How many hours had we spent training just like this? Countless, and I still couldn’t get away from him. He had no weaknesses, none. I slowed my breathing and tried to think of something... I lifted my gaze to his full, slightly parted lips. Well, maybe he did.
I pushed forward and our lips met. Just like before, I wanted to melt into him. Heat bloomed in my core. I moaned against my will. He dropped my wrists and cupped my face, kissing me harder. Damn it. Damnhim. I wrapped my arms around theback of his neck, and his knee lifted me higher against the wall. My head swam like I’d drunk too much wine. How could a kiss make me feel I could float to the stars? I couldn’t get enough of him. I wanted his lips all over me. I wanted his touch in places I’d never experienced.
But I’d been fooled enough already. I threaded my scarred hand into the back of his hair, gripping it. Then I pulled his viper dagger and pressed the point of it to his neck. My heart thundered but my hand was steady.
He smiled against my lips and pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. His fangs were out, his eyes lit up. “Using all your weapons I see. Clever.”
I was breathing too fast. So was he.
It struck me like lightning: the two birds, the raven of death, the eagle of life, both tearing at me. I stood before that shadowed path now.
“Do it. Cut my throat and run. But remember, if you don’t get my heart, I’ll be right behind you, and you’d better hope I get to you before anyone else does.”
“If I don’t, are you going to keep me as your prisoner here? Lock me up in a cage? That’s the only way I’d stay.”
“If you’d stop being dramatic, we could leave and go home. I don’t like it here either.”
“Dramatic?” Oh, he was insufferable. I pushed the blade enough to indent his skin and a bead of blood welled up. “Why don’t you let me free so you can go kiss Belladonna again.”
His eyes darkened and his hands tightened on my waist. “You think I liked that? She did it to show how much power she has over me. Just like she forced me to grab you by the throat. You’re lucky her power doesn’t work on you.” A tendril of guilt coiled around my heart. I jerked his head back, exposing his throat even more. “Careful, I might like that.”
“Stop it,” I hissed. Did drinking my blood make him delirious? This was not the time to play with me. Unless this was how he truly was and he’d been hiding this side of him the entire time. I didn’t know what to think anymore.
He gripped my knife-wielding wrist, and we stared into each other’s eyes. “Can you drop the weapon on me?”
“No.”
He pursed his lips. “Fine. Keep it there if it makes you feel better.” He let go of my wrist and rested his hand on my hip. “You saw my sister.”
“Yes.”Liar!I wanted to shout but only arched an eyebrow. “And she wants to be a daywalker too.”
“Notice that sheisn’t, Aesira.” He sharpened his tone finally. “I told you Dravyn killed everyone and took her?”
I nodded.
“Well, that was true, but I didn’t tell you that Oriana had been having a secret love affair with him. I thought she’d been going out to meet her old flame from the academy, but I was sorely mistaken. Dravyn didn’t take her against her will, shewantedto be with him. They’d been seeing each other secretly for months. When she snuck out that night with the other apprentices, she didn’t know he was going to find them and kill them all or take her that night, but she should have been ready for that.”
“When did you find out she was alive? You said you found her bleeding out on the floor. Was that true or another lie?”
“I did see that. I thought she was dead. The story I told you was true. Belladonna bit me and turned me, thinking I’d either die or join them. Either way, she was getting rid of me, their most lethal problem, or getting me on their side. But I did neither. After I turned, I spent months killing vampires, losing my mind at what I had become, hating every breath, every beat of my heart. At some point they realized I was a daywalker, thefirst in so long, and that’s when they sent Oriana. She came to me six months after that night. She got all the way to my room without being detected. At first I thought I was hallucinating, and when I realized the truth, I almost killed her.”
My stomach sank. His hands tightened ever so slightly on my body.
“She begged me to come with her. We were both vampires. We weren’t wanted in Nighthaven anymore. She begged me to make her a daywalker. I knew then that Belladonna had sent her. Why else would she have let me think she was dead for so long? Belladonna had wanted me to come to her on my own. For most vampires, there’s a draw to the vampire who sires you. But that pull wasn’t there, at least not strong enough for me. I had no desire to go to her. I hate her.” He took a breath. “But they wanted my daywalking secret. And that’s when I realized I had an in.”
My brows pinched. “An in?”
“Think about it. They have spies in Nighthaven. The door to the city closes before sunset every single night. There are no exceptions. Someone opened that door last night. So why shouldn’t we have spies who play the part? I went with Oriana and I became what they wanted me to be. I played the loyal brother who wanted to help her become a daywalker. I said she convinced me to join them. It took months to assure them I’d traded sides. I drank more blood than I could stand, behaved in ways I never wanted to. Killed people I shouldn’t have. But even if they don’t trust me, they won’t kill me. They want my secret.”
He always had an excuse, the perfect story. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know, but I still asked, “So your plan is to do what?”
“I’m here so I can kill Belladonna and the kings. They die, the vampire kingdom of Nocturnus crumbles. I told you I am LOA until I die and I meant that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why haven’t you done it yet? It’s been almost three years and you’re the best assassin in Nighthaven. You’re close to them, it should be easy work.”
He deadpanned. “In case you didn’t notice, Ican’t. Belladonna completely controls me. If I even attempted to harm her, she’d drop me. For a while I was working with a scholar to learn to block mind control, but Belladonna is too powerful. So after a year of trying to keep control of my mind unsuccessfully, I gave up. I just couldn’t keep living this double life. I told you the truth. I was going to have Commander Locke kill me that day of The Rite until I saw you.”
I wanted to believe him, but what if that was just my heart?
