Cold swept through the room and chilled my bones. I couldn’t suppress a shiver. Noc pulled me close in a tight embrace, running his hands down my back to spark warmth again. Could it really be that bad? That dangerous?
I chewed on my lip. “I don’t want to make things harder for anyone here, but…” I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know more about the man I loved.
Noc relented with a tired smile. “I promised I would tell you. But even in Cruor, the walls have ears. When there’s no one else around to listen in, we can talk. Okay?”
“Okay.” I pressed my nose to his sternum and breathed deeply. Curiosity burned in my chest, but something far warmer trickled through my limbs. Noctrustedme. Enough to tell me about his past. Enough to give himself to me fully. I just had to wait a little longer.
Fatigue hit me hard. Depleted from our lovemaking—coupled with the lack of sleep and food—my body trembled. Leaning against Noc’s chest, I let out a tired sigh.
“Bed?”
Noc’s warm chuckle was a blanket on a cold night. “Believe it or not, that was my original intention before you seduced me on that ladder. Such a temptress.”
I bit his shoulder, and he hissed. “I know. Now take me to bed.”
“Careful, Leena. There are two ways to take that statement, and I’m more than happy to comply with both.”
I winked. “Good.” And with that, he slid on his drawers before sweeping me into his arms and draping my clothes across my body. I giggled, tucking my face into the crook of his neck. Within his warm embrace, it was almost possible to forget about his curse and the way it hung over us like an ax about to come down.
Almost.
Seven
Kost
My fingers grazed the open tome before me as I devoured paragraph after paragraph of useless information. Gaige and I had been quietly reading for hours, and the weight of the day’s events was eating away at my energy. Calem, a monster. Noc, waiting for Cruor’s Oath to bring the axe down. Leena…
I let out a quiet sigh. It was probably for the best that she’d taken her leave some time ago. There was only so much we could do, and just knowing that neither she nor Gaige had a beast capable of helping was hard enough. Shoulders slackening, I pushed away the book and leaned back in my chair.
“Everything all right?” Gaige glanced up at me over the top ofZane and the Fallen Leaders. He’d yet to put down the tome, occasionally letting out a surprised hum as he read. Warm light from a dying candle softened his expression. Or maybe he thought to offer that small smile to lull me into a false sense of security. His intentions weren’t exactly crystal clear, and I’d hardly spent enough time deciphering his motivation. Something I’d have to rectify.
“Of course not.” I pulled off my spectacles and extracted a cloth from my breast pocket. Methodically, I began to polish them.
Gaige set down his book with a heavy thud. “Want to talk about it?”
I raised a brow. “What’s there to talk about? You’re well aware of the problems we’re facing.”
“Sometimes, talking helps. Even if it’s just to repeat what’s already known.” He ran his fingers along his jaw, and the citrine emblem on the back of his hand stole my attention. It truly was the most stunning shade, somehow almost as vibrant and alive as Gaige himself. Even now, with tired eyes on the verge of closing, his steel-blue stare was intriguing. And unnerving, but… I replaced my glasses and dropped my gaze to the heavy table between us.
When I didn’t respond, Gaige only shook his head and stood, shrugging off his wine-colored overcoat. He draped it over the back of his chair and then stretched his hands toward the ceiling. The action pulled his tunic tight across his chest, hinting at corded muscles. I forced down a hard swallow.
Charmer’s lure. What a ridiculous magic. Leena had mentioned it to me once, how all Charmers naturally produced an undetectable aura that put those around them at ease. Made them more amicable. She’d sworn up and down it had nothing to do with love or attraction—just a soothing, gentle energy of sorts. The type of magic that would always come in handy when taming beasts.
But I wasn’t a beast, and I wasn’t about to let someone like Gaige—someone we knew nothing about—whittle away at my defenses. Magic or not.
Clearing my throat, I nodded towardZane and the Fallen Leaders. “Are you enjoying our history?”
He continued to stare directly at me for a long moment. “It’s fascinating, really. I’d heard of Zane before through some of my other studies, but his history, his recount of death and the magic he brought back with him…” He waved his hand around for emphasis before offering me a grin. “Words escape me.”
“How infrequent that must be.”
He laughed, a deep, pleasing sound that stirred up an odd feeling in my gut. “Was that a joke? Howinfrequentare those for you?”
“Very.”
“Shame.” His grin was downright devilish. With deliberate slowness, he abandoned his place behind his chair and walked toward me, parking his hip on the table just a few feet away. “I bet you’re actually quite funny.”
With a quiet scoff, I shook my head. “Don’t be absurd. In my entirelonglife, there’s only been one person who ever referred to me as ‘funny.’ He considered himself quite droll, and thus an expert on the matter.” I tilted my head, the bittersweet memory reflected in my tone. “Though to be honest, his dry wit got him in trouble more often than not. It didn’t help that he made it a point to badger drunk hotheads.”
