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My mage grinned at me. “I love how murderous you’re becoming, My Queen.”

That made me smirk and roll my eyes. “He killed my aunt, my father, and nearly killed my best friend. The man doesn’t deserve mercy. Three strikes and you’re out.”

Everyone nodded.

“Kenvin and I will go into town and ask around, see if Lerris has been shooting his mouth off at all. Get a feel for where people’s fealties might lean.” Shoy sipped his drink. “If we see Lerris, what do we do?”

I gave the demon a confused look. “Kill him, of course. No hesitations. If wehave him, we take him out. I’m all about efficiency and practicality. I don’tneedto be the one to end his life. His life just needs to end. Whether it’s by my sword or someone else’s, that man’s head needs to roll clear off his body.”

Maxar snorted, grinning even wider, his amber eyes like twin dancing flames. “Fuck, babe, you’re getting me all hard with this kind of talk.”

Shoy snorted and bit into a barbecued magsith leg, shaking his head.

Kenvin just looked annoyed. “I won’t miss you when you’re gone. Fucking psycho mage.” That last bit was said mostly under his breath, but it was still loud enough for us to all hear and make Maxar beam like a beacon.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Omaera

After dinner, Kenvin and Shoy headed into town to gather intel, which left my mates and me alone in his house.

“We should train,” Drak said, his voice deep and low as he finished washing the dinner dishes in the sink. “It’s been a few days.”

I gave him a surprised look, my gaze traveling down the length of him. “You were literally impaled twenty-four hours ago. You really think that’s wise?”

He grunted. “I’m fine.”

“Let’s take another night off. I’ll do some combat training instead, or you guys can try to lie to me and I can dissect your tone, mannerisms, and latency to figure it out, rather than pick apart your brains.”

“I’m fine,” Drak said again. “I know how much I can handle.”

“And I’d rather not seemoreof your blood in such a short span of time. I’m saying no.”

His nostrils flared as he stared at me, his blue eyes darkening to the shade of the sky just before the first star came out. I met his intense stare with one of my own.

Two could play this game, buddy. A stare-off? Sure. Let’s go.

I lifted a brow slightly in challenge, hoping to break him. But that just madehis nostrils flare more. I wasn’t even sure if he blinked. My eyes grew dry, and I blinked a few times, but maintained eye contact. This wasn’t a primary school staring contest where the first to blink lost. This was a battle of wills. He wanted me to rip his brain to shreds again, and I refused. He couldn’tmakeme anyway, so his argument held no water.

“Not sure what kind intense eye-fucking is going on in here,” Maxar said, joining us, “but it’s making my dick a little hard, not going to lie.”

Fucking mage.

That comment nearly broke me.

Zandren joined us in the kitchen, instantly making the entire space feel half the size. “What’s going on?”

“They’re having a staring contest. But Omaera has blinked. So I’m not sure that’s the endgame,” Maxar whispered. “There’s a lot of sexual tension flickering between them though.” He pointed to my chest. “Like literally. Look.”

Fuck.

Curiosity won out, and I glanced down at my chest to where he pointed, and sure enough, pink and yellow sparks flickered from my torso and my hands. I didn’t even feel them, but they were there.

“What do those colors together mean?” Zandren asked.

“Pink is for sexy times. It means she’s aroused, and the yellow is because she’s pissed off. It’s mostly a benign flame. Doesn’t pack much of a punch. Meant for gentler forms of torture or punishment.” Maxar leaned in closer to my chest. “Never seen them together like this though.” His eyes glowed as he glanced up into my face. “Babe, you’re just full of sexy little surprises, aren’t you?”

I lifted my eyes back to Drak’s. “I’m not even sure why you think you have a leg to stand on. You can’tmakeme turn your brain into carpaccio. If I don’t want to, I don’t have to.”