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Stupid Hades and his bet. I had been so focused on getting us through this I’d forgotten what the stakes had been. A tiny peep of relief escaped my mouth. “I did.”
I hadn’t managed to get Leo to the safety of Seth’s temple, but I’d done one better by lifting the death order Manea had on us both. She might not like it, but for the second time in a week I’d won a bet and taken something she wanted in the process.
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe she’d forgive and forget, but for the time being I felt relatively sure that Leo and I were safe.
“Tallulah?” The new voice was rough, stern, and made my heart swell so big I thought I might pass out on the spot.
Leo gave me a knowing smirk. “Should have known that kiss was just a matter of life and death. You sure never get that look on your face when I say your name.”
The kiss.
I’d all but forgotten it, which seemed impossible given how literally electric it had been. “Leo, I…” How could I explain without sounding like I’d used him?
He waved a hand at me. “If you apologize, I’ll have to punch you, and I’ve never punched a lady before. You’re a good kisser, Tallulah, but you are way more trouble than it’s worth. The bad-luck priest is used to trouble. I don’t need any extra, thank you.” He grinned broadly, his teeth shockingly white against his dirt-smeared face, then he pulled me in for a tight hug. His bulk knocked the wind out of my good lung, but it was nice to be hugged for something positive.
When he released me, Cade was standing a few feet back, staring at us with raw disbelief.
“What the fuck?” He came over to me, cupping my cheeks in his hands. “You fell through the street. I thought you were dead.” His dark eyes scanned my face frantically, as if he still wasn’t convinced I was really here.
“I’m going to see if that outlet temple has a phone,” Leo wheezed. “I think there’s an overnight stay in a hospital in that one’s immediate future. And maybe mine.”
I barely heard him I was so focused on Cade.
“I’m not dead,” I whispered.
I’d never tell him how close I’d come to that being a lie. It didn’t matter now. I was here, not there, and he was here. My hope had not betrayed me.
“You just crawled out of a grave,” Cade said.
I tried to smile but only managed a half-smirk. “I know.”
His fingertips danced
over my skin, gently brushing away dirt and pushing hair away from my eyes. “I thought…” His voice trailed away, but his agonized expression told me precisely what he’d thought.
“Please. Like I was going to die before I got to kiss you again? Not a chance.”
Cade let out a choked laugh and held my face gently before lowering his mouth to mine. His lips were so soft, and his mouth so sweet, I thought perhaps I was dead and this was my reward for a life of obedience.
Then I remembered I wasn’t terribly obedient.
He pulled me in tight, deepening the kiss, and I basked in the glow of it, glorying in how very alive it made me feel. His mouth, his touch, his taste, it was all marked with life, and it was so perfect I wanted to cry.
My lung shrieked its protest, no longer able to give me the reprieve I needed for further smooching.
I coughed, breaking free of his kiss, and continued to cough.
“Don’t you go dying on me now. That would be so me, kissing a girl to death.”
This, of course, made me laugh, which only made the coughing worse.
Cade propped me up, and in spite of how disastrous I must have looked, he was staring at me like I was a priceless work of art whose meaning he meant to decode through sheer concentration.
When I finally got enough breath back to speak, I scolded him. “You’re going to be such bad luck for me, you know that?”
“Well, yeah. That’s sort of my thing.”
I forced a smile in spite of the pain. Overhead, the clouds had begun to gather, purple-hued from the early-morning light and threatening rain. It appeared we’d been gone the whole night, and now Seth was on his way.
