I’m almost dozing off, but a light coming on in Daegel’s bedroom window snaps me out of it. I blink and lean forward to take a better look.
Finally, he’s back.
The library is dark. The Ezkai have left. My legs are stiff as I rise, the healing thigh screaming at me. Carefully, I climb out of the tree and limp towards Daegel’s house.
The sliding paneled glass door leading to the home library is not locked. I push it open with ease and slip inside the dark library. My feet are careful to not make a single noise as I sneak through the house and up into the second floor. It takes me a while to get to his door. I keep pausing to listen if any of the Ezkai I’ve seen coming in and out today are still here.
At Daegel’s bedroom door, I press my ear to the wood, listening to what’s inside. No sounds reach my ears. Slowly, I turn the knob and the door opens with a gentle creak.
I’ve had hours to prepare my speech. My plan. What to do if things go south.
Despite it all, I don’t believe it will. If Daegel wanted me dead, he had plenty of opportunities.
Daegel’s stretched out on the left side of his bed, naked. A black silk sheet is draped over his lower body, covering everything below his waistline.
I close the door behind me and turn the key in the lock. Only then does his gaze snap to me. “Missed me?”
He smirks, his eyes dark as the deepest pit in the ocean. “Princess. Always. I always miss you when I’m not around.”
One thing I don’t get is why would he lie about loving me. About caring about me. I’ve never doubted his feelings for me.
Before the trials even started, he had nothing to gain from me. At some point, his feelings must have been real, right?
I lean my back against the door.
In a low-timbred voice that sends a shiver all the way down my back, he says, “Will you be standing there by the door all night? Come here. I promise, I won’t bite you. Not unless you ask me to.”
Uneasiness swirls deep in my stomach. After last time…my body recoils at the thought of his touch.
I’m torn between the memories of the man I thought he was and the ache of betrayal. Maybe coming here wasn’t as good of an idea as I thought. The rage that drove me here, that inspired this plan, is wavering now that I’m here.
It’s easy to be angry and sure of my actions when he’s not in close proximity to me.
“Come on, Phoenix.” Daegel sits up. “I don’t want to fight tonight. I’m tired of fighting you.”
I hope I’m as good of a liar and manipulator as he is.
I huff a laugh. “Oh, and I’m not? You think I enjoy arguing anytime we see each other?”
He pats the bed next to him. “Then let’s talk. I’ve had time to think about a lot of things since last time we spoke. The way we left things…it brought a new perspective.”
Well, that’s new. I stare at the inviting bed, and the man inside it. Does he mean it, or is he playing me again?
“Come over here, princess.”
I give in.
Slowly, I pad to the bed where Daegel sits. He offers me his hand and I take it. Our fingers weave together, and he gently presses his lips to the back of my palm. Goose bumps skitter all over my skin.
Our eyes meet while his lips are still caressing my skin. Keeping his gaze, I climb onto the bed, right into his lap. He guides the hand he holds on to his shoulder and places his hands on each side of my hips. I straddle him. Even through all the material separating us, I feel the heat from his body.
Remember why you’re here, I repeat to myself like a prayer.
I’m used to my body being a weapon, an instrument to fight, protect, kill. This is no different. I can wield it as a weapon the way Vera does, with a different purpose, as a means to an end.
“From the moment you told me you’d signed up forVal’taz Ezkairin, I couldn’t think straight. Only thing I could focus on was keeping you safe.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he places a finger over my lips to hush me. “Wait. Let me finish.”
