Was he freakin’ kidding her?
A whoosh of air sounded behind her. Nia spun around as his sword came down. She ducked and attacked hard, her weapon thrusting straight through flesh and bone?—
“No—no!” She stumbled back in horror, her spine hitting the door. “Oh, God, oh, God, I’m so sorry!”
He blinked as if coming out of a daze. Terror strangled her as she darted into the kitchen, found a hand towel on a chair, and sprinted outside again.
Lore leaned against the wall, the sword still embedded in his chest, staring at the one he held, his brow lined in pain.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” the words tore from her throat. “Why didn’t you counter?”
Adrenaline pounding through her veins, she yanked out the weapon, flung it aside, ripped his shirt apart—buttons pinging everywhere—and pressed the towel against the seeping wound on his chest.
Feeling as if her lungs would shut down, she gently swiped across the lesion. The bloody hole closed.
It didn’t matter that he healed so fast; she’d hurt him. If he were human, she would have killed him. A terrible chill swept through her. Tears burned her eyes.
Lore straightened, glanced at his healed chest, then back at her. “Your reflexes are good.”
“You asshole!” Anger tore through her. Was this his idea of fun? She shoved him so hard that he actually took a step back. “If that was meant to frighten me, consider yourself successful!”
She wheeled away and stormed off. A clang sounded as if he flung the sword down. She didn’t look back, her throat tight.
“Nia, wait.” He grasped her wrist as she neared the kitchen door.
“What do you want?” She spun back. Even with shock still vibrating through her, her voice remained pure ice. “I don’t care that I can’t kill you. What I just did will haunt me for the rest of my life! I am not a murderer!”
“I know.” His gaze skimmed her face as if nothing devastating had just happened. No sign of his earlier coldness now, just curiosity. His thumb gently stroked her inner wrist.
Nia blinked, awareness and desire seeping through every pore and pooling low. If it was meant to soothe, it sure as hell was working in a way she didn’t expect.
And that pissed her off even more.
She tugged her wrist. He didn’t let go. She flung him a killing look. “Let. Me. Go.”
Those otherworldly eyes skimmed her face, then lowered to her mouth. Something intense shifted in their silvery-green depths. Remorse? She wasn’t sure and didn’t want to delve deeper.
He stepped back, and she was freed.
His jaw clenched like he’d broken some sacred oath or something.
Nia rubbed her wrist, but his touch remained imprinted on her skin. Was he mad because he’d caressed her hand? Of course, he was.
About to snap something sarcastic, like she didn’t have cooties to taint his divine self, she shook her head instead, opened the door, and headed inside.
What would be the point? He didn’t see her as anything but a weak human.
Chapter
Ten
Nia groanedand rolled off the bed, her nightshirt damp from perspiration. Her head pounded like the devil’s army caroused in there.
She wiped her damp face with her forearm and stumbled toward the bathroom. But the heat enclosing her like a furnace had her halting midway.
A fire crackled in the small corner hearth with half-burned logs. Nia blinked, so sure she hadn’t lit the thing before she fell asleep. God knew being high up in the mountains, it was bitterly cold. But with her abilities awakening, she was her own damn heater.
Did Lore come in and light the fire?
