Kythel rose, bringing me up with him as I nervously adjusted the blanket around my shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” I told him, feeling foolish for acting on my impulses. “I shouldn’t have…”
“One month,” he told me. “In exchange for bringing your father’s body back to Krynn, I want you to be my blood giver until the next moon winds. After that, our agreement will be ended.”
There was detachment in his voice. I realized what he was doing. He wanted to keep thisclean. Neat. He wanted me to stay in a box in his mind. While that stung a little, if I was being truthful with myself, I couldn’t say I blamed him.
“All right,” I said, nodding. If he wanted to keep this purely professional, I would too. He was giving me what I wanted. What I needed. For that, I would forever be grateful to him. With one hand, I held the edges of the blanket together. The other hand stretched out into the empty space between us. “This is how humans seal agreements.”
Kythel took my hand. Instead of shaking it, as I’d expected, he turned my palm over in his own. Holding my breath, I felt him trace a line down the center of my palm with the tip of his claw.
Before I could blink, he swiped, so quick that it was a blur. In shock, I watched the shallow cut slowly bleed, tentative at first, as he cut his own palm.
A strange sound reverberated from his chest. Low and deep. It almost sounded like he was in pain.
With wide eyes, I met Kythel’s unreadable gaze.
“This,” he rasped, “is how the Kylorr seal agreements.”
With that, he pressed our palms together, our blood mingling. I was in a daze. The metallic scent of my own blood floated up between us, coupled with the tang of his own. My heart was pounding too roughly, making me dizzy. All I could see were his eyes.
His pupils dilated further in the dimly lit office, blocking out the blue until there was only blackness.
His voice was rough. Guttural. “I want my first feeding now,sasiral.”
“All right,” I breathed. No use in waiting. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, if I didn’t want it too.
The fire popped in the hearth. The whole room felt entirely too warm as he stepped into me, our hands still intertwined, our blood slippery and hot. I craned my neck back to look up at him.
“Where—” My voice cracked, and I cleared it, though it did nothing to help its huskiness. “Where do you want to feed?”
Kythel’s wings shook behind him before he jerked them inward, tucking them against his back. I was confused when I spied trepidation in his eyes, just a hint of worry. For me?
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I told him, reaching out my other hand to press against his chest in comfort. “I know what’s involved. I’ve been around enough blood givers and Kylorr, don’t you think?”
“I’m not worried about you,” he informed me, voice blackening. My brows furrowed. His tone implied he was worried about himself. But why?
His gaze was pinned to the crook of my neck. Ah. Slowly, I reached up to push my hair to one side, baring my neck. I tilted it, staring forward at the rise and fall of his wide chest. He made a sound in the back of his throat, dark and needful.
“Kythel,” I said softly, stepping into him, reaching up for his own neck to guide him down. “It’s just a feeding. How many times have you done this in your lifetime? Don’t worry.”
I was using the words as a balm for myself—because I was on the verge of trembling like a leaf in a storm.
At my words, I heard his soft curse. A puff of hot breath trailed over the sensitive column of my neck, and I shivered when he pressed into me. He let his body go. The tension fell from him like a waterfall, and I gasped when those warm lips kissed my neck. Confused, too, when I knew he’d wanted to keep this…detached.
“I don’t know how I’ll react,” came the rasping confession. “Don’t be frightened, whatever happens,sasiral.”
My brow furrowed. “What do you—”
A sudden prick of pain came but one that felt heavy and oddlycomforting. Then it melted away, only to be replaced by a dizzying tug that I rose onto my tiptoes to prolong. A sensation unlike any other, one that made heat scorch a trail through my body, settling in the junction of my thighs.
“What is…” I whispered in disbelief. Realization hit. “Oh gods.”
A groan tumbled from Kythel’s throat, muffled against my neck.
No, no, no,I thought. This wasn’t what a feeding should’ve been. It didn’t make any sense. I’d worked at a bloodydyaan. I knew what a feeding entailed. It was a service. Nothing more. And it certainly shouldn’t feel likethis.
Unless…
