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Crimson eyes with thin, vertical pupils.
“Hi,” the child said.
“Hello,” I whispered.
His head tilted, his small, elfin face perplexed. “I thought you were dead.”
What the…?
“You’re not.”
“No?” At least, I didn’t think I was.
“Both of you sleep,” the boy stated with a nod of his head. “He didn’t hear me enter. He always hears me.”
Nyktos stirred, apparently hearing him then. His thigh tensed under my cheek.
Jerking sideways, I placed my hands on the cushions and unfurled my legs. The child watched me with a very serious expression for someone so young.
“Reaver,” Nyktos said, voice rough with sleep. “What are you doing?”
I nearly choked on my breath as I stared at the light-haired boy, trying to reconcile the sight of him as a draken with that of a child. It was somehow odder than seeing Jadis briefly as a little girl.
“I was watching you all sleep,” Reaver answered.
My lips pursed.
“I’m sure that’s not the only thing you were doing,” Nyktos replied, leaning forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his hair slide over his cheek. “You must have a reason for being in here.”
“I do.” He stood straight in his sleeveless tunic and loose pants, the same gray color as the tunics Nektas often wore. “Nektas sent me to get you. He’s in the throne room.”
“Okay. We’ll be there in a minute.”
Reaver nodded curtly and then glanced at me. “Bye.”
“Bye.” I gave him an awkward wave I wasn’t even sure he saw as he darted from the room on small, fast legs. “He is…”
“Intense?”
A strangled laugh left me. “Yeah.” I scooted to the edge of the settee. “Sorry,” I mumbled, thinking he probably didn’t appreciate me using him as a pillow. “About sleeping on you.”
“It’s okay,” Nyktos said after a moment, and I looked over at him. He was staring ahead, his expression unreadable. “I didn’t mean to sleep, but you needed the rest. Both of us did.” He rose then, looking down at me. “If Nektas sent him, that means the Fates answered.”
My heart tripped over itself, and I stood so rapidly I got dizzy. I stepped back, bumping into the settee.
Nyktos reached out, placing his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
His eyes searched mine. “Do you have a headache?”
“N-No. I think I just stood up too fast.”
Nyktos stared down at me. “I think it’s the blood.” A muscle ticked along his jaw. “Too much has been taken from you. Your body hasn’t had a chance to replenish.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted as I started to step away but stopped, taking in the tightness of his features. “Don’t feel bad about feeding from me.”
He was quiet.
“You needed the blood. I’m glad I could do that for you,” I told him. “If I’m a little dizzy because of blood loss, that’s on Taric. Not you.”
Still, he said nothing.
I was starting to feel a bit foolish. Perhaps I had misread him. “Anyway, I just wanted to make that clear. We should get going—”
The only warning I got was the scent of citrus and fresh air. I hadn’t even seen him close the distance between us, but I felt his palm against my cheek, and his mouth on mine in the same heartbeat.
Nyktos kissed me.
The feel of his lips—his warm lips—was a heady shock, and the way he tugged at my lower lip with his fangs sent tiny, hot shivers through me. I opened for him, kissing him back just as fiercely as his mouth moved against mine. The way he kissed me was hard, demanding. Claiming. He sent my senses spinning. I was dizzy again, but this time, it was all because of him. The kiss left me rattled, and I didn’t want him to stop. I started to reach for him—
Nyktos lifted his mouth from mine and stepped back, his hand lingering on my cheek before falling away. He looked as shaken as I felt, his features stark, eyes a storm of eather, his chest moving in deep, rapid breaths.
“That…” Nyktos swallowed, briefly closing his eyes. When they reopened, the eather had slowed. “That changes nothing.”
Nyktos’ words lingered just like his kiss did as we left his office and walked to the throne room.
There was a twisting motion in my chest as if someone had reached inside and started squeezing my heart. But there was something else at my core. Something small and faint that reminded me of hope. I didn’t know what to make of either emotion, but as we neared the chamber, I shoved those feelings aside to dwell on later.
Rhahar and Ector stood at the archway of the chamber. They were not alone. An unfamiliar man stood with them, his sandy-blond hair brushing broad shoulders adorned in a belted, light gray tunic. His face was weathered and sun-warmed. Beside him stood a goddess. I knew what she was at once. It was the ethereal quality of her features and the faint luminous glow under her light brown skin. Her hair was the color of honey, a few shades lighter than the gown she wore, and her eyes were the brightest blue I’d ever seen. As we approached, the man placed a hand over his heart and bowed at the waist, as did the goddess.
