Perhaps if she finally snapped, it would break something inside him. Perhaps he’d be unable to stand her anger and finally give in to his emotions rather than the display of cruel hate that always shone in his eyes.
“Why, Dom?” she yelled. “Why, after all we’ve been through? Why can you not stand me? You have the dragon scale. You can find another key. So why not just kill me and be done with it?” she shouted at him, her arms splaying wide at her sides. She’d given him everything, and he loathed her still. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep up with their deceptive gameof love, how much more her fractured heart could take. Because somewhere along the way, she realized, it was Dominic’s key she wished belonged to her. But he, clearly, did not wish the same.
“Why must you hate me so much?” Adara’s voice faltered, betraying her. Heat sluiced through her entire body. Fire flashed beneath the surface. Then she took a deep breath, one after another, and let it dissipate.
A long silence passed between them. Dominic averted his gaze. Adara didn’t take her eyes off him, searching for any tiny morsel of emotion. That was all she wanted—something,anythingthat showed the slightest bit of feeling for her. The stars twinkled outside the porthole, the eyes of the many gods watching too. The world fell still, like the gods indeed held their breath with her, waiting for a response.
Slowly, Dominic lifted his head, eyes filled with malice. “You want to know why I hate you?” he said, voice a low growl.
A chill snaked up Adara’s arms, down her spine. An icy caress as Dominic’s powers rolled over her, like an embrace and a threat all at once.
His eyes darkened. His lips twisted into a snarl. “I hate you because you make me feel things I don’t want to feel,” he snapped, the distance closing between them.
Adara struggled to stand her ground, and not because it trembled beneath his footsteps, with waves gently rocking the ship.
“Things other than rage and violence and bloodlust, when that’s all Ishouldfeel toward you!”
Adara could only stare as he neared, mouth agape in shock. Even as his confession shook the world, Dominic’s words from before echoed in her mind.It’s all lies, darling.Yet here, as his voice broke with every word spilling from his mouth, they didn’t sound like lies.
“I should feelnothingfor you.”
A gentle breeze caressed her lips. Adara hadn’t even realized how close they stood until they shared the same breath. Expression softening, Dominic’s eyes gleamed in the lantern light, glazed with fear and desperation. Her breath caught in her throat as he lifted a hand. His fingers grazed her temple as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She found herself able to breathe again, albeit shallowly.
“I hate you because you are changing who I am, and it terrifies me,” he breathed softly, a slight tremor to his voice. Dominic’s fingers outlined the shell of her ear, trailed down to her cheek as he rested his palm there, her warmth seeping into his cold skin. He gritted his teeth, features contorted like he was in pain. “I hate you,” he said a bit breathlessly, “because I want you so badly, and it iskillingme.”
There it went—Dominic stealing her breath again. Although this time, it wasn’t with his powers when he was choking the life out of her, snuffing out her fire like he’d done in the Ruins. Adara almost preferred it that way, though.
This . . . This was something else entirely. This felt like the world had crumbled beneath her feet, like she was falling into an endless void. But, at least if she was falling, she was not falling alone.
Dominic suddenly turned and walked toward the door, unable to meet her eyes. Adara’s heart shattered, jagged edges slicing her insides, slowly tearing her apart.
“That’s it?” He was just going to say that he wanted her, then walk away from all they could have, his hatred of emotions outweighing his desire for her. He was a coward. Adara, too, was afraid. Terrified even. Flamecarriers did not suppress their emotions. They learned to control them. She had mastered all of hers, except this one. This thrashing, chaotic thing that writhed inside her chest, trying to claw its way loose, toward him. She hadn’t yet defined what it was, but she would not run from it.She would not run from him—not anymore. “That’s all you have to—”
Dominic whirled back around, so suddenly that the words died in her throat. He stared at her for a moment, expression unreadable. But his eyes . . . His eyes were frantic, determined, fearful, and a little besotted.
She hesitantly took a step in his direction, nerves quaking with anxious energy. As if fueled by her action, he strode toward her with newfound purpose, jaw set in a determined line, eyes fixed on her like she was the only thing in all the realms that mattered.
Closing the distance between them entirely, Dominic said, “But if there’s anything I’m going to let be the death of me, it’s going to be this.” His palms cupped her face, his calluses brushing her cheeks as he leaned toward her.
His lips crashed into hers.
Adara froze, wide-eyed, afraid that if she acknowledged this, it would all drift away, nothing but a dream. When he didn’t pull away, her eyelids drifted closed as she melted into him, kissing him harder.
Adara had tasted poison before. It didn’t surprise her that Dominic’s lips tasted the same. What did surprise her was that it wasn’t a bitter poison that left her rotten and hopeless. It was the sweet kind that left her wanting more, like she’d die without it. But it was the addiction that would kill her in the end.
A death she’d gladly meet if this was how it felt, blissfully wrapped in Dominic’s embrace, her lips moving against his.
Her hand ran up his chest, resting there as he torturously pulled away. Beneath the fabric of his shirt, Adara felt no beating of a heart in his chest. A chest that was a hollow hole, a mirror to his usually empty gaze. Surely, that should have been enough of a reminder that this was a very bad idea.
Dominic stared at her, his emerald eyes searching her own for a response. Adara’s heart warmed at that gaze, lit with fervor forher. Heat that had nothing to do with her power rushed to her cheeks, still cupped in his palms.
He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes drifting shut. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he whispered.
“Then why stop?” she said.
His sensuous lips tugged up, mirroring her own. Adara fisted his tunic in her fingers and pulled him toward her once more. Her other hand snaked around the back of his neck, grasping at his hair as she brought his lips to hers. Sparks ran across her skin as one of his hands slipped beneath her shirt, resting on the curve of her hip, gripping gently, and tugging her closer. Adara gasped, going rigid at the sudden feel of their bodies pressed so closely together. His tongue traced her bottom lip, a silent question to which she answered by letting her mouth open for his tongue to sweep in as she melted into his blissful taste.
His hands grasped the back of her legs, lifting her off the ground. A guttural groan came from deep within his throat as she wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him closer. Something crashed to the floor as he held her with one hand and the other swept away the contents that had been scattered on his desk, making room for her to sit.
