We’re currently on the mat, him sprawled on his stomach, and me on top, a knee digging in between his shoulder blades. My dagger is grazing his throat, while my other hand coils around his braids, keeping him in place.
“I’ve been doing many things while you were away.” Smugness drips from my voice as I release my hold on him and jump to my feet. I’ve been training like crazy every chance I’ve got, strengthening my muscles, working on my stamina, honing in on that sixth sense I seem to develop, the one that tells me in my gut what my opponent’s next move is going to be and guides my strikes with sharp precision.
I spent the last few weeks almost entirely in the training hall during the day and tangled between the sheets with Killian at night. I know I’m flirting with danger, both emotionally andphysically, but at this point I can’t seem to stay away from the Vampire King anymore. My body craves him with such insane intensity that all rational thoughts flow right out the window the moment I see him.
“Ah, yes, I know all about what you’ve been doing as of late.” Blaise wiggles his brows playfully as he lifts himself off the ground.
“You what?” Shock washes over my face. “I thought males didn’t talk about such things,” I say begrudgingly.
“Well, no, we don’t. But it’s clear as day. The unresolved sexual tension fogging up this castle has dimmed quite a lot. I have a second sight for this kind of thing, you know?” He sticks out his tongue at me before licking his fangs with blatant lewdness.
“Of course you do!” Laughter bubbles up out of my chest, and I punch him in the arm.
As if summoned, Killian strolls into the fighting area, dripping swagger, as always. I low-key hoped that sating my body’s need for him would clear the haze from my mind, but it only made me even more hyperaware of his sinful, commanding presence.
“Ah, lover boy is here,” Blaise snickers from beside me. I punch him again, in the exact same spot. “Ow!” he grumbles, rubbing his biceps. “Careful! I bruise like a fucking peach.” Now it’s my turn to snicker at his silly antics.
Killian all but ignores him, his heated stare focused entirely on my sweaty, leather-clad body.
“Little umbra,” he hums in a raspy voice, before turning to Blaise and glaring at him.
“I was expecting to receive a report from you as soon as you arrived,” he says in a voice that says he means business.
“I was just finishing here. We can go to your study.” Blaise straightens, all his playfulness gone. “You’ll be pleased, though, to know that the kitty cat here just kicked my ass.”
“Pleased indeed,” Killian says in a throaty tone that has my pussy clenching in wanton anticipation. Down, girl! I chastise myself mentally.
“You can speak without restraint in front of Aimee,” he continues. “We’re past the time of keeping things from her.” I wince internally at his earnestness. Killian has indeed opened up to me. He even shared the news about my father’s gruesome demise, and I wept in his arms, while he stroked my hair with soothing fingers and allowed me the space to grieve for a man that never showed me an ounce of fatherly affection.
He’s bared his worn-out soul at my feet, while the same can’t be said about me.
Unbeknownst to him, I’ve been giving him only half-truths, and a part of me is drowning in guilt. But the other half, the one in charge, still believes it’s for the best. What good can come from him knowing the extent of Aurora’s cruelty toward me? It would only make him hate her, and he needs her too much to be plagued by such conflicting sentiments.
Blaise regards me wearily for a second before opening his mouth. “No luck in locating those three males yet.”
I tense up when I hear that. I’m not surprised Killian followed through on his promise to hunt down my aggressors, but how much did he disclose to Blaise? Hopefully, nothing. I’m not ready for everybody to know about my gruesome past, and a part of me believes I will never be. Killian knows only because I was sleeping in his bed when my worst nightmare hit. He’s been nothing but supportive and caring, and it only deepens my shame about withholding my sister’s involvement in the ordeal.
“They vanished a few years back, overnight. Only a note left behind, saying that they had outgrown Vroni, even Ibrok, and were leaving for bigger adventures. Nobody knows where they are.”
Killian grunts in disapproval. “How conveniently Faes seem to vanish without a trace from Vroni. Anything else?”
“No news about Aurora, either.” Blaise sighs in defeat. “The entire Fae kingdom is buzzing only about the upcoming nuptials. They’re set to take place in a few days.”
“What nuptials?” I ask as my curiosity gets the best of me.
“Prince Noahlin is getting married before his coronation,” Killian says, distaste clear in his tone.
“Ah.” I scrunch up my nose, not really interested in this piece of gossip.
“You know him?” Killian asks, his stare intense, as if trying to assess if he needs to extend his murder list on my behalf. The ease with which he has taken it upon himself to disembowel males that wronged me should probably appall me. Instead, my heart skips a beat at his twisted show of affection.
“No, not personally. But servants talk, and rumors abound. He seems like an utter twat,” I shrug.
“A twat, indeed,” Blaise snickers.
“Who’s the lucky bride?” I air-quote the word lucky, gaining a small smile from Killian.
“Some Fae noblewoman, Loelle Brimms. Pretty thing, but way too vain for my taste,” Blaise says.
