was truly asleep, I peeled off my sweaty woolen underlayer and slipped the clean one over my head.
The fabric fell well past my hips, and I realized I’d grabbed one of Kaden’s shirts by mistake. It smelled like him, and with the two of us crammed into the candlelit cupboard, the tiny bed suddenly seemed even smaller.
Pulling back the musty blankets, I shimmied under the threadbare sheet and nearly yelped as the cold fabric brushed my bare legs.
The instant I slid onto my side, however, the real problem became obvious. The mattress was old and sagged toward the middle, making it impossible to avoid rolling into Kaden.
Cursing the barmaid, I scooted as close to the edge as I could manage, hugging the side of the lumpy mattress to avoid brushing up against the sleeping prince.
But without the heat of Kaden’s body warming my side of the bed, the broom cupboard was intolerably cold. Wind whistled through the cracks in the walls and roof, and long skeins of moonlight fell across the bed like icicles.
Teeth chattering, I wrenched the covers up under my chin, closed my eyes, and tried to relax.
“Don’t be shy, little huntress,” Kaden rumbled. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, hoping in vain that he could not hear my violently clacking teeth.
“Your shivering is shaking the bed.”
I let out a frustrated groan. I was not going to snuggle with Kaden.
But then the mattress shifted beneath me, and a strong arm locked around my waist. Kaden tugged me against his chest, and I had to hold back a sigh as his delicious warmth seeped through the thin material of my shirt.
How was he so fucking warm ? It was both puzzling and infuriating. Perhaps it came with the territory of being half demon.
“You’re stiff as a board,” he observed with a chuckle.
“You’re like a barnacle.”
“You didn't seem to mind my barnacle-like qualities back at the cave,” he mused, his voice laced with wickedness.
My skin heated at the memory of what we’d done on that mountain, and I wanted to shove him away with a quick elbow to the ribs .
But I knew I’d never be able to sleep without Kaden’s warmth, so I bit back the snide retort burning on my tongue and remained locked in his embrace.
My muscles ached, and my head felt fuzzy, but I was finally warm . Soon my eyes grew unbearably heavy, and I fell into a deep sleep.
A low groan awoke me some hours later in the frigid dark of our room. Kaden was no longer wrapped around me, and I was shivering beneath the covers.
I turned at the sound of a sharp intake of breath and found him hunched in the center of the bed. His back was bowed, his shoulders stiff, but I couldn’t see his face.
Silver threads of moonlight fell across his skin, revealing more of those mesmerizing tattoos. They shifted and changed before my eyes, and my fingers itched to reach out and trace the undulating swirls.
But it wasn’t just the ink that was moving, I realized. Kaden was trembling.
“Kaden?”
He didn’t answer.
I sat up abruptly, smacking my head on the ceiling, and let out a colorful string of curses.
Kaden didn’t move or give any indication he’d heard me.
Reaching for him, I hissed as my fingers brushed his skin, which was cold as ice.
His shoulders jerked at my touch, but he didn’t pull away. He seemed to shrink in on himself, muttering under his breath.
“ Kaden ,” I said, more insistently this time .
Nothing.
Gripping his shoulder, I wrenched him around to face me and found his stormy eyes wide with terror.
“No!” he croaked, jerking away and squeezing his eyes shut. “He can’t see you.”
“ Who can’t see me?”
Was he still asleep? I wondered. Was he having a nightmare from which he could not wake?
But before I could arrive at any explanation, Kaden resumed his low muttering, the corded muscles of his back tensing. Sweat beaded at his temples as he rocked forward, and that muttering grew more insistent.
He looked as though he were in unbearable pain, and I couldn’t understand a word he was saying.
“Kaden, look at me,” I growled, taking hold of both his shoulders and wrenching him around to face me again.
His jaw clenched, but he opened his eyes, and something in his expression seemed to clear. He blinked and released a shaky breath, panting as he looked down at me.
“What was that?” I asked, searching his face for any indication that he might fall back into that torturous trance.
Kaden’s expression shuttered. “If I told you, it would only give you another reason to distrust me.”
“Well, whatever that was doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, so you might as well tell me.”
He dragged in a breath, shoulders sagging as he dropped his gaze to the tattered bedspread. His biceps tensed as he reached forward, pressing his fingertips into the mattress. “Remember how I said it was important that you learn to shield against my father?”
I nodded .
“That was as much for me as it was for you.” His throat worked as he swallowed. “My father, he . . . He can communicate with me, mind to mind.”
My stomach clenched with unease. “What do you mean?”
“Demons are not meant to sire offspring,” he said in a low voice. “Any heir is tied to their sire by more than just blood. There is a mental pathway between the two of us — a bond — which my father uses to relay orders and call me back to Dorthus anytime he needs to feed.”
Kaden practically spat the last word, and fresh dread settled in my gut.
“These last few weeks, he’s been quiet, but . . .”
“ But ?”
“But with the bond being what it is, it can be difficult to block him out. Since you and I are traveling together, it’s crucial that I do.”
Horror clanged through me as his words sank in.
Not only was Kaden the demon prince, but he was tethered to Semphrys by some kind of sire bond — a mental tether that meant the Dark King could reach his son whenever he wanted. Invade Kaden’s mind whenever he wanted .
The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
“But . . . won’t he know that something is wrong if you shut him out?” I asked.
Kaden opened his mouth, tilting his head to the side.
“It wouldn’t be the first time. He gets angry when I block him out, so I do it sparingly.
My father thinks I’m in the mortal world right now.
Hunting for you. My hope is that he chalks it up to my being angry at getting the third degree from Xadorsch. ”
My stomach clenched. “And if he doesn’t? ”
Kaden’s expression darkened, and when his eyes met mine, the swirling silver depths were as tumultuous as the Drathen Sea. “We must hope that he does.”