Page 23 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

I was so wrapped up in working with Ray, I had no idea Hade was even in here.

He’s a glistening, beautiful beast slicked with sweat, the depiction of a life altering deity if they were to live among us.

My breath hitches as I greedily drink in his shirtless, chiseled torso.

The tattoos on his arm wrap over his shoulder and down the side of his chest, making my mouth dry up.

I’m suddenly parched and wouldn’t mind drinking a tall glass of Hade to quench my thirst.

Have a little self-control, Nyxi… Maybe just half a glass.

Aeron turns with that shit-eating grin on his face and gives Hade a small, taunting wave. It clicks then, the performance he was putting on. Aeron knew exactly what he was doing and that we had a certain audience watching us. He was making a show of it, of us , ruffling feathers like always.

I lean in closer to Aeron, making our bodies flush. “I belong to no one. The dirt under my nails holds more interest to me than the two brain cells rolling around in that head of yours.” I tap his shoulder like a mother would to console her child.

A wolfish grin takes over Aeron’s face as the ground around us practically trembles. “You know what that fiery little mouth of yours does to me. Don’t start something you aren’t willing to finish for me…or with me, if you want.” He winks, and flames lick at my reddening cheeks.

The ground trembles even closer to us now as heavy breathing floods the air. My focus remains on Aeron as I cock my arm back quickly and slam my fist into the side of his face, his head flying sideways with a loud crack from my knuckles.

Fuck me, that hurt.

Aeron shuffles backwards, his lip now sporting a bloody cut. His face remains smug as he chuckles at me. “A little rougher foreplay than I’m used to, but if you’re into that sort of thing, I could oblige.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I cock my arm back in threat, making him raise his hands in surrender.

“Maybe next time, you’ll learn not to open your mouth so I don’t have to shut it for you.

If you needed help learning social cues, you just had to ask.

” Now I’m the one with the smug smile as I track a dribble of blood from his lip down to his shirt.

“Making me bleed twice in one week. One would start to assume you might have a kink.” The ground vibrates so hard, I wobble, getting ready to teach Aeron another lesson, but someone beats me to it.

Aeron is violently ripped off his feet by the collar of his shirt, which starts to split down the front.

Hade pulls Aeron’s face within inches of his, baring his teeth in a fierce scowl.

He’s seething for Empress knows why this time.

He’s growling again, except this one actually sounds like an animal foaming at the mouth.

I feel it deep in my stomach as little flutters float down my center.

All the while, Aeron continues to smile back at Hade, not a single ounce of fear showing.

“Are you blind? It seems to me like you have the wrong culprit here. I’m the one sporting a bloody lip from that spicy little demon over there.” Aeron flicks his pointer finger at me, drawing Hade’s attention.

“Say the word, and I’ll turn him into nothing, Nyxi.” Hade’s threat spears me right in my ice cold heart, shattering a thin layer.

“Uhhh…” My mind is mush, no words coming out, and I feel like I’m back in school, learning how to form complete sentences. I feel like an owl, my head spinning in a dizzying commotion over these men. Or more accurately, this man. What is he getting at here? Why does he care?

What is going on in that pretty little head of yours, Hade?

Aeron crosses his arms, the perfect picture of nonchalant, as he hangs in the air by his shirt, which is still slowly ripping down the front.

“Again, why would you need to do anything to me at all? She’s the one who ruined my pretty face.” Aeron pathetically pouts now, pointing to his gushing cut.

Hade drops Aeron back on his feet and takes a large step back, acting disgusted to be standing near someone so below him. “I have no doubt it was well deserved. I’m just here to finish the job.”

Holy shit.

Aeron scoffs, taking a step forward and breaking into Hade’s personal bubble, a single finger on his chest. “I don’t see you finishing any other competitors’ jobs for them, hmmm?”

This is Hade’s tipping point. He takes a step forward, pressing his chest to Aeron’s, looking down at him.

“My job is to protect every competitor here so the Crucible is a fair playing field. She is not special to me; she is just a part of my job. If you’d quit eye fucking her and touching her without her permission, then I wouldn’t have to waste my valuable time putting you in your place. ”

Not special. Ouch .

I let out a long sigh. “Are you two idiots done insulting me yet, or do you need to fight it out?” I say it as a joke, but when both their eyes light up, I groan internally. I see their wheels turning. “That was hypothetical. I wasn’t actually suggesting you two fight.”

Ray now stands by my side, joining in on the commotion with giant, excited eyes. “Not you too,” I whisper to her as I catch the side of her lip tug up in a smirk.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin the Cardinal’s big, scary reputation by knocking his ass out,” Aeron challenges Hade, narrowing his eyes and egging him on.

“Really? Because I wouldn’t mind finishing what Nyxi started on that so-called pretty face of yours. Only difference is, Nyxi would only cause temporary damage. What I plan to do would make permanent alterations.”

Yup, there’s definitely steam coming out of Hade’s nose now.

So help me Empress, what did I get myself into?

The sight of two very attractive men fighting over me might be going straight to my head, because why has my heart rate picked up from a flutter to barreling towards a heart attack?

Okay, maybe they aren’t actually fighting over me, but a girl can dream.

Licking my suddenly dry lips, I nuzzle closer to Ray as I take in both men. Hade’s back muscles ripple with energy that blinds me as sun streams down, illuminating the sheen of sweat on his skin, making him sparkle. The things I would do to drag my nails down his…

Where the hell did that come from, Nyxi?

Blaming my delusion on exhaustion and training all day, I clear my thoughts and look over to Aeron. While he is smaller than Hade, he is still all man, packed with muscle, with a jaw that could cut wood. He is attractive in all senses of the word.

The two stare intensely at one another, but they don’t exchange another word. Aeron breaks eye contact and drags his eyes over to me. Now, I truly think I’m going delusional, because I imagine black tendrils of smoke swirling around Hade’s body. Nope, not delusion… magic .

“You’re losing control, Cardinal. Do you always leak smoke reeking of death when two competitors look at each other?” Aeron drags his eyes from mine, landing back on Hade’s intense ones.

“If you don’t want today to be your last alive, Gavis, I suggest you shut the fuck up and walk away now.

I won’t apologize or feel a single ounce of remorse for the things running through my head.

Lucky you, it’s my day off, so I have all the time in the world to make sure that pretty face of yours is unrecognizable and buried so far in the ground, even the memory of you will be lost for the rest of time.

” Hade words are harsh, but the calmness overtaking his body makes my skin crawl more than his threats.

On cue, my stomach belts out a loud rumble.

Clearing my throat, I attempt to break the tension I can physically taste.

“Hate to butt in here, but my stomach is in need of assistance. It’s dire, really.

” I raise my voice. “Life or death type of situation, and would you look at that, Winston isn’t here yet to take me back. ”

It’s the last thing I possibly want to ask, but I would do anything to break up this nightmare of a situation. “Umm…I know it’s your day off, but would you be able to escort me back to the castle so I can tame the growling demon inside me?”

My nails have magically appeared in my mouth as I nervously nibble on the ends.

A bead of sweat collects on my forehead and takes off down the side of my temple, collecting in my eyebrow.

Hade tracks it the entire way down my face until his piercing eyes snap to mine.

His eyes don’t look like opposites right now—they both have taken on an inky black shade portraying a promise of death.

He looks lost in a blood thirsty haze, but as his eyes take in my steely gray ones, his soften and return to their original colors.

Interesting.

“Another time then.” Aeron pats Hade’s shoulder and strolls away like nothing ever happened, the picture of indifference.

I can see the dilemma in Hade’s head, the primal need to purge his anger like it’s physically hurting him to hold back.

To my surprise, he stays put. The swirling black tendrils retreat within him.

He blinks a couple times and takes a deep inhale, scenting something that seems to peak his interest…

a lot. His eyes narrow on me slightly, looking at me puzzled.

My stomach lets out another aggressive scream, which snaps him out of his spiraling thoughts. “Let’s get you fed. Nightmare, indeed,” he grumbles. With that, he walks past me, expecting me to follow without another word.

This man is so hot and cold. Trying to wrap my brain around what just happened, I stand there for a few seconds. I can’t seem to come up with a single reason for what just transpired, though. Turning around, I jog to catch up with Hade, who is already halfway across the Bubble.

“You have some explaining to do, Death Reaper .” I throw his ridiculous nickname back at him, just as he had done to me. If he doesn’t want to play nice, then neither do I.

I double the length of my strides to keep pace with him and his monstrously long legs. I’m gasping for air by the time I circle in front of him and start to walk backwards. He won’t even look at me, though; he just continues to walk, a blaze of fire in his wake.

“Si—”

Hade’s eyes snap to mine, cutting me off before I can finish my sentence. “Don’t you dare.”

I feign innocence. “What, Hadey boy?” I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t dare what? You have no idea what I was about to say. ”

He knows damn well I was about to call him sir, one of his least favorite things I love to do.

Still, I would rather have this side of Hade than the one who looked like he was about to blow the force field right off the top of the Bubble if he thought about Aeron for one more second. This side of Hade, I can deal with.

He grunts and clenches his jaw. “Now is not the time to be pushing my buttons. You have no idea what I’m capable of doing right now.”

Now, he has my full attention. I lower my voice so only he can hear me. “And what if I want to find out exactly what you’re capable of? What then?”

My breaths turn erratic, or maybe his does as heavy breathing rings out around us. Mine is heavy from the jog to catch up to him…at least, that’s what I tell myself.

We’ve both halted our steps, and the world around us fades to the background. The only thing I see and hear is him. His bare chest rises and falls in a harsh cadence. His jaw ticks when I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, letting it out with a slow pop .

“Nyxi,” he growls in warning, his voice lower than I’ve ever heard.

“Yes?” I ask on a breath, my heart coming to a full stop.

He takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Your ride is here.” And then, he’s gone, just a figment of my imagination left in his wake.

“You ready to head back, little lady?”

Winston.