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“Then whatdoyou want?”
“For you to stay safe, Aisling.”
I tried not to let my suspicion show on my face. Mrak had saved me. He seemed to be, on a whole, not much of a threat to me personally. But I’d seen what this power he’d given me could do, a fiery magic that had burned so many vampires there that day, and I just knew it was only a small portion of his power.
Mrak, whatever he was, had incredibly powerful magic. So no, I was pretty sure my safety wasn’t the only thing Mrak wanted. But I couldn’t easily question that and get a straight answer. And Mrak so very much loved to deflect by arousing my mind and body.
“We’re just going to a bar,” I argued, holding my own. Mrak might have been tied to my presence, but this wasmybody. Not his. No matter what our pact said. “I’ll be there for a drink, maybe two, and then I’ll come home. I promise.” I turned away from the mirror as if I could actually turn my back on the demon or monster or whatever Mrak was. “Besides, you said we killed many of the vampires who might’ve been involved with Lazarus and his feeding community, right? I’ve nothing left to be afraid of. Not with you around.”
That was, of course, what Mrak had said. I hadn’t been entirely conscious the entire time to prove that all of the vampires involved with Lazarus had died. I knew Lazarus was definitely dead. The rest…
Only one year had passed since that night. Had I not had Mrak, I was convinced I’d be a mess. But with him around, I was safe, and in that safety, I’d been able to reconnect with Willa and start working. Slowly, I’d taken on customers. It’d been difficult—and still was—to talk to many people or be in a crowded space, but overall, I’d been able to start living life again.
“What I want,”Mrak started as I felt the sensation of his arms wrapping around me once more. They felt like human arms, but something about his overall presence felt way more monstrous.“Is for you to realize that just because those vampires met with the justice they deserved, other vampires still exist. Werewolves. Demons.”As he talked, it felt as though his fingers had trailed up my arms to hold my face.“Amongst other monstrous things.”
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t help it. A part of me wasn’t sure how I felt about Mrak’s existence being tied so closely to my own that he might have actually possessed me. But another part of me loved the way he could so easily light a pool of warmth within me without actually laying a single finger on my skin. It was like being blindfolded around someone twenty-four-seven, never knowing exactly where they were or what they were doing, only feeling them in the present. And gods, did I really need to focus on the present only right now. Not the future, and definitely not the past. Or the fact that I was pretty sure Mrak was the kind of demon Lazarus and his elite vampires had been worried about.
I personally didn’t see why they’d been so worried.
“And where do you fall on that list of supernaturals?” I asked him.
A touch I couldn’t see compelled me to tilt my head sideways. His fingertips traced light circles there before I felt warm lips on my skin. I inhaled sharply, a cool chill sweeping through me as Mrak’s presence always did. Reassuring—but nearly empty. With the way he could touch my body or arouse sensations within it, his presence was undeniable. But it was never whole, not really.
My body didn’t seem to care, reacting immediately to his incorporeal touch. A moan nearly teetered from my lips.
“I told you,”Mrak said as the sensation of lips moved against my neck.“You’d learn more about me in time.”
“It feels like you’re sharing my body,” I said, my voice so low, I might as well have whispered. “The least you can do is tell me exactly what you are. What I summoned that day.”
“Protection,”he murmured as he kissed my neck again. Deflecting, as always.“And a way out.”His ethereal fingers gently circled my neck for a brief moment before sliding away to my breasts. It’d taken me a long time to grow okay with Mrak touching me like this.“I provided both, and now you will let me stay at your side until what I seek is found. That was the deal.”
It hadn’t started out this way, this strange relationship between Mrak and I. At first, I’d been scared. And then grateful. But somewhere over the last year, that gratefulness had turned to fondness and then… attraction. Intense and ever-present despite never once seeing what Mrak actually looked like.
“And what is it that you seek?” I asked.
“For now, more of you,”Mrak growled near my ear.
The sensation of his hands moved down my body toward where my thighs had clenched together. At this, my lips did finally let a moan go free, but the moment was interrupted by the door to my workshop opening. A bell sounded loudly overhead. I jumped, immediately feeling Mrak’s presence retreating from at least directly touching my body.
I straightened and turned toward the man now standing in the doorway to my workshop, a single eyebrow arched in my direction.
“I can come back if you’re busy,” he said, his voice gruff. He was tall, well over six feet, and had a head of tousled, light-brown hair, the color of which matched his eyes and skin. He gave me a roguish smile that felt way more familiar than it ought to have been, considering we were strangers.
I swallowed hard and tried not to think of the moment this man had just interrupted. Not that he could see Mrak. No, he’d probably just witnessed me moan for no reason, leaning backward against something that wasn’t there. “No, I’m fine—this is a good time, I mean. Welcome to Dark Iron.”
The man’s raised eyebrow did not drop. If anything, he inclined it further. “I’m looking for the blade crafter.” He nodded to the dagger still in my hands. “Would that be you?”
I glanced down at Willa’s dagger, nearly done but still a few hours left on the project, and then back up at the man. “Y-Yes, I am. Are you looking to commission something?”
Gods, I was so awkward. I knew I was. It happened after spending a decade with minimal interaction with people outside of being fed on by vampires.
The man chuckled a little but finally took a few steps inside my workshop. “As a matter of fact, I am.” He held a hand out to me. “I’m Leif, by the way. I didn’t catch your name?”
“I didn’t provide it.”
There went his eyebrow again, rising high.
Right, I supposed an exchange of names was normal. I extended a hand as well. “Aisling.”
