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“No.” Rune shook his head. “I could have declined her petition. I could have declined her every time she left the door open between our rooms.”
“Then why?” Why would he agree to be with someone he didn’t want?
He absently stroked her hair. Saying nothing as long moments passed between them. When Faye thought he wouldn’t answer, he spoke.
“I felt nothing. My existence was methodical and cold before you. I mistakenly thought desire was a thing to be coaxed and mastered.” Rune laughed softly. The sound was joyless. “I regarded the world the same way I regarded my power. I hoped with time and patience, I would feel something for her. Lyssa made no secret of desiring me, so I agreed.”
“The High Queen knew.”
“Lyssa was aware of my lack of response. I typically remained dressed when I tended to her. We did not share a bed, and I kept my own quarters. I relinquished the position after a little more than a century.”
He spent over a hundred years with the high bitch. “How long ago was this?”
“Over a dozen centuries. She continued to ask me to see her. I did so infrequently. The last time I saw to her was more than a decade ago.
“Lyssa invited me to her bed this past Hunter’s Moon ball. I declined and told her she should find a male who feels the same way about her that she feels about him.” Rune gazed down at her as he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, his eyes lit with amusement. “She dismissed me, and I phased to the food station thinking no one would be there that late in the night. A clumsy minx fell into me and ran.”
Faye supposed she had Sparrow to thank for this man. She teasingly smiled up at her beautiful hunter. “And was it a bolt of lightning? You instantly knew you were mine without even seeing me?”
Rune laughed as his expression warmed. “The Ra’Voshnik knew immediately. I was not fond of the loss of control.”
Faye pouted at him. “Poor Shadow Prince. Is your will still stronger than your flesh, big guy?”
A crimson so dark it looked black bled through his gaze and dissipated. Those beautiful veined misted shadows remained, forking from beneath his eyes, swaying over the tops of his cheekbones. Faye brought her hand to the side of his face. Rune purred, leaning into her touch before he gazed down at her with a soul-deep yearning.
“I am defenseless against you, vsenia. My will, my strength, my life are yours. Command me as you will.”
Chapter eighty-three
Damianwasinthecourtyard, just as Rune said. He went through a series of precise movements, dressed in low-slung pants and boots. Faye wondered how long he’d been out here. Strips of his red stripped hair clung to his sweat-slick body. The hellfire cast bronze highlights onto his brown skin.
He stopped suddenly when Faye stepped onto Hell’s landscape, the loose crystals grinding under her steps.
“Was starting to wonder if you’d show.” He looked her up and down with a smirk as he flipped a blade the length of his forearm between his deft fingers. “Late night, dove?”
“How are you up so early?”
Damian shrugged. “Haven’t been to sleep yet. The Shadow Prince teach you to shield?” At Faye’s nod, he moved to a clear area in the courtyard and gestured for her to join him.
“Thank you for this and the court,” Faye said.
Damian laughed as his blade vanished, replaced with a slightly shorter one. “You’ll be cussing me soon enough.” He jabbed her shoulder with two fingers, tsking at her when he made contact. “Shield yourself, always. Enemies can phase behind you and slip a knife between your ribs.” He sniffed loudly. “You don’t smell immortal. Be hard pressed to recover from a wound like that.”
His words left her uneasy. She didn’t expect anyone besides Alister to come for her. Faye called her power to her, pulling it up from its depths. Cold momentarily covered her as she shielded herself. Damian arched a brow and touched the tip of his knife to her shield, watching it light and sway around her.
Faye stepped away from his weapon. “Can you not point sharp objects at me?”
“It’s a training weapon. Won’t cut you.” He dragged the blade over his forearm, proving his point. “Alister won’t attack you with magic. He’ll use steel, temper, and cunning. The man’s brilliant.”
“You know him?”
“No, but my order adopted many of his strategies. Darkness knows how Michelle and Julian produced a day-blood, but he holds his own against dark-bloods. Even crafted a spell that used blood as a conduit to break shields.”
Faye’s heart froze as cold slipped down her back. “He can break shields?”
Damian nodded. “He binds the blood of a dark-blood to his blades. As long as the blood is darker than the person holding the shield, Alister’s swords cut through them. Sure as a bolt of power would.” Faye paled, and Damian smiled, waving a hand at her. “You won’t have to worry about that, dove. Even if he still had a cache of the Shadow Prince’s blood, you’re far darker. He won’t be able to break your shield.”
“First rule.” Damian stepped forward and jabbed her shoulder. The hit jarred Faye’s teeth, forcing her to take a step back. “You’ll feel the force that hits your shields.”
