Chapter Eleven
Nomi
Ipanned the street I didn’t immediately recognize in confusion. “Did we just portal travel or something?”
Ghost’s lips twitched again, but to my dismay, he didn’t smile. I was now on a mission to find ways to make him smile. After leaving Felix, he was back to his regular Ghost self.
“Something like that.”
“Cool beans,” I mumbled, staring at my unfamiliar surroundings. “Where are we?”
“The last place Michael was.”
I blinked at him, expecting him to go into further detail, and when he didn’t, I sighed. “And who’s Michael?”
“An archangel.”
“Holy shit,” I cursed, eyes wide. “Like, God’s favorite angels or whatever?”
“Well, she had been,” he said, not elaborating.
My head was exploding with the information. When I tried to turn, Ghost kept a firm grip on me. The little cuties bounced around as he stared at them.
I ignored how happy it made my pulse to be so close to him and how I wasn’t even the slightest bit upset that I got to feel the ripple of his muscles under his shirt.
The man always smelled so damn good. My nose was grateful for every whiff. I couldn’t even be sure if it was cologne. Did Horsemen wear cologne? It seemed weird to think about, but I’d have so many ideas for stories if I lived through this.
“Check the area,” he told the colorful cuties. They split into a million pieces and flew out like fireworks going off. I barely took a breath before they were back, swaying and flickering. He made a little sound in his throat and peered down at me. “She was here but isn’t anymore.”
I nodded, acting like I understood how this all worked. I didn’t, but the guy needed my support, and by god, I’d give it to him. “Okay, so what’s next?”
I shivered without meaning to, and Ghost stared down at me, his head tipping to one side. “You’re cold.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, not used to the new temperature.
It was night wherever we were and ice covered the ground. My sweater wasn’t thick enough to save me from the brutal chill. Wherever we were, it was a lot colder than where I lived. The change was a shock to my system, so I couldn’t stop the shivers even if I wanted to. Which I did.
He didn’t move, but his hold on me tightened. “We’ll follow the trail tomorrow. You need warmth and food.”
I went to argue, but the world tilted and shifted again, stealing the air from my lungs. I clung to him without intending to, off balance and a little woozy. His arms were the only thing keeping me from falling into the floor.
When I finally had enough sense to peer around, we were in front of a house I also didn’t recognize. It was still dark and cold, so I’d hazard a guess and say we hadn’t gone far.
“Where are we now?”
He slid his fingers between mine without asking and led me to the door. When I stumbled, he was quick to put his arm back around my waist. I sucked in several gulps of air, feeling a little sick to my stomach.
My body wasn’t built for instantaneous travel. The sensation of it had twisted up my insides. Hopefully we didn’t Mario hop from one place to the next too much or I’d be more of a burden than an asset—assuming I made it to the asset level of help at some stage.
“Hold on,” I murmured, hoping desperately I didn’t vomit on the guy just trying to get me fed and warm. That’d hardly be the thank you he deserved. “My stomach—”
My head couldn’t catch up as I was lifted into his arms and walked inside the house. In my confusion, I’d wrapped my arms around his neck and blinked as the world passed me by in a blur.
I wasn’t exactly as light as a feather, but he carried me like I was. I kept forgetting he wasn’t human. Even with his red eyes and white hair, I forgot he could do things I couldn’t.
Before my thoughts came together, I was on a couch with Ghost moving around a huge kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an island, searching the seemingly endless cabinets.
I peered over my shoulder at him. “What are you looking for?”
“Ares once mentioned tea soothes humans.” His mumbling was way too cute as he checked another cabinet, and I nearly said something before catching myself.
“Well, your sister is smart.” I smiled at him, and he stopped to stare back at me. “Oh, sorry. It was rude of me to assume—”
His lips twitched into a brief smile before he went back to his search. “No, you’re right. She is.”
Fuck yeah! Go, Nomi. Another smile in record time.
Clearing my throat, I tried not to physically celebrate my victory.
Ghost was plenty weird enough for the both of us.
“Whose house is this, anyway? We’re not squatting on some unassuming stranger or anything, right?
I don’t want to add breaking and entering to my long list of terrible choices,” I babbled, noticing how clean it was and genuinely worrying we were committing a crime.
I’d always been the good girl. I had to be. I never wanted to lose Felix or be a burden, and I didn’t dare make his life harder than it already was. Not that I ever had any inclination toward crime.
Ghost didn’t answer at first, so I tried to get up. His eyes shot over to me and flicked down to the couch, then back up to my face. It was a wordless order to sit down. My stomach turned again, and I decided I wouldn’t argue. Like with Felix, the last thing I wanted was to be a burden.
He filled a kettle and set it on the stove, his movements mesmerizingly fluid and graceful. For someone who didn’t live like a human, Ghost picked up on things quickly.
“It’s one of mine,” he finally said as he came over. My confusion must’ve shown on my face because he went on. “It’s a place I own. One of a few around the world.”
“One of…few?” I asked in disbelief. How rich was this guy?
He peered around. “I’ve lived a very long time, Nomi.”
“Ah.” I nodded. “Of course that makes sense. Sorry, it’s a lot to take in.”
He didn’t answer, but nothing about his expression suggested he was put off by my curiosity. I had a lot of questions, but I didn’t want to bombard him with them, so I stuck to the topics that mattered to both of us.
“Why are you tracking Michael instead of Ares?” After giving the room another searching glance, I looked over at the quiet Horseman next to me and noticed he was staring at my chest. The second my eyes landed on him, his gaze flicked up.
My heart gave a few extra beats of excitement. I’d seen that look before, but I never thought it’d be one Ghost gave me. For some reason, I got the feeling he wasn’t someone who gave into lust, and most of his touches felt absentminded—as if he didn’t do them with any other motive but to touch me.
But his answer cut off my detective work. “No one can find Ares if she doesn’t want to be found, but she made a mistake, and now Michael knows where she is.”
“And that’s bad?” I pressed.
His gaze flickered with something. “It is. Michael wants the end of the world. Ares does not.”
“So, Michael is a threat to her,” I surmised, finally understanding.
“And to you,” he added to my surprise.
“Me? Because I’m one of the souls meant to start it?”
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and the odd sensation inside me writhed to life—the urge to kiss him. This close to Ghost, and it always surged to the surface.
His mouth had been so soft, his tongue so wicked. Looking at him you’d never guess the man kissed like he intended to devour you, but he did. And the memory of it was enough to make my body flush with heat.
“She threatened to go after Ares if I didn’t ripen my Counter Soul for the apocalypse.”
Ripen? That word was…a choice.
A breath escaped me. “Counter Soul? You mean me? Is that why—but you told me—”
“I never intended to do as she asked,” he interrupted, suddenly closer than before.
His eyes only briefly left my mouth before returning to it.
My pulse was going crazy. Between us, it was nothing but tension, and I couldn’t be sure what caused it.
With Ghost, I never knew. He touched me out of nowhere.
He said things out of nowhere. He kissed me out of nowhere.
I couldn’t figure him out, so I stopped trying.
The beautiful man in front of me was led almost entirely by impulse like the cuties bouncing around us, and as much as I’d love to say it bothered me, it didn’t. Not at all. Because those impulses were the ones I denied myself most of the time, and it gave me an excuse when he took what he wanted.
Biting my lower lip, I somehow kept my voice steady. “Ah, then you were there to give her the impression you planned to take my soul so you could track down Ares?”
In a moment of reprieve—I wasn’t sure how long my heart would’ve held out with how hard it pounded—his eyes returned to mine. “Yes.”
I nodded, dry in the mouth and ridiculously hot between the legs for a woman who barely blushed over smutty stories anymore. “That makes sense. It’s smart. She probably let her guard down when she thought you were doing what she asked.”
The smile he gave me was brief but impactful. “You and Ares would get along. You remind me of her.”
Well, damn. Okay. Not a great thing to hear when you had the hots for someone that said you reminded them of their sister, but still flattering.
I deflated a bit but tried to keep the conversation going. “War? Really? She sounds incredibly powerful and smart.”
“You are too, little wisp.”
I was melting again, totally under his spell. It was probably the most idiotic thing I could do, but I might be falling for Famine. It was impossible to stop. I was drawn to him in ways I never had been with anyone else, and I couldn’t get away no matter how much I tried.
And honestly, I didn’t want to get away. Maybe because he saved me when he didn’t have to, or because he’d never gone out of his way to lie to me. Or maybe because he’d done everything he could to protect me and Felix.
I was sinking with this ship.
I was falling so damn hard.
The distance between us had closed while I spiraled with revelations, his mouth a hairsbreadth away—close enough to kiss him again, but far enough that I could stop it. But did I want to? He might be protecting me, but I wasn’t guaranteed tomorrow.
I’d been ready to die today.
A loud whistle made the choice for me. Ghost was suddenly gone to make our tea, and my pulse was a loud thrum in my ears as I finally sucked in a breath.