His tongue traced the ragged edge, careful and exacting. It coaxed rather than demanded, easing the flow instead of wrenching it free. No harsh pull. No greedy suction. He didn’ttakelike Tallon. He asked.
Polite as ever.
His hand slid down my arms, fingers circling my forearms with an intimacy that mocked the truth. He held me as if I leaned into him by choice. As if this were welcome.
Silence cloaked him while he drank. No groan. No vulgar hunger. Tallon’s appetite had always been raw, unhidden. Egath’s restraint felt practiced, shaped by years among the Velli. Refined and dignified.
Would Deimos be the same?
A sob tore free before I crushed it down. My mind betrayed me with treacherous thoughts. More mouths. More hands. What would Kallias see if he stood here now? Would he turn away from what I’d become? Would he claim what others had touched? And when they stripped his child from me, when they scoured my womb clean, would he still look at me the same? Could we make another? Would my body allow it?
He loved me.
The words beat against my skull, stubborn and fragile.
He loved me.
“Helovesme.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Egath’s whisper brushed the damp skin at my neck. His breath cooled the trail his tongue had left. “Tallon has never loved another soul.”
Tallon. Yes—I belonged to him. The name anchored me to this room. Kallias existed beyond mountains and weeks of hard riding, reduced to rumor and shadow. A legend whispered to frighten Velli children.
“I could love you.” His lips pressed to my neck again.
“You are Velli,” I rasped. The words scraped raw. “You’re incapable of love.”
A low scoff purred from his throat. “You learn quickly.” The next touch lost its courtesy. His mouth sealed harder, demand sharpening as any illusion of tenderness fell away.
The door latch clicked.
He moved with startling speed. The mattress dipped, then rebounded as he vaulted across it. Air rushed past me. I twisted, breath catching, and found him near the far wall, hand swiping his mouth. A faint sheen glimmered on my shoulder where he had fed.
His gaze locked on mine. Wide. Urgent. A silent command to remember our bargain.
Footsteps never followed.
He stood still, listening. After a long moment, he crossed to the door and eased it open. His head angled into the corridor. Silence answered.
When he turned back, color had drained from his face. If someone had seen… The Velli thrived on stolen advantage. They wouldn’t hesitate to tell Tallon—or Deimos.
“Find them,” I whispered.
And kill them.The rest hung unspoken.
I felt no tremor of guilt. Let Velli blood stain the halls. Let them choke on their own ambition. I had sacrificed far too much to lose everything now.
He dipped his chin once. A vow without words.
Whoever lingered outside would not live long.
Then he slipped away, the door closing with a muted thud.
Stillness pressed in. I stared at the wood as if it might splinter open again. Emptiness hollowed my chest. Shock belonged to another version of me. This was something colder. A quiet erosion of the soul.
My palm drifted to my bare stomach. Smooth skin met trembling fingers. No swell marked the life within. No proof of what Kallias and I had made together beneath tangled sheets and whispered promises.
A sob shook through me. I slid from the bed, knees striking the floor.
