Chapter 8 #2
The second head went limp, and Silas leaped off as the monster’s huge body rocked from side to side, then crashed motionless to the ground.
The roar of the crowd was deafening.
The vampires lifted their knives triumphantly, flashing their fangs.
The witches bowed, the angels thrust their swords in the air, like they’d done fucking anything.
Then the crowd started chanting Team Hell, waiting for us to do something.
I grabbed Silas’s wrist, the one still holding his sword, and thrust it into the air.
The cheers reached all new levels.
He looked down at me with a frown.
I shrugged. “We’re the ones who actually killed that fucker.”
He was smeared with sweat and dirt, and his massive chest heaved, his abs so tight you could bounce off them—and I had. I’d dragged my bare pussy all over that tight-as-fuck stomach. I swallowed thickly. Best not to think about that right now.
“Look,” Silas said, tilting his head to the felled beast.
Gold disks now protruded from its flesh, one for each team. We strode over, the other teams as well. I grabbed our one. It was coated in blood, making it hard to grip on to. I wiggled it and it made an obscene suctioning sound, followed by a pop, as it pulled free.
Felditch walked out through the same doors the monster had burst through, and he didn’t look happy.
He swung his staff in a wide circle above his head, and everything disintegrated; the monster, the cheering crowd, the arena, it all vanished.
The leaderboard appeared. The angels rushed forward, adding their disk first because they were assholes, then Silas added ours, the others following.
“That’s over, then,” Felditch said, sounding like a sullen teenager. “I was hoping for more of a show.”
In other words, he was hoping it would take longer for us to kill it and, ideally, for someone to have an arm or a leg torn off in the process.
His expression, however, changed an instant later, and his eyes lit up with evil glee.
“Not to worry. Tomorrow’s event is one of my favorites.
I do a variation of it every tournament, and it always delivers, but this time, let’s just say I’ve outdone myself…
” He smiled and shadows, appearing from nowhere, crept over his face, making him look as if he’d put back on that horrible clown mask.
“It’s absolutely delicious, well, not so much for those of you taking part.
” He licked his lips, his tongue, long and pointed, which sent a shudder down my spine.
This was the event involving poison. Had to be.
Tomorrow’s event was the main reason Lucifer had chosen me to take part in this tournament. My specialty and skill with poisons would give us an advantage, though that would also depend on how Felditch chose to use it.
“All teams return to your quarters for your evening meal.” He clapped his hands and day turned to night. “I suggest you get plenty of rest. Though…I’m not sure rest will help you this time,” he said, and his gaze slid to Silas.
We headed back to the manor, but I made sure I knew where all the teams were as we walked. I didn’t trust any of them, but especially the angels. Nathaniel had tried to hurt Silas today, and I was starting to think there was a lot more to it, that it was personal.
We made it to our room without any trouble, but Nathaniel turned back to look at us before he walked into his and Eloa’s rooms. I didn’t miss the burning hatred in his eyes when he aimed that cold stare at Silas.
“So what’s the deal with you and Nathaniel?” I asked when we were shut in out room. “He hates you. And it’s not just because you’re a bit of a dick. He truly wants you dead. Why?”
Silas looked away, then back, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down his muscled throat. He actually seemed uncomfortable. Whether it was for show or not, I couldn’t say. He gathered himself and said, “We were not friends in Heaven.”
“I worked out as much myself. I want to know why?” I placed my axe on the table. “If we’re gonna have to fight this asshole at every event, I deserve to know why.” I didn’t, not really. I was just being a nosey bitch, especially now when I could see this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have.
“He was the reason I fell. He followed me, spied on me, and reported my every transgression to Michael.”
Did that include the time he’d spent with me? Did I even want to know? “Why?”
“I’m not sure this is something we should—”
“Either tell me, or I’ll ask him.”
“You wouldn’t,” he said, his silver eyes flashing.
“I would, and you know it. And I’m only assuming here, but I’m sure Nate’s side of the story won’t be very even or fair.
” Maybe I should let him off the hook, but when had I ever done that?
I wasn’t going to start now. We may have a truce, but I’d decided that only really applied when we were taking part in an event.
Silas crossed his arms over his bare chest, the muscles in his forearms flexing. “He wanted the female I was meant to…be with, and still does apparently.”
My stomach felt like a lead weight slammed into it. Why the hell hadn’t I kept my big mouth shut. “I didn’t realize angels mated,” I said instead of picking up my axe and hurling it at him.
“We don’t call it that, but it’s…similar, I guess. We sign a book, the book of alliance. After that, we’re known as pair-bonded,” he said, barely looking me in the eyes.
“Where is this female?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“The arrangement ended when I fell.”
I curled my lip in disgust. “So you cheated on her as well, with me? You just can’t keep your dick in your pants, huh?”
“Her and I, it wasn’t like that,” he rushed out. “What we had, was more…a friendship, I guess. There is a selection process. We have no say in who we’re paired with.”
I hated that I felt relief. I curled my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. What the fuck was wrong with me? “Sounds romantic.”
“It’s not.”
“Did she know about me?” Why was my heart beating faster all of a sudden?
“Yes, Nathaniel made sure of it.”
“And?”
“She was humiliated that others knew what I’d done, but that’s all, she wasn’t hurt by it.”
No, she was just pissed that he’d sullied his perfect angel dick with Hell-spawn trash. “Okay, so why hasn’t Nathaniel swooped in, then, when you were tossed out? Sounds like the perfect solution for him.”
“I was told she wouldn’t have him. Nathaniel was the reason I fell, he made sure Michael had no choice but to cast me out, and even though she was disgraced by what I’d done, she refused the match because of it.”
“So you can refuse?”
“Yes, but it’s never done.”
She was in love with him, of course she was. Well, whatever the twisted angel equivalent was. “She must really like you.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Of course he didn’t, because when it came to the heart, he was freaking clueless.
“So why is this pair bonding such a big secret? I’ve been alive as long as you.
I’ve been around plenty of angels, and none of them have ever made me think they were a couple.
I’ve sure as hell never seen any of them make out or be affectionate. ”
His gaze slid to mine, then lowered. “Because that kind of affection isn’t encouraged. We engage in sexual relations for procreation only.”
“Sexual relations?” I snorted, then froze when his expression didn’t change. “So, what? You fuck to get your mate knocked up, then don’t touch each other again until you want to have another kid?” I huffed a laugh.
Dark pink slashed his cheekbones. “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.”
Fucking angels. “And you were willing to live like that? You wanted that? A sexless, loveless mating?” I asked in disbelief.
His jaw ticced. “I thought I did, yes.”
“You say that as if you’d changed your mind.”
“I had, or at least I thought I had.”
“You don’t sound so sure? What about now? Would you still want that kind of mating now, if you could have it?” I asked, needing to know for some stupid reason.
His fingers curled into fists. “I can’t answer that question.”
“What has you so confused?” I couldn’t look away from him, from the way he seemed to be struggling. “You’re not in Heaven anymore, you can do what you want.”
His gaze lifted, locking on mine, and his nostrils flared.
“For a while, everything I thought I believed, everything I thought I wanted, dissolved to dust.” He closed the space between us, until he was standing so close we were almost touching but not quite.
My heart raced faster, the heat flowing from him seeped into my skin and swirled through my body.
Oh gods, I wanted him so badly I ached. “And I never fully recovered from it.” He shook his head.
“I never want to go through anything like that again,” he finished.
That wasn’t an answer, not by a long shot. But I didn’t need one, did I? I didn’t need him to elaborate. Keep your damned mouth shut. Don’t do it. Do not ask. “You’re talking in riddles, angel.” I couldn’t stop myself.
His silver eyes flashed. “You fucking know what I’m talking about.”