I sit up and shout toward the hallway, “Keep this up, and I’m going to throw my emotional support animal at your big, stupid, not-hot-at-all face!”
Nothing.
“Oh, now you’re silent? That’s convenient!”
I yank my pants up, still fuming. Everything inside me has turned to jelly. I should shower. I should change.
But HA!—Joke’s on him. He said this scentbothershim.
Good.
I hope he chokes on it.
And how dare he?
Leaving me here mid-spiral after whispering sacred forest porn in my ear.
I hate him.
I storm to my dresser and start yanking out clothes: Hoodie, leggings, tank top, a sports bra I haven’t worn since eighth grade.
“I’ll mark you so deep only the gods will remember,blah blah blah,” I mock under my breath, slamming a drawer shut.
“I hope the gods are watching. I hope they die from horniness.” I snarl. “Just like I am,” I shout down the hallway.
I finish packing. “Your move, Bambi!”
Still–no answer.
“God, you’re so lucky you’re hot,” I whisper under my breath.
A low chuckle bursts from the hallway, making me scowl. “So glad I amuse you,” I shout, hoisting the bag over my shoulder.
18
I HOPE THE GODS DIE OF HORNINESS
Andrik-
She’s yelling again. I’m trying my best to ignore her. But gods, she’s loud, and half-wild, storming around her bedroom like a feral little fox in heat.
The walls do nothing to muffle her voice.
“Keep this up, and I’m going to throw my emotional support animal at your big, stupid, not-hot-at-all face!”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and exhale slowly. Vel’tharn. I have to stay in control. The bond is clawing at me, dragging its hooks deeper into my chest. I’ve already failed once today—letting my hands roam where they shouldn’t. She was sovaelis’kai, but there was something new this time. Something that makes my head swim, like when I drinkvelathrin. (Rhvari liquor.) If I walk back into that room now…
“I hope the gods are watching. I hope they die from horniness!”
A laugh escapes me. I bite the inside of my cheek and lean my head against the wall.
Kael’thurin veskai. (Gods, help her.) She’s going to be the death of me, or I’m going to break first, and ruin every last rule I’ve clung to.
She doesn’t understand what this is like for me. This is not just arousal—it’s everything. It’s heat and hunger. Centuries of silence finally broken open. She’s in my blood now... in my soul.
Every shout from that room sends sparks down my spine, like she’s summoning me without even trying.Vel'karis ves saelûn—thrae'ven kai kaevûn.(Her defiance feeds my soul—and hardens my cock.)
“Your move, Bambi!”
