“It is the most pragmatic decision,” he replied, his gaze roaming over me. “You’ll still need to keep your power in check. And you can’t cause problems in my territory, or I’ll be forced to exile you… which means the Houses are likely going to demand your death this time.”
My lips twisted. “Then they’ll be very disappointed to learn that I can’t die. I’m a creation goddess. If you somehow manage to destroy my corporeal form, my spirit will just go back to Khaos to be reborn again. And I would not be pleased.”
His silver irises flickered with amusement. “No, I imagine you would not. But I suppose you would be in your home realm again.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Where I can find another medallion and come right back here to return the favor,King Vesperus.”
His amusement only seemed to grow. “If there comes a time and a place where I need to kill you, Goddess of Night, then I will fully expect you to return and annihilate me.” He didn’t say it as a joke, but as a full truth. Which placated me only a little.
“Don’t underestimate me, King,” I warned him, not for the first time today.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Goddess,” he returned, a little more seriously now. “But I need you to understand that it will be out of my hands if this truce between us goes sour. The Houses will demand that I hunt you, and you should not underestimate my ability to do so.”
The warning in his tone sent a shiver down my spine, not of fear but of excitement.
And I suddenly understood his amusement from my threats.
They’re arousing him.
Because his threat had me wanting to tempt him into a chase, to see how well he moved, to test his abilities, and fuck him as a reward—ifhe caught me.
I swallowed. “We need to reject this magic.” It came out choked, my heart skipping several beats in my chest. “I don’t like how it’s… seducing me.”
He cocked his head, the action all arrogance and sensual masculinity. “Is it the magic, or is it us?” he asked softly. “I suppose we’ll find out. Because, Nyx, Goddess of Night, Mistress of the Moon, I reject you.”
I gasped, my chest cracking wide open beneath his words and leaving me breathless beside him. I clutched at my dress, nearly ripping the gown off me in an attempt to reach my fracturing heart. But his hands caught my wrists, holding them down.
“Say it back to me,” he said, his voice reminding me of a whirlwind of harshness, each word a barb to my senses.
He rejected me.
He rejected us.
He… he…
I shuddered, my mind splintering as my body shook with an agony unlike any I’d ever experienced.
Had this been a mistake? Should I not have suggested this?Why did I suggest it? Why would I allow this? He’s supposed to be mine… my fated… my soul…
“Nyx,” his voice cut through my thoughts, eliciting a whimper from my throat.
I felt so weak. So cold. So alone.Withering. Dying. A goddess without a home or a realm or a soul.
I’d ventured to so many places, not once feeling right about any single aspect of those realities.
Until Vesperus. Until that tendril of magic that took me to him… whispering his power… his magnitude…
But he rejected it. He—
I jolted as his fangs cut into my neck, my eyes flying open as a scream left my mouth. “How dare you!”How dare he reject me and then bite me!“I’m not yours. You… you…”
His palms grasped my face, his irises bursting with eclipses once more. “Say, ‘Vesperus Veritas, I reject you.’?”
Reject him?
He rejected me…
“You promised to return the favor,” he continued, his gaze burning into mine. “Don’t get weak on me now.”
