Page 31 of Given to the Black King

“You know why.”

“I know what Sera told me. I want to hear it from you.”

Her pulse is fast, but she is not trembling. She has come here frightened and chosen every step anyway.

I stand.

Her scent sharpens.

Claws slide from my fingertips. I keep my hands at my sides where she can see them.

“Tell me what she said.”

“That your blood chooses once.” Iona’s gaze drops to my fangs and returns to my eyes. “That the bite must be freely offered. That forcing it would destroy us both.”

“Yes.”

“And that you have been hurting since I crossed the pass.”

“Yes.”

“How badly?”

“Badly enough that you should stay where you are.”

She comes up one step.

My claws cut into my palms.

“Iona.”

“You keep warning me. I am listening.” Another step. “I am also still here.”

The old blood surges against my control. Her pulse fills my jaw. I can smell the soap from Sera’s wash house on her wrists and the heat gathering lower in her body.

“Your body is not as calm as your face,” I say.

“I know.”

“You are aroused.”

Her cheeks color, but she does not look away. “I know that too.”

“By what?”

“Your restraint.”

The answer frightens me less than it should.

I come down one step.

She stays.

“Most people look at me and wonder what I might do to them,” I say.

“I did.”

“And now?”