Hmm… I wonder what’s got him so focused.
Unable to deny my curiosity any longer, I sneak up behind Cin, rising on my tiptoes to try to see what he’s working on. Even sitting, he’s far too tall for me to see, and all I end up doing is bumping my nose against his shoulder.
Cin turns his head, the corners of his eye creased in the barest of smiles. “Can I help you?”
“Ah… no. I’m just being nosy.” I lower to my heels, my face flaming. “Sorry for booping you.”
“Booping. Nosey.” His chest shakes with a soundless chuckle. “Human phrasings are truly marvelous.” With a wave of his clawed hand, Cin beckons me closer. “Come. I’ll show you what I’m working on.”
The lucidity in his eyes, his voice, causes me to pause. This demon is so much different from the one I met in the tunnels the other night. This Cin is sane. Hell, he seems downright pleasant.
Deciding to trust him, I walk to the side of his massive body, craning my neck in an attempt to see, but it’s not much better than before. “Um…”
With a grunt, Cin’s arm snakes around my waist, and I’m hoisted off the ground and into his lap in one smooth movement.I shift on his thigh, my face flaming as I feel the toned muscles quiver beneath me.
Oh god…
“Can you see now?” he asks, his voice a low rasp.
I nod, not trusting my voice to speak. Cin’s chest shakes with a chuckle as his hands move back to the surface of the work table.
“Watch closely.” His breath tickles the shell of my ear, and I swallow hard, trying to focus past the erratic beating of my heart.
Cin stretches his hand out flat, his palm hovering a few inches above the solid block of ice-rock. A stunning blue light pulses from his palm, coloring the stone an even darker hue. Magic energy hums from his skin as his hand rocks, moving around the circumference of the block in a beautiful dance. Every couple of seconds, a small piece breaks off, joining the thousands of other bits of ice-rock that cover the table.
“What are you making?” I ask, utterly fascinated.
“I don’t know yet. Any requests?”
I turn my head to face him, finding his eyes creased in a smile. “How about a hairbrush? I’d kill to get some of these knots out.” I reach up to the tangled mess, cringing when I realize my tryst with Rhune and Nyx has put even more knots into my hair.
Cin laughs, the sound low and strangely melodic. “I’ll see what I can do.”
We stay there in peaceful silence for a while, and my mind eventually travels back to Rhune and Nyx. Even now, my soul aches for Rhune, but I have to stay strong.
How could he not prepare me? Was he hoping this would happen? Probably, considering the way he looked at me, held me.
A wave of longing crests in my veins, and I sigh, closing my eyes tight.This sucks….
“Want to talk about it?”
I turn my head, looking into Cin’s inquisitive eyes. “Talk about what?”
“What it is that’s bothering you. Causing you to hide from Rhune and Nyx.”
I wriggle uncomfortably in his lap. “I just… I needed to be away from them for a bit.”
He gazes at me out of the corner of his eye, still hard at work. “I find that I, too, need a break from them every now and then.”
I laugh, and some of my nerves dissipate. “How long have you all known each other?”
Cin thinks for a moment. “Well, I suppose the correct answer to that would be five hundred and thirty-three years. But as separate entities, we have been alive for several decades.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper. “You’reancient.”
“Careful, little human.” His voice is serious, but he has an amused twinkle in his eye that says otherwise. “Best not to piss off thisancientmonster. Not when I know exactly how to make you break.”
His eyes flare wide, glinting with a predatory light, and I can’t help but let out a frightened gasp.
