I tugged on the collar of my T-shirt, suddenly too hot. He took my breath away when he really shouldn’t.
“Paris?” he questioned, the rumble of his voice too yummy for its own good.
Finally, I managed to dip my head, chewing my bottom lip.
“Paris?” he tried again.
“I’m sweetcream,” I answered, taking another step back.
I watched his black boots inch closer. “You don’t look well.”
Charming.
I returned my gaze to him, steeling myself against his masculine deliciousness. “I…” I drew some deep breaths. “I’m just confused.” Folding my arms, I felt my forehead crease. “Understatement, right? Everything’s confusing and hurtful and I don’t know what to do anymore.”
He moved closer. “I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry for kissing you, for everything.”
“I started it,” I countered, licking my lips nervously.
And I want more…
He didn’t answer.
Man, he looked so vulnerable, so sweet. Damn. Why did my heart flinch multiple times in a row?
I dropped my arms, flexing my fingers. “Silvanus…”
“I’m not sure how to proceed,” he added. “My mind is full, and I’m tired. So, so tired.” He lifted his eyes to the starry night sky, saying nothing more.
I took a step forward, my own thoughts a storm in my head.
We were dealing with so much. Like the fact Aidan wasn’t a benevolent force of good but a fucking monster hellbent on dominance. And he wasn’t one deity like I’d believed, but one of four, each of them representing the species of Quintrealm.
Which made me wonder if there was a fifth one for the Hinterlands. Had it been a domain of some other species once upon a time?
Hmmm…
Due to Aidan being a piece of shit, he’d killed the other deities, tried taking over the vampire realm, and unleashed a curse on the world to sully our minds. Manipulated us into the story of how he saved us all in the ancient days, getting us to build temples, even gifting us with magic—Aidan’s fire.
It’d all been a lie.
It’d all been made possible because of Silvanus’s mercy. Confused by grief and love, his actions spared Aidan’s life, allowing him to fuck with, well, everything.
My beliefs were scattered to the winds, my heart broken. Man, talk about a fall from piety. I might not be the most moral elf in the world, but I always thought I understood right from wrong on a basic level.
Until the truth forced my head out of my arse.
I didn’t blame Silvanus for any of this. That would be too easy. He was a victim of Aidan’s schemes, more so than the rest of us. He’d given him his love, for fuck’s sake.
Anyway, I’d been the one to set him free from that damn tower.
“Shall we go inside?” the vampire king asked.
I nodded, eyeing the slate house, the singular hawthorn tree rustling above me, sending me its energy-boosting essence.
