He broke into a sprint the second she appeared on the other side. Her laughter echoed between the walls of the buildings, leading him deeper into the winding veins of Anchorage Cove.
When he rounded another corner, Draevyn found himself in another alleyway. It was narrow and dim, tucked between two crumbling buildings on the edge of town.
The sudden silence made every hair on his arms stand on edge. What was she planning? Had she been setting a trap for him thiswhole time, luring him away into a secluded area? It would make sense why she was putting on a show.
Truthfully, he should’ve known better. She was being far too playful for someone who wanted him dead.
Especially for her.
“Esmyra,” he called, rubbing his brows between his forefinger and thumb. “Enough with your little game. Get your stubborn ass down here and just… talk to me. Let me explain everything.”
Silence.
Draevyn’s eyes flicked upward, watching for the glint of moonlight on leather.
He took another step into the alley. “I’m not your enemy. You know that. Please…”
Her presence cloaked him before he heard her move.
The cool, whisper-thin edge of a blade kissed his throat from behind, and a hand snaked around his waist, pulling him back into the curve of her body.
“You talk too much,” Esmyra whispered. Her breath, warm against his ear, sent a shiver down his spine.
Draevyn didn’t flinch. “At least one of us is talking. Now, while I have your attention… Syrena?—”
His words were cut off as she whirled on him, spinning their bodies together faster than he could blink. He then found himself trapped between the building at his back and the dagger at his throat.
His stare met her glacial-blue eyes as they narrowed on him, hidden beneath the hood of her cloak. Esmyra pressed the blade deeper into his skin, and warm droplets of blood slid down his neck.
“I never want to hear that name again.Especiallyfrom you,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
Did something happen between them? Was that why Esmyra was here?
Draevyn couldn’t help the hate-filled laugh that escaped him, the skin of his neck scraping against her weapon. He licked his lips as he watched her. “And if I speak the truth of what she caused?”
“The only thing she caused isthis.” Her whisper ended in a growl as her body transformed.
The midnight hue of her hair morphed into a blinding silver, the red runes now swirling in shimmering blues. But those eyes… those narrowed, furious, gorgeous eyes remained the same as she stared up at him down the bridge of her nose.
The corner of his lip kicked up. “Neat trick, Wildfire.”
“It’sKaelypsonow,” she snapped, the goddess’s name coming out a hateful curse as it left her. “And, if you don’t mind, I have business to attend to. So, unfortunately for me, I need to make your death quick.”
“Oh, I don’t fucking think so,” he shot back.
Draevyn caught her wrist with one hand and spun her. The blade clattered to the cobblestones, the sound echoing through the night air. Esmyra let out a startled grunt, her body shifting back into her mortal form as he pressed her back against the alley wall. His body caged her against the building, arms braced on either side of her head.
Esmyra’s jaw locked as she looked up and met his stare. Moonlight painted her features, her hair was tousled from the chase, and her cheeks were flushed a delicious shade of pink as her eyes burned with fury.
“You’re so pretty when you’re angry,” he said with a grin. “And you’re not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER 32
Esmyra
The air rushed from Esmyra’s lungs as her back slammed against the wall. Pain flared, but it was nothing compared to the cyclone surging inside her.
Draevyn’s body caged her, the warmth of him searing even through the night’s chill. His arms were braced on either side of her, his muscles taut beneath his skin as he stared down into her eyes, chest heaving. His scent of cedarwood and leather wrapped around her like a net that she desperately needed to claw her way out of.
