She sucked in a deep breath and tried to relax, pushing away the fear. There was no point in struggling while magic secured her. She’d have to wait for an opening to try again. A slip-up. Even the most experienced fighter made mistakes. One just needed patience to take advantage of it. She had to believe even fae made errors.
“Ouch,” he said with obvious humor as he plucked the throwing knife from his side. “Look how vicious you are! Adorable. That was a very hard love bite, little dove. Wrong type of weapon to make the effect permanent, however. This won’t slow one of my—” He paused as he looked at his torso. “You’ve ruined my shirt! What will my new friends think?”
He glanced at the apartment down the way to relay who his new friends were.
“It doesn’t really matter,” she replied. “They’re all dead. Or nearly, at any rate.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good, then. Saves me the trouble.” He tossed her throwing knife off the ledge and bent to pick up her dagger, balancing precariously on the edge. He hefted it once, twice, and then put his own knife away. “This is well made. Still the wrong type of weapon, obviously. The gashes you created are nearly gone already.” He paused, looking down at her. “You are very fast, little dove. I am truly impressed.” He wiped the blade free of his blood, further ruining his shirt. “Fast, vicious, and exceedingly beautiful. Like a fragile vase—when broken, its shard will slice a vital point and spill all of one’s lifeblood.”
“Poetic,” she said dryly.
“Yes. I moonlight as a bard.” His grin was mischievous. “Just kidding. I kill people and take their possessions. It’s nearly the same thing, don’t you think? Anyway, back to our friendly conversation that you ruined by trying to kill me. The feeling when I wasaround you at that convention caught me by surprise. And it clearly caught you the same way, both then and now. You weren’t magical at that time, correct? Now, however…” His eyes narrowed as his gaze delved into hers. “What has happened? What has changed with you? I feel the magic, but it isn’t yours. How is that possible?”
Tingles washed over her body. Pressure pounded behind her eyes.
“Are you shuffling through my memories?” she said warily, trying to hide the panic.
She’d known from four years ago that he must possess the mindgazer power, something necessary in his line of work, given he ransacked people for their knowledge. Demigod Lydia had mentioned something about that…before she forfeited her end of their deal and her life with it. She was the reason this fae had needed a “distraction.”
Not all fae possessed the ability, she’d read. The texts said it was usually the more powerful fae, often the nobility, kings and queens, and of course the Celestials. This one, as nothing more than a glorified errand boy and assassin, had probably gotten lucky with genetics and found placement with his king and court.
His smile stretched, frustratingly dazzling. “My goodness,” he murmured, his gaze snagging on her lips. “What a cutting though accurate analysis. Quite intelligent, aren’t we? You’ll do nicely. And yes, I was shuffling through your memories. I would’ve thought thatobvious. When I gaze into a future lover’s eyes, I’m not usually so constipated looking.”
She swallowed thickly. Hearing his voice inside her head was one thing, but his knowing her inner thoughts or memories was entirely another.
History had taught her to keep that stuff bottled up and hidden away. Exposing the deeper parts of herself made her vulnerable. It gave people somewhere to aim when they wanted to hurt her, or her family through her. She’d learned long ago, within the many foster homes and their abusive residents, that the world loved a punching bag. Emotions were a liability. Joy was always short-lived. If she presented a hard front, fewer people tried to pick on her.
“Interesting,” he said softly, and the pressure reduced. “Not about your fear of being vulnerable. That I get. I didn’t know Demigods in this realm could impart magic without an oath. It’s not usual they should do so, I think. But she clearly loves you very much and wants to protect you. How sweet. Let’s make sure, shall we?”
He stepped closer, dousing her with his heat. Shivers flowed over her suddenly flushed skin. His body nearly touched hers, pushed in close to fit between her and the edge. The soles of his heels kissed the air.
“While we’re here,” he said softly, pulling the dagger up between them. The tip dragged against her neck. “Regardless of this feeling we both findintoxicating but highly annoying, I find you exceedingly beautiful. Did I mention that already? I can’t seem to stop thinking it.” The blade continued to travel, down her throat to her breastplate, where it paused, over her heart. A hard press and that was the end of her. “Dainty and pretty and harsh and ruthless, all at the same time. It is such a complement to my own pretty face and vicious brutality.”
“With the size of your ego, it’s a wonder you can fit on this ledge at all.”
“That’s how I got so strong. By carrying around my enormous ego.” His grin was devious. “I know you noticed my physique.” He winked.
The tip of the dagger sliced into the base of her throat. A little nick.
She wrapped herself in a cloak of nothingness so that the sting of the dagger didn’t register. So that his dangerous presence and the magic trapping her to the wall didn’t inspire fear. She locked her gaze on his and lifted her chin a little, defiant. She was blissfully desensitized to his actions while still on alert for an opening,anyopening, with which to save herself from this predicament.
“Intriguing,” he murmured, his eyes darting between hers, reading her. “You are fully aware I could kill you right now, and you have zero fear.”
Zorn’s words rose to the forefront of her mind:Fear is a waste of one’s last moments.
Too true,he cooed, like a whisper in her mind, fullyexpressing the texture and tone of his voice. She got the distinct impression he was teasing her. Taunting her about this feeling he’d identified. This reaction she seemed to have to him.
He brought the blade up slowly. A drop of crimson wobbled on the tip. He smeared it across his tongue, and now she reacted. Her look of disgust matched theewin her mind.
“I am assessing your magic. Your magical people can do that, can they not? They feel it.” He clearly caught her unspoken answer. “Just some of them, fine. But then they need their machines and procedures to know what type. It is mostly beyond human abilities, other than genealogy, to determine exactly how a person came by said magic. Mother, father…” He paused, and his entrancing eyes sparkled. “This magic was a gift, freely given…”
He nodded, as though answering a question. The blade dragged across her throat.
She steeled her voice so it wouldn’t waver with uncertainty. “Are you going to kill me now?”
He tsked. “Why would I kill you before taking all that you are? I, at the very least, have to fuck you first.”
“All that I am? If you mean my virginity, you’re too late.”
