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Nur bites his lip. “But you did.”
She flashes him a smirk. “A bit. Still gotta walk the whole continent without her once in a while.”
“I won’t be around long enough for that to matter,” he mutters.
“You might surprise yourself,” Myra replies with a faint, rare smile.
Nur sets up the tent and crawls inside. His new bedroll smells like nothing. The canvas is missing the stitched-up tear in the left wall where he ripped it apart the day Arsene tried to trap him. No beat-up pack sits in the corner, none of the angel’s things irritatingly strewn across the floor.
When he closes his eyes, he can’t sleep.
Arsene opens up the tent in the middle of the night and ducks inside. Nur is disturbed to find it feels like a violation of his space, even as his vergis rejoices.Put his smell on everything,itdemands. He ignores it, because everyone in his head is a fool. He pulls his shirt on and reaches for his boots, letting his hair hide his face from Arsene’s gaze.
“Wait,” Arsene says awkwardly as Nur tries to slide past him. “I’ll feed you first. I should feed you every day, not just when it’s convenient.”
He has to stop and breathe deeply, heart tumbling in his chest. Hewantsthat. Damn Arsene for dangling it in front of him.
“Why?”
“Our agreement was unfair from the start. You need it every day, don’t you?”
“I need it often enough it doesn’t consume my waking thoughts,” he mutters. “I’ve not yet known that peace. Every day? More like every hour.”
“That sounds impractical,” Arsene replies. “Let’s start with something manageable.”
Nur looks up. A glimmer of humor shines in his eyes, endearing and unbearable.
“Fine. Every day.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I know what you’re trying to do. I feel your guilt through the bond.” He laces his boots with quick jerks. “I’m not angry. You did what you had to. The humans need to respect you.”
“But I hurt you,” Arsene presses.
Of course you did,Nur wants to yell. “I was stupid—I thought I could prove something to you. But it was a mistake. I’m disposable. A nobody. You have a future, and it’s not like you can waste it on me.”
Arsene’s mouth twists, a quick grimace Nur would miss if he couldn’t feel the accompanying twinge of guilt through the bond. It gives him no satisfaction.
“You don’t need to prove yourself,” he says.
“I agree.” Nur straightens. “I’ll never live up to your standards, no matter how many monsters I kill. Let me just say one thing—if you really think they’ll give you a mate when your mission ends, you’re a fool. Because whatever you think of me is exactly what they think of you.”
“I don’t think of you that way,” Arsene says quietly.
“Don’t lie!” His voice rises, trembling. How dare he.
“I don’t,” Arsene repeats, but he looks defeated. “Don’t you want to feed?”
Nur’s pride and his hunger war briefly, but the latter wins out. As always. He jerks his head. “Come here.”
His scent surrounds Nur the moment he draws near. Weak to temptation, he fills his lungs with it. He draws Arsene down, secretly delighting at how easily the angel bows his head. Arsene’s eyes are already dark with desire. His lips part and his breath ghosts across Nur’s ear. His pulse thuds against Nur’s palm in time with the thumping of his own heart.
Arsene’s eyes close, his pale lashes dusting his cheek. Nur tugs him down until he can’t see the angel’s face anymore, sinks his teeth into Arsene’s heartbeat and drinks his fill. Arsene’s hands come to his waist, gripping too tight. Nur shuts his eyes and tries to block out everything but the sweet, clean taste of his soul.
Chapter 24
ARSENE
