"It's called 'The Drop,' and it helps big, sexy subs get back on their feet," Apollo replied, and he downed something else. "Thisone is mostly electrolytes because I think you fucked the soul from my body."
"I don't know what you did to mine then," Lachlan said, a dopey smile spreading across his face. "I'm glad I waited for you to do it, Apollo. I thought I was dying for a bit there."
Apollo grinned. His teeth were back to normal, but his eyes weren't. "I liked seeing my smoke bonds on you. I'll have to practice that and turn them into something more secure, perhaps. I like the idea of you being unable to run away from me."
Lachlan smiled. "Baby, I can't feel my legs right now. I'm not running anywhere."
"That's right. You're going nowhere," Apollo said, bending down to kiss him. "Except to the shower with me."
In the end, Apollo had to half-carry him just to get him in there. Lachlan was floating on a cloud, barely aware of his body. Apollo soaped him down, gently massaging him as he went, and bit by bit, Lachlan came back down into his body. Apollo washed his legs, making him whimper again as he pushed his come back inside him. He really was going to be going to battle with it inside of him. The idea made something warm bloom in his chest. They didn't speak, but they were enclosed in a deep calm.
Apollo stripped the cover off the bed before putting Lachlan into it. Lachlan swallowed back tears again as he curled around Apollo and rested his head on his chest.
"I love you," he whispered.
Apollo's fingers stroked his hair tenderly. "I love you too. Now go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, and it's going to be too many hours before I can get inside of you again."
"I think I'm going to ask more questions in the future when you bust out a special oil," Lachlan whispered.
Apollo laughed evilly. "Hush your mouth. You love how I surprise you." He kissed Lachlan's head, and his tone softened."I actually have another really big surprise already planned...but not until we get home. Think of it as something to live for."
Lachlan only held him tighter, and fatigue dragged him under. "I have everything to live for already."
32
Astorm had been brewing over Paris for the whole day, charging the air with tense energy. There was no rain, not yet anyway, but the sky rumbled and flashed its displeasure overhead.
It was the kind of weather for dark, destructive magic. Which meant it was the kind of weather that suited Valentine Greatdrakes down to his boots.
Valentine, cloaked in a glamor and blending seamlessly with a brick wall, stood in the alleyway across fromChrysopoeia. He checked his watch, folded his arms, and let the thunder rumble through his bones.
Everyone would be in place soon. Tonight, this nonsense with the Sanguis Vitae would end, and he would finally be able to go home.
About damn time too.
The day had been uneventful with everyone in waiting mode and going over and over their plan of attack, looking for loose ends. There wasn't any. This was what the three powerful branches of his family did best.
He toyed with the small sacred heart medal in his pocket. He knew that they would need some small protection to ward against blood magic as soon as Lachlan had pulled Apollo out of the mess he had gotten himself in.
Only Apollo could get the violent attention of a bunch of rich alchemists hell-bent on blood magic, he thought grimly. At least Lachlan was there to watch out for him now, to keep him grounded and hopefully out of trouble.
Valentine flicked the sacred heart medal between his fingers, rubbing the faint carvings on it like a worry stone.
Before their apartment on Rue Ronsard had been bombed, Valentine had crossed through the gardens and had gone to Sacre Coeur. He wasn't religious, but he still liked to go there and light a candle for his mother when he was in Paris. He wanted to remember the times she had taken him there as boy to light candles for her own lost family members.
They sold rosaries and saints trinkets, so Valentine had bought up several of the scared heart medals. He couldn't relate to sad-looking, virtuous saints, but a heart on fire? That he knew intimately. He always felt like his insides were burning hot with magic he could never let out.
Except tonight, he finally could, and his whole body was singing in anticipation.
Valentine's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it free. The message was from Apollo.
Showtime.
"Finally," Valentine whispered. He rolled his neck, shook out his hands, and walked out from the alleyway.
Whispering under his breath, he loosened two of the sigils that kept his power locked down tight.
He breathed in ozone and breathed out magic. The pressure in his chest loosened, and he enjoyed the moment of having more of his power dancing in his veins. He could get lost in thesensation, but tonight, he got to let loose, and he needed the release so badly, his bones ached.
