“Just a little magic,” she purred as she peeled off a glove, revealing skin of midnight-black, eddying and swirling as if it were made from liquid. With her other hand, she withdrew a glinting needle and pricked a finger, a single bead of black blood welling on the tip.
I hated this entire scenario. I knew how she worked, I’d seen the evidence. She dealt in chaos. Her deals were likely worded carefully to leave loopholes, much in the way a djinn twisted the words of a wish. Revenge turned to murder, wealth became armed robbery. The things people wanted to have without earning them could not be achieved without bloodshed. But what would a wish for love look like? I would never forgive myself if she hurt Uly.
“Do we have a deal?” she asked in that awful rasp of hers, reaching out a single finger toward my forehead.
I flinched back before she could make contact, even as I knew this was my only option. This was what I’d come here to do, to make a deal with the devil, but now that I was faced with the dreadful reality of it, my heart seemed to stutter in my chest, balking at what I knew must be done. “Swear to me you won’t hurt him,” I begged.
“I won’t lay a finger on him,” she said, and the words seemed to settle over me, the ripple of magic adding the clause to the contract, binding her to them.
For Uly. He was all that mattered. Letting my eyes drift shut, I nodded, bracing myself for whatever came next.
Her finger had barely touched my forehead before blinding pain seared into me, like a red-hot poker stabbing into my brain, turningmy whole vision white. Screaming filled my ears, and I was surprised to find that it was coming from me. I tried to yank myself back, but I was rooted to the spot, glued to the single point of contact. All I saw, felt, heard was pain. Until suddenly—
It stopped.
Everything went black.
I floated in the ether, bodiless, mindless. But not soulless.
“Mmm, lust,” I heard my voice murmur, detached from me entirely, now belonging to the dark goddess Apate. “My favorite of all the sins.” I was distantly aware of my body, no longer under my control, as she walked back up the stairs. “You really should have read the fine print of that contract, Ruadan. I promised I would not lay a finger on your beloved mate.Yourfingers, however… I’ll make sure to leave my mark.”
And floating in that sea of darkness, I screamed.
Chapter 23
Ulysses
Ithadbeenalong week. Hell, a longlifewas more like it, now that I knew how good things could be. The entire time with Ruadan—well, since the moment we gave in, anyway—I’d been fed, pampered, sated in every single way. He’d catered to my needs to almost an obscene amount of satisfaction. He spoiled me, and now I was ruined.
And godsdamned it, Imissedhim. Not just the way he treated me, but his steady presence and quiet gaze. I missed the way he played the piano when he couldn’t sleep, the way he traced idle patterns on my skin when he was deep in thought. But I’d refused to talk to him, so this was where I was. Alone. Fuck. Not just alone, but truly lonely for the first time in centuries.
My apartment, with its shelves of trinkets and tiny rooms, was no longer cozy but cramped. I kept pacing back and forth the whole length of the apartment, counting my steps: 14, pivot, then another 14 back. And there was a strange smell coming from the kitchen, but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Had it always smelledlike this? After a lifetime of being told I wasn’t good enough, had I simply been settling this whole time? My apartment was good enough, my lack of friends or family habit, being alone par for the course. My entire existence had beeninevitable. And now?
I wasn’t happy with settling anymore.
Setting my hand on my belly, I rubbed tiny circles, imagining the life growing inside me. “Soon, baby. It’ll all work out soon.” How that would happen, I had no clue, but I had to believe it. Otherwise, what was the point to any of this?
My stomach let out a hungry gurgle. I hadn’t purged a soul since that night with Rue, and the pregnancy was driving my hunger to a whole new level. I hadn’t been taking care of myself, I knew it. And I knew baby deserved better. “Okay, sweetie, I hear you. How do you feel about tacos?” Another gurgle was my answer, so I shoved on some shoes, grabbed my jacket, and headed down the block toward where the food trucks liked to park at dinner time.
I could see the lineup from down the block, a mix of suits from people leaving the office and tight, flashy outfits for the early bar crowd. Before I could move to join the line, though, I felt a tingling sensation down my spine, and I knew immediately who was watching me.
Turning to look over my shoulder, I saw Rue leaning up against the wall outside The Apollo theater, hands tucked in his pockets, casual as could be. The wind tugged at his hair, a burnished gold in the light of the setting sun, and his eyes were pinned straight on me.
I debated ignoring him, going to eat my dinner, but the pull I felt toward my mate was impossible to resist. Slowly, I approached him, and he stayed right where he was, letting me come to him.
Coming to a stop two feet away, my fingers twitched to reach for him. His cheeks were rough, as if he hadn’t shaved since I last saw him,and there were deep creases under his eyes like he hadn’t been sleeping. He was suffering too. I sighed, strengthening my resolve. “What are you doing here? I told you not to follow me.”
“I know, and I tried, but…” The corner of his mouth hitched in that smirk I loved so much. “I couldn’t stay away. I miss you, baby.” A prickling sensation began to creep up my neck, and I went to take a step back, but he was already reaching for me. “Please, don’t. I’m so sorry for everything. Give me a chance to show you how sorry I am.” He tugged on my hand until I stumbled forward, catching myself on his chest. Rue buried his face into my neck, his breath too hot against my skin. “I’ll make it up to you if you’ll let me. I’ll do anything. Do you want me to beg? I’ll get on my knees for you right here.” He began to fumble with my pants, as if was going to pull my cock out.
“No!” I snapped, grabbing his wrist to stop him. “We’re in public!”
“Then let’s find somewhere private?” he purred, taking my hand and pulling me toward the theater’s door. They were between shows, and while I was pretty sure the door was locked, with a twist of his wrist, Rue popped it open and led me into the darkened interior. Shadows engulfed us as he closed the door behind me, then pressed me back against it. “How’s this?” he muttered, pinning me with his body.
I squirmed to get out from under him. “Um, right, except… Rue, can you stop for a second? We need to talk.”
“Aw, come on, baby. What else do we need to say? I’m sorry, so can’t we just skip to the part where you forgive me? You know you want me.” His fingers dug into my ass, groping me roughly, then he shoved my jacket out of the way to get into my pants.
“Rue, stop,” I said firmly with my hands on his chest, gripping his shirt as I tried to push him off. “You’re scaring me.”
