Urian wasn’t amused with her joke. “Ha, ha, Katra. Do you have any real reason to be here? Or are you just wanting to piss me off?”
“I was making sure you lived. Sorry I cared.”
“I’m not sorry you cared. I am sorry you feel the need to nettle.” Sighing, he met Davyn’s gaze. “Thank you, brother.”
“You know I love you.”
“You, too.”
“Aw!” Kat threw herself against them both and hugged them close. “It’s a Daimon love fest!”
Urian screwed his face up. “Gah! I’m getting Olympian cooties. Someone call an exterminator! Better yet, a Charonte!”
Snorting, Kat pulled away. “Fine. I’m heading back. See you later.”
Urian took a minute to talk to Davyn. “I got rid of the body.”
“Thanks.”
When he started to leave, Davyn stopped him. “Uri … it’s none of my business, but you know that’s not normal, right?”
“It wasn’t her fault. I picked a particularly nasty asshole to feed on and it affected her. You were lucky—Paris was particular about the souls he took. To keep you safe, he preyed on gentle ones so that you wouldn’t have to listen to them screaming as much.”
Davyn looked away, shame-faced at a secret they’d all kept from him. Paris had been the only one of them who had taken the lives of women and weaker humans so as not to risk Davyn going trelos. “Yeah, I know. I didn’t realize that until he was gone and I had to pick my own meals.”
And it made a big difference. Urian was used to feeding himself only. Because he’d been doing it for so long, the voices had become a part of him. He could ignore them most of the time. Phoebe was still adjusting. And when they were dying, they were louder and worse. Especially the strong ones.
She was still getting used to all that.
He’d considered going after a weaker human. But he just couldn’t make himself do it. His warrior’s code was too strong. It wasn’t in him to prey on someone weaker. There was no honor in that.
He smiled at Davyn. “I’ll be more careful with her in the future.”
“What if she goes trelos?”
“She won’t. She’s part human.”
“A human who almost killed you tonight!”
Urian shook his head. “My stupidity almost killed me tonight, not Phoebe. I’ve got this.”
Davyn scoffed as Urian headed off. And the last words he heard him say were ominous indeed. “Strange. Those were the last words Paris said.”
It was justafter midnight when Urian returned to the Muppet’s apartment to collect his wife. Phoebe smiled as he neared her.
Wulf didn’t. In fact, the tension between the two of them was fierce.
“What’s the matter, Dark-Hunter?” Urian couldn’t resist taunting as he draped his arm around Phoebe’s shoulders. “You were hoping I’d succumb?”
“No, I was just wondering who you killed to reclaim your health.”
Urian snorted. “I’m sure the cows you eat aren’t exactly thrilled by their slaughter either.”
“They’re not people.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Dark-Hunter, there are a lot of people out there who aren’t human either.”
Taking Phoebe’s hand, Urian led her toward the door. “C’mon, Phee, I don’t have much time before I have to return to Kalosis and I don’t want to spend it with my enemies.”
