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He laughed. “You’re paranoid as ever, Scion. Not that I owe you an explanation, but I was in the capital to collect a new recruit. I didn’t know anything about your girl, only spoke to her because she’d been served elf-mead, and she reminded me a bit of a woman I used to know. Didn’t want anything to happen to her. That’s it.”
“That’s it?” I sneered.
“Yeah.” He took another sip. “That’s it.But I think the question we should be asking is, what the fuck am I witnessing right now?”
I stiffened, every muscle in my body going taut. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not fucking her, that much is obvious, but you sound possessed, mate.”
I heard him as if the words were spoken from very far away, and it took a moment for the meaning to penetrate.
By the gods-damned cursed fucking Source.
That woman was like an infection. Even hating her became an obsession. Now, she was ruining me just like everyone else, and it was happening far faster than I’d expected, without me even realizing it was happening.
“I’m—” I tried to say “fine” and found I couldn’t. I coughed instead, blurting out, “Managing.”
He didn’t look convinced, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. I was hardly even managing, not now when all I could fucking think about was taking her. Punishing her. Giving her lying little mouth something to—
By Aisling,it was a terminal fucking condition.
The only positive thing about this whole situation thus far was that she was rapidly making my decision for me. I could see no world where Ambrose’s theory bore fruit—Lonnie would rather die than marry me, and fortunately for her, she would get to make that very choice.
Something pulled tight in my chest, and I bit back a growl.Fuck this.
It was the blood. That had to be it—it was simply affecting me more than her because I knew about it. That had to be it.
Sharing blood was absurdly taboo, except among bonded mates, and even then, it would be odd to do it as I had, simply to heal. I never would have thought of it had Bael not done it first. Part of me wondered if it wasn’t some dormant Unseelie perversion finally breaking free in him after all these years that had given him the idea in the first place. Who the fuck knew what they got up to in Underneath.
I was half-ready to kill my cousin for all the trouble his little experiment had caused so far, and another part of me almost wanted to thank him, eagerly anticipating the day he finally shook off his darker tendencies and was able to discuss it with me.
Maybe he would have a suggestion for the next time, and…
I shook myself violently. “She almost died yesterday,” I said flatly, trying to get my heart rate under control. “I had to heal her. That’s likely all this is.”
Cross frowned. “I don’t know why that would make a difference. Even Kaius said you seemed jealous.”
“You’re gossiping with Kaius now?”
“Not gossiping, observing. We might be friends, but I still like to know when a threat has entered my city and is acting out of character.”
I scoffed, smiling slightly for the first time. “It’s hardly out of character. I just fucking hate Kaius, you know that.”
My dislike of the incubus had little to do with Lonnie—though that wasn’t helping—I simply didn’t like his kind in general. The glamour was alarming, and all female succubi were dominant by nature. Something I’d never be interested in for any reason.
“He’s useful,” Cross said dismissively. “Phillipa Blacktongue knows he’s one of mine but lets him into her place anyway for some reason. I’ve been keeping an eye on it.”
I waved Cross off. I didn’t really care about guild dealings or what Cross was doing with Phillipa—the mistress of the pleasure guild. Now, if he was working with assassins, I might have wanted to knowthat, but anything else was too trivial to bother with.
“That isn’t what I wasn’t to talk to you about,” I said roughly.
He gave me a mocking “You don’t say?”
My scowl deepened to the point I was half-concerned my face might stick that way. “I spoke to the lord and lady earlier.”
Cross grinned. “And how are they faring these days? It must be nice to have so little to do, what with how they have hardly any responsibilities left.”
“They claim you sunk their fleet.”
