My own climax began to fade, andIcould feelChloerocking instinctually against me, as if either of us had any more to give.Andmaybe in a momentIwould–Iwould do whateverIcould to this woman to make her come on me again and again.Butfor now, my limbs turned to jelly, andChloe’sgrip on me loosened, too, and we both began to laugh as we pressed our foreheads together.
“Holy shit,” she said, swallowing hard. “Like, truly holy.”
“That definitely counts as an act of worship,”Iagreed. “JesusChrist.”
“Another church word,” she said.
“Well, makes sense.Thatwas…”
“Transcendent.”
“Yes,”Isaid, then caught her lower lip in a soft, warm, messy kiss.
“Teddy—” she started, butIshushed her.
“Tomorrow,”Isaid. “Wecan talk tomorrow.Fornow,Ijust want this.”Iput my hands on either side of her face, cradling it.ThenIpressed another kiss to her nose.
“Just this,” she echoed, then brought her mouth back to mine.
Chapter28
Calamity
TheShadowshardbounced againstNashala’schest as the horse beneath her clopped along theQueen’sRoad.Forthe four days of travel sinceNashala’svictory,Calamityhadn’t been able to take her eyes off the pendant.Somethingabout it felt wrong; ominous, even.Maybeit was her own recent experience with necklaces of questionable power, or maybe it was intuition.Eitherway, she didn’t trust it.Didn’ttrusther–Nashala.
She’d brought up her concerns toYorickthe night after the tournament.They’dall decided to stay in the same room whilst they had theShadowshard, andYorickandCalamitysat back-to-back–Calamitywatching the door, andYorickwatching through the window on the side of the room– reliving the day together.Ithad been stressful, but exhilarating, too.Theyrarely pulled off their elaborate plans so successfully.
“It’s luckyJossebet on the minotaur that last round,”Yoricksaid for the third or fourth time.
Calamity knew she should just agree and let them pass into silence again.Butshe could hear bothLiamandMorganasnoring, sawEdendeep in a trance in the corner, and could see the steady rise and fall ofNashala’schest, so now was the moment to bring it up.
“I don’t thinkNashalashould have theShadowshard,” she whispered.Yorickturned away from the window to look at her.
“She won it,” he whispered back. “She’sthe only reason we have it right now.Whyshouldn’t she carry it?”
Calamity shook her head. “Idon’t trust her.Don’ttrustit.”
Yorick sighed. “Calamity,Iget it.Butyou’re the one who brought her here, which you were able to do because of a secret you kept from all of us.”
Her cheeks burned, and not in a magical way. “Yeah, becauseIshould have introduced myself asTrulnuroth’sdaughter. ‘Hi,I’mthePrincessofPandemonium, but don’t worry.IwishIweren’t.’”
“No,”Yoricksaid, turning fully towards her now, “Iget that.Butwe’ve known each other for so long.Foughtback-to-back foryears.”
“My lineage is no secret,”Calamitysaid, pointing to her horns. “Everyoneknows on sight thatI’mfrom demon descent.It’snot abnormal for people like me to be secretive about their families.Especiallythose of us that are trying to do good.”
Yorick offered her a soft smile. “Yeah,” he said, “Iunderstand that.Butyou’ve got to be a bit more welcoming toNashala.Therest of us have chosen to trust her.Whycan’t you?”
Now, on theQueen’sRoadjust outside theCapital,Calamitywondered if maybeYorickwas right.Maybeshe should welcomeNashalawith open arms and take her willingness to help at face value.
ButNashalahadn’t been trapped in that totem against her will.She’dbeen actively servingTrulnuroth.AndwhilstCalamitywas far less superstitious about her father than the average person, she was also more familiar with his power.Andshe couldn’t take her eyes off his monk just yet.
* * *
Except for whenNashalametCalamity’seye as they rode, at which point she snapped her gaze to the nearest bush and began whistling.Verycasual, she told herself.Notsuspicious at all.
“You don’t trust me.”
Nashala’s voice came from surprisingly close by, andCalamityturned back around to find her riding right alongside, their legs almost touching.Itmade her jump.
