Page 61 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

“I don’t trust your hunger.”

He continued to smile. “Let me put your unrest at ease. If we were going to feast, we would have done it already.”

I knew they were talking about me, but I pretended otherwise.

We returned to our bedchambers for the evening, the venom packed carefully in Kingsnake’s pack. The second we entered the room, the warmth soaked through our clothing and reached our skin. It made me dread the next morning when we would brace the horrific cold and the yetis once more.

Kingsnake was the first to shower. He stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Water ran a moment later, and the steam started to seep out from underneath the door.

Aurelias fell into the armchair, his chin propped on his closed knuckles, his eyes distant.

“Are you sure about this?”

His eyes shifted to me.

I sat in the other armchair by the fire. “I feel horrible leaving you here.”

He dropped his knuckles from his chin. “I realize I didn’t make a great impression with the yetis, but I can take care of myself.”

“You’re the only of your kind…that doesn’t scare you?”

“I’m the only of my kind—in other ways.” With eyes identical to Kingsnake’s, he stared at me with unknown depth. He could be shallow like a river or deep like the ocean we’d just crossed.

“You should feed on me before you leave.”

“No.”

“I don’t mind—”

“You aren’t mine to feed.”

“Kingsnake won’t mind—”

“He does mind. He minds more than you realize.”

“I just want you to be okay.”

“Since when did you start to care if I was okay?”

That answer was easy. “The moment you called me Larisa.”

His eyes softened, but only slightly, so slightly I wasn’t sure if it even happened. “I’ve lived a long time, Larisa. And I will continue to live a long time. Don’t waste your worry on me, not when you have bigger things to worry about.” The conversation seemed to be over, because he shifted his gaze away and looked elsewhere, probably thinking about his life in this new world.

My eyes remained on him. “I’m sorry about Renee.”

His eyes were back on me instantly.

“I overheard you that night.” The last thing I wanted him to assume was that Kingsnake had betrayed his trust.

His eyes were fixed in place, as were the rest of his features. If I were to feel his emotions, I imagined they would be a tornado of fire.

“I’m not asking you to talk about it. I just want you to know I’m sorry.”

“That makes me feel so much better.”

If this conversation had happened a week ago, he would have given a much more savage response, so I’d gladly take his sarcasm. “I loved someone once. He asked me to marry him…but broke that promise when better opportunities came along. I’m not saying the situations are the same, but I know what it’s like to lose—”

“Did you kill him?”