With his shadows suppressing my overwhelm, my usual faint nausea was nearly nonexistent, so my stomach raged like it was the one who'd been locked up instead of me.
I went cautiously to Grayson's kitchen, and when I found leftover food that looked like it had been cooked at home, I heated up a large bowl of pasta without hesitation.If he was going to hold me captive, I was going to make him regret it... by cleaning out his fridge.
The pasta was loaded with chicken and a delicious, creamy sauce. I devoured it. I tried to watch a TV show while I did, but ended up curled beneath a blanket within a few minutes and had to turn it off.
Grayson’s shadows helped me a bit, but they couldn’t erase the cost of my magic.
Still hiding beneath the blanket I'd found draped over the back of the couch, I picked up my phone and managed to work for a while.
Eventually, the overwhelm eased a little more, and I was able to get my laptop out of my pink bag. His shadows thinned a little at one point, but their presence remained enough to give me slightly more breathing room than I usually had.
There were so many things to arrange for the Cabinet and the city that I managed to get lost in work until I heard the lock on the front door open late that night.
I peeked out from beneath the blanket I currently had draped over me like a cloak as Grayson strode inside. He kicked the doorshut behind him, carrying a large plate of food in each of his hands. Exhaustion visibly weighed his shoulders down, but he didn't mention it as he sat beside me on the couch and set one of the plates on my lap.
I braced myself for overwhelm at the weight of it on my thighs, but his arm met mine as he leaned in close, and the touch of our bare skin was enough to erase my discomfort.
"You left your shirt off. I approve," he said, as he dug into his food.
"How many fights were you in today?" I asked, eyeing him.There were a few new bruises on his skin, but he looked fine for the most part.
"Hard to say."
"How can it be hard to say?"
"Everything blurs together."
When demons disagreed, they fought. MMA style, and with shadows. The royals never used to fight like that, but there had been a rebellion of some kind eleven years earlier, and two of them had gone to prison. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened, and had never asked for details.Grayson had never offered them, either.
The royals had been fighting ever since. Grayson had killed more than a dozen of the vampires who had replaced the king who went to prison, and two of the sirens who replaced their queen, too. The latest set he'd killed had been nearly eight months ago, and the information I'd received didn't make me think this new vampire was going to last much longer.
"If you keep fighting like this, someone's going to kill you," I warned.
He made a noncommittal sound.
Grayson's fighting skills were legendary, but he hurt and healed the same way any immortal did. The healing wasn't rapid or immediate. Not at all.Feeding from me would speed it up for him, but it didn’t cure everything.
"What's going on with the new vampire king? The things I've heard aren't good."I said.
"If you want to talk about work, you have to be my mate. I don't discuss Shadow District drama with fae queens."
I rolled my eyes, but focused on my food.
Guess he didn't want to chat.
We ate in silence.
"I'm going to take a quick shower and call it a night. If you want a particular side of the bed, now's your chance to claim it," Grayson said. He strode toward the bathroom without a glance over his shoulder at me, not giving me a chance to disagree.
My forehead creased.
I was on my feet and following him toward his bedroom before I could stop myself."We'renotsharing a bed."
"We're mates, Love. We're sharing a bed."
"We'refated. Beingmatedrequires making vows."
"Which we'll be doing very soon."
