In a fit of anger and pain, he grabbed the witch’s waist with his good arm. A small squeak escaped her as she tripped forward, but she didn’t put up a fight as his lips touched hers.
The last time she’d bestowed her healing kiss on him, memories had unlocked, showing him how Galadaine had never coerced Meléan. That kiss had elicited zero physical response.
This time, no memories appeared.
Instead, the kiss glowed through his nervous system, all wild and hot and fierce. Each injury disappeared, and his breathing came easier, but the strange magic spread through his veins like electricity. Every hair stood at attention. Blood diverted to stain his skin and pool in inconvenient places.
Tainted desire claimed him. It pulled in opposite directions, telling him he wanted her, convincing him she needed him, reminding him she was inevitable.
He hated it. Every sickening, hot second of it.
As soon as the pain vanished and he could stand on two legs, he pushed her away. Hard.
She blinked up at him with green eyes speckled blue and amber, then rubbed her arm where she’d taken his injury. Slowly, mercifully, that disgusting feeling faded.
What the fuck was that? Where did it come from?
David dove behind his icy shields and turned to leave.
“Wait, David!” Autumn called. “We need to talk about this!”
He didn’t bother to look back. “I can’t. I just…I can’t.”
He retreated to his sanctuary and tried to forget it all.
The connection to Sean.
The puzzle of Anna.
The hatredof that crowd.
The tainted kiss.
The library was almost empty when he entered, and he headed straight for the stairs down to the dark tunnels. No one ever ventured down there. He’d be free of people, of interruption. Free to think.
No book could help him understand the dynamics of Meléan and Galadaine. No tomes would teach him what was happening in Anna Ainslan’s head. Nothing in the world could fully explain how he’d garnered so much hate with so little provocation.
But there had to be a book about soul binding, and David was determined to find it. He wished for a librarian or catalog or anything that would help him find the information he needed. Combing through the titles in the earthen tunnels, the scent of soil and books thick about him, his fingers brushed over the dusty spines of hundreds of ancient tomes and found nothing of import.
David searched all morning, ignoring the gnawing hunger in his stomach to focus on his need for information. He had to know what this meant for him. Forthem.
Because he wasn’t in this alone anymore. He’d never be truly alone ever again. David knew without having to ask that Sean would ensure those people faced consequences for attacking him. David would do the same if it happened to Sean. The urge to protect him, to stay united was akin to his own survival instinct.
It wasn’t a brotherhood, as Cathaire believed. This was fusion.
David’s eyes had gone blurry by the time he sensed another presence weaving through the tunnels. He might not have noticed if it were anyone other than Anna, but her maelstrom of emotion was impossible to ignore, like a foghorn blown beside his ear.
It made him think of last night, when her immeasurable desire had enveloped him in fine silk, tasting like the most expensive champagne and sounding like his name whispered across wanton lips.
This new craving for her wasn’t going to dissipate. He was certain of that. She’d broken him yesterday, and he feared the damage was irreparable. How long would she let him have her?
Anna appeared with a basket in one hand and a book in the other, a tentative smile softening her features. He leaned one shoulder against the shelf next to him. “I was wondering who’d come looking for me. Did you draw the short straw?”
She held out the basket, filled with an assortment of cheeses and fruits. “I figured you’d be hungry.”
David took the basket and peered inside, surprised it contained most of his favorites.
“Sean called an emergency Council meeting. The ones who hurt you are being held for questioning.”
