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“Tonight feels special somehow,” she said, glancing up at him and taking his hand.
“It feels magical,” I said. There seemed to be something in the air tonight. The approaching fight with Herrick somehow imparted more meaning into every moment leading up to it, reminding everybody of how precious every second could be.
“The race of Kradix is about to repopulate,” Tiber said, his eyes lighting up as they did whenever he spoke of Kradix lore.
“But a lot of these couples aren’t even Kradix…” I said. Most of the couples were a mix of Kradix with a human.
“If legend holds true, it won’t matter. They’ll give birth to Kradix offspring,” Tiber said, almost reverently. “It’s happened over and over again. We dwindle to nearly nothing and then we are reborn again. It’s a purge and rebirth, famine and feast, a cycle that started with you and Kaden.”
I wanted to slink away. How could it have started with us when we were nothing but a fake? A fraud to keep the locals happy?
Kaden walked over to me and tilted his head toward the open area where people were dancing. I got up because appearances mattered more than anything, and it was easier than feeling like a fake with Tiber.
He led me out into the midst of the dancers.
“People are noticing that we’re not getting along. We don’t want them to feel uneasy, especially not now.”
I nodded. “Yes, well, we wouldn’t want to fight. Can’t havethemupset.”
“I don’t want you upset either.”
His eyes drifted over my face, as if he really cared. Even if I had been mad, it was hard not to get over when he was staring at me like this.
I put a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer to him. It wasn’t hard to fake the attraction. Leaning in was effortless. Smothering it was much more difficult. For as much as we touched lately, it should’ve lost some of its edge, but the intensity only seemed to be growing.
“I have to be there. It’s not a choice.” I might not be able to bring my grandmother back, change my part in her death, but I’d at least do this.
“I know. Even if I don’t like it, I understand,” he said. The musicians slowed their beat, and Kaden pulled me closer.
“Tiber says this is because of us,” I said, looking around.
“I’m starting to believe he’s right.”
“How can that be when we’re not really…”
He didn’t say a word, looking as if he were falling into the charm of the evening as much as everyone else around us.
While we danced, the party slowly thinned. We walked back to the house without speaking.
Kaden went and stood by the bedroom window. The moonlight glimmered on his skin like he were a prince of the night, or the king of Nowhere. He was so incredibly perfect that it was hard to take my eyes off him. He turned and looked at me, heat pouring off him, as if he were having the same thoughts about me.
If everyone else wanted to pretend, why shouldn’t I? I didn’t say a word as I started to undress, not caring anymore. We might all be dead in a week. What was the point in worrying about any of this?
His throat flexed as he watched me, his eyes feasting on me. He took a step toward me, and I held my ground.
He stopped inches from me, and his gaze on my flesh was as powerful as if he were touching every spot his eyes landed.
“This could make the longing worse,” he said, even as he raised his hands, grazing the undersides of my breasts.
“I’m not sure that’s possible.” I was tired of pretending, grateful to finally lay it out there. We were both feeling it, and there was no more denying it, even if it was for different reasons.
He wanted me, blinded by the desire of the mating bond. I, on the other hand, wanted him just as much as I had before the bond had ever taken place. It was all me. I hadn’t needed any mating bond to make me want Kaden. All the bond had done was make me acknowledge it.
He bent his head, and his lips worked a path up the side of my neck. His hands were at my hips, and all I wanted to do was fall into the oblivion of desire with him. I wanted him to truly want me, and yet I couldn’t completely forget it was all a spell on his part.
I pulled back slightly, torn between the burning desire and the lie.
“You know this—”
