“Because you’re a good friend.”
“The best,” he tells me. “Which is why I would have killed her without hesitation if?—”
I have him up against the wall in a blink, my beast furious at even the notion of what he would have or could have done to my intended. “I trusted you with herlife.”
“Yes,” he chokes out, his hand on my wrist as I close my palm around his throat.
His wings beat against the wall, his expression hardening.
“It’s… myduty… to protect… you, Ci…” He’s out of oxygen and can’t finish his statement.
But I don’t need him to.
The wordsdutyandprotectgrate on my nerves.
Because he’s right.
Fuck, he’s right abouteverything.
He’s right that I should have anticipated this. Known that he would be the first trial. Understood that the Strigoi would feel my intentions. Been aware of what would happen next. Expected that he would kill her if he found her unworthy, if only to spare me from the pain of failure.
And fuck. He’s right about me losing myself to my lust upon her arrival, too.
“She’s infuriatingly tempting,” I mutter, releasing him and taking a step back. “You would have me present her as a potential queen before I’ve fully tasted her myself.” The notion exasperates me. Mostly because I don’t want to share her with anyone, let alone all of my kind. “She’s mine. I want her first.”
It’s… it’s not about sex.
I won’t have to share her inthatway.
But I will have to let the Strigoi know her. See her. Talk to her. Consume her time. Befriend her.Test her…
“Viviana doesn’t trust me, Marius. I want to fix that before I allow her to continue in the trials. She needs to feel safe. Otherwise…”
“You’re worried she won’t survive,” he says, his voice already normal again, like I didn’t nearly crush his windpipe moments ago.
“Yes.” I face him. “I need more time.”
“How much more?” he asks.
“A month?” I suggest.
He huffs a laugh. “No. You know that’s impossible.”
I do, but it felt appropriate to try. “A week, then.”
“Seven days,” he murmurs, his gaze turning thoughtful. “I can take that request back to the Strigoi.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he says, sounding serious again. “The longer you keep her from our kind, the harsher her trials will become, Ciprian. The Strigoi are impatient to meet their potential queen, and while it may not be Viviana’s fault that it’s taken this long for her to appear, they blame her nonetheless.”
I drag my fingers through my hair, hating what he’s pointing out. “It’s my failure, not hers.”
“It’s not a failure at all. You’ve been testing her in your own way since learning of her existence, seeing how far she would push to find you. I would argue that without those years of preparation, she may not have been ready for you. But she is now. You just have to… push her a little more.”
“If I push more, she’ll retreat.” I could hear it in her mind.
I’ve discovered a limit.
