“You just ensured you’ll never meet him, little witch.”
I gaped at him. Okay, that was unnecessary. The ghost of a smile touched his mouth and he reached out a hand. For once, he moved human-slow, so I had more than enough time to jerk my head back, but I allowed it.
His thumb brushed over my bottom lip, and the moment stretched between us like a rubber band, close to snapping.
Bael cleared his throat again and Samael’s gaze left mine. “Go with them,” he ordered the demon. “We’ll continue this later,” he said to me, and I felt my eyes widen. I hadn’t intended to start something I couldn’t finish. Samael picked up my hand, the cut still fresh and I fought a blush. He’d meant our ward lesson.
His eyes lightened and I checked my shield. Nope, he wasn’t reading my mind, just my face. Again.
“Have the fae healer see to your hand before you leave,” he ordered. I knew better to argue when Samael was in this kind of mood, so I simply nodded. His gaze examined my face for one fraught moment, and then he strode out the door.
I huffed out a breath, my shoulders slumping as there was oxygen in the room again.
Bael’s gaze was steady on my face. “That was well done,” he said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He gave me a knowing look. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Samael
I studied the unseelie king as he stretched out his legs in front of me. Two of his guards were outside the door with two of mine, although we’d both agreed to keep our meeting private.
Finvarradrippedwith power. So much so that it was practically overflowing from where it coiled around him. When I reached out with my own power it felt foreign, made of stardust, where mine was made of the fires of the underworld. Between us, I didn’t know who was the more powerful, and the uncertainty was rare enough that I had to resist the urge to find out.
The hint of a smile on the other male’s face told me he felt the same. Danica’s words echoed through my mind as I examined the unseelie king who seemed relaxed enough that he could’ve been lying on a beach somewhere.
“I’ve heard he’s so beautiful the sight of him can make your heart stop in your chest.”
My lips twitched. The little witch may believe she wanted nothing to do with me, but I saw through her goading. She’d known the news of Tarel’s demise had hit hard— I hadn’t bothered hiding it from her. But instead of using my weakness against me, she gave me a single moment of diversion. A gift.
“She must be one hell of a woman to distract Samael himself.”
My eyes met ancient, burnished gold. The dark fae king’s eyes had always reminded me of Scylla, my dragon.
“I know well the dark history your people have when it comes to human women,” I said languidly, but the warning was clear.
Finvarra laughed. “We don’t do that anymore.”
I merely raised one eyebrow. Many of the dark fae males had toyed with human women over the centuries, sneaking through rifts in the portals and stealing them away. Rumors were, Finvarra’s father had been well known for his obsession with mortals.
He gave me a long, slow grin. Women likely clawed each other to pieces for an opportunity to get close to this male. Would Danica?
She would never get the chance. I meant what I said to the witchling. If she wanted to enjoy the sight of a beautiful male, she could look at me.
The unseelie king tilted his head at my silence and I inwardly cursed. If he hadn’t been curious about my witch before, he certainly was now.
I bared my teeth in what was likely a feral smile. “Will we have a problem between us after all these centuries?”
Finvarra’s eyes flared at the question, and I kept my expression neutral as I inwardly cursed myself. It would have been smarter to challenge a werewolf. The dark fae were notorious adrenaline junkies, rarely backing down from a challenge.
However, the dark king had had centuries to learn how to control his urges— he was perhaps even older than I was. He relaxed back into his chair and lifted his eyebrow.
“I think we are getting off-topic,” I said. “Three centuries ago, you pledged your help for when the time came to put my plans into motion.”
His eyes sharpened with interest. “It has taken you long enough to prepare, my friend.”
