Xia pushed Brooks against the wall and grabbed his throat with brute force as the thrill of possession and bloodlust rang through her essence. She tilted his head back and ran her nose up the column of his neck, dragging in his scent like she was starved for it. Xia pressed her body against his, heart pounding as she pressed a kiss against the pulsing vein in his neck.
Shadows unfurled as Chaos rose to meet her Siren. Brooks’ hands gripped her waist as Chaos pressed into her from behind, his shadows enveloping as they tickled her skin. Xia sank her teeth into his neck and moaned as the blood hit her tongue, each greedy drag pushing her further into euphoria.
“He tastes like mine.”
He tastes likeours.
Xia was too lost in the frenzy to feel the tug at her arm. She missed the shadows melting away as they became too weak tostay. The air thinned as whatever presence stalked the night disappeared, and yet Xia still couldn’t stop.
She clawed at Brooks’ shoulder, clinging to him like a feral cat refusing to let go. Her greed turned to desperation, her teeth sinking in deeper to tear the artery open so it flowed more freely.
Before she could act on it, a powerful blast of chaos rocked her senses and challenged her own. The Siren spit and hissed as Xia lurched backward and fell into Nyx, her small frame nearly buckling under the weight. Brooks stood against the wall, his eyes glowing as Chaos flowed black through his veins and an eight-pointed star bloomed on his forehead. Their breaths mingled in the air as puffs of steam in the icy temperature.
Xia’s darker nature was made of raw chaos and near insatiable, but Chaos was a reckoning and even her Siren would bow to him.
The weight of Xia’s actions slammed into her tenfold as she watched Chaos recede. Brooks was pale and leaned heavily on the wall behind him, blood drenching his charcoal shirt in pools of black. His life force was still warm on her chin, her tears mixing in as they dripped to the ground.
Xia moved away from Nyx, her hands covering her mouth as horror turned her stomach. “Brooks, I–” she started, but her words caught underneath the lump of despair forming in her throat.
He is not lesser, Xia. He can handle us. Do not apologize, and do not balk.
“It’s okay, Xia. I’m okay.” He pushed away from the wall and swayed, his hand reaching back to steady him.
“It’s not okay! I could have killed you!”
“Not likely, Sunshine. You’ve nearly killed me twice now, but I’m not counting tonight as one of those times.” He winked.
“This isn’t funny, Brooks.” Her cheeks warmed and anger soured her stomach. Why was he not taking her seriously? Did he not understand just how close she’d come to losing herself?
“I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have joked.” He dropped his hand from the wall and stepped toward her, but Xia couldn’t let him get too close. Her Siren was still straining to be free, and Xia feared she couldn’t control her a second time.
“Just stay back. I don’t want to hurt you. Let’s just go and get this over with.”
“Xia–”
“I don’t want to talk. I just want to leave. Please, Nyx, just get us to where we’re going.”
Nyx nodded, her body still rigid and soaking everything in with those clever eyes. “We’re almost there.”
Rather than turn back toward the neon lit streets, she walked deeper into the alley. Brooks and Xia followed silently. Every sidelong glance made her skin crawl, the unspoken words hanging in the air between them like a suffocating fog. Xia quickened her steps until she was in stride with Nyx.
“You didn't come up here for a snack did you?”
“Just don’t. Please. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“If you say so.”
Xia sidestepped the comment. They reached a fork at the end of the alley, each darkened path leading to a series of other trails. Dion was a lot bigger than Xia imagined if the network of alleyways was any indication, and Nyx navigated as if she could see through the darkness with a crystalline lens.
“What was that thing back there?” Xia asked.
“Lamia. Do you know what that is?”
“I’ve no idea, Nyx, and I feel like you knew that.”
“I did, but I’m not going to pass up a chance to make either of you feel like idiots.”
Xia’s Siren hissed as she coiled in Xia’s chest.
