Anadil cut her eyes back to him. “She’ll look just like me.”
And then she was gone.
Chapter 22
I’ve Never Killed Anyone
Raven
Present Day - Grypheem
“Levi, you have to set me down at some point,” I gasped as he snuggled further into my neck.
We were back in the dining hall, one of the few places I had explored. A few days had passed since theparty.The one where I had been drugged by a prince. Where I had been locked in Oleks’s embrace. Where I barely remembered Enzo carrying me back to Griffin’s quarters.
The dining hall was more like a dingy closet. The space was small. It was clear we weren’t in a main portion of the castle but, more than likely, the area the workers used. However, right now it was just us in here. The walls were lined all the way up withshelves that were filled with pots and pans, hanging precariously off, waiting for one accidental brush to all come tumbling down. A few tables packed into the rest of the space with barstools. Levi was balanced on one with me firmly placed in his lap.
“I don’t have to let you down at all. Every time I do, something bad happens to you,” Levi growled, his nose burrowing into my neck.
“I know.” I paused. Even through the fleece long-sleeve I wore I felt the heat of Levi’s skin. Coupled with the comfort and familiarity of being in his arms, a dash of happiness skirted deep in my belly. “I miss the games,” I whispered the confession to him. Knowing that he might be the only one to understand. “The safety in our borrowed space. The time with you and Jayce. With—”
“With everyone.” Levi squeezed me tighter, humming, the vibrations spreading warmth across me. “I do too. But change is coming.”
“Doesn’t that scare you? I just…” Wrapping myself tighter to Levi, forcing our skin to touch as much as physically possible, I used it to expel my fears. “I want Jayce and Sparrow here. Then it wouldn’t feel so painful. Right now I am apuppet. I will do whatever is needed to reunite with them. And Drago, Griffin,everyoneknows that. And you can’t even stay with me; I have to find you like this for a few stolen hours. But I just want you with me, Levi. I need—”
“Hush.” He patted my hair, combing it down with his palm soothingly. “I’m here, I haven’t been far, you know that. It’s just safer to keep my distance, at least while we’re here. But—”
“But once I’m married, this will all change. And we can leave?” I expelled.
Levi readjusted us, leaning me back against the table, his hands securing me in place. Wrapping my legs around him, I crossed my ankles, buckling us together. His amber eyes foundmine. They were hypnotic, the pain and love and respect and everything in between speckling through as he examined me. “Marriage is a piece of paper. I understand it doesn’t feel or sound good. But it seems clear it will do its job in keeping you safe. Married to a prince is a better place to be than with their Priestess.”He snarked the word, his distaste clear. “We made it through everything and we came out stronger. We can make it through whatever is to come.”
“How can you be so calm?” I asked.
Levi’s lips lifted in a gentle smile. “I have told you before, and I will continue to inform you, you are my salve. You are our salvation. You have brought hope into my heart that there will be change. And as long as we are together, I am here to support you.”
“And if we are forced apart? If this marriage is just the beginning?” My anxieties bubbled up.
Levi’s eyes darkened, shadows falling over his face as his face flicked through an array of pain. “I trust that you will survive it. I have faith in your abilities. Your strength. You are a formidable opponent. Intelligent in a way that exceeds the norms. You have the skillset needed for this, you just have to remember.”
“I’ve never killed anyone.” The confession was bitter.
For all of the games and every mission I had ever gone on, I had never killed anyone myself. I had been responsible for countless deaths and the blood had been figuratively on my hands but never literally.
Levi chuckled softly. “That’s good. Once you do, it changes you.”
“I would kill for you. All of you. For Sparrow, for Jayce.”
“But not for yourself?” he whispered, leaning forward until our lips grazed each others’.
Levi’s thumbs stroked up my arms, the thick wool of the sweater I wore separating us. I desperately craved him, my bellyfluttering at the thought. To be filled and stretched past the point of comfort. To be used and thrown and tossed around.
Leaning forward, I pushed my lips to his, enjoying the instant connection, but then there was a sound behind us, and I jumped back.
Levi helped me down, placing me behind him as he faced our intruder.
“You should be careful doing that in public,” Matty’s voice cut through.
Peeking around Levi’s body, I offered him an embarrassed wave. “It’s okay, Levi, he grew up in my Facility. Drago recruited him over here.”
