Page 228 of Blood Day

“I want to know the details of your offer before we accept your hospitality,” I said, not even needing a second to think about it. Being naked in a shower with Lily would put us both at a disadvantage, one I would not accept until I understood the game board Khalid was laying out in front of me.

“Fair enough.” He pressed his palm to Emine’s lower back to guide her toward the stairs. “Once we’re finished speaking, he’ll clean her up and you’ll see that she’s fine.”

“There’s blood?—”

“It’s not all hers,” Khalid said as he led her up toward the jet. “You can tell in the scent.” He started explainingthe differences to her, leaving me alone at the bottom of the stairs with Lily.

I could grab her and run.

But I suspected that was the point.

A final test, I mused.

He’d said he wanted my willing participation.Thiswas what he’d meant.

Clever, I thought, taking Lily’s hand and looking at her.This is a risk.

Everything between us has been a risk.

I nodded.Yes.A forbidden, deadly dance skirting the edges of right and wrong, all the while tempting a dark fate to swallow us whole.

This would be no different.

But perhaps a better option awaited us on that plane.

We wouldn’t know until we accepted his invitation.Let’s go.

Chapter 48

Cedric

Emine offered Lilya pair of jeans and a sweater as soon as we boarded the jet. Rather than refuse the gesture, Lily accepted the clothes and left for the bathroom to put them on.

As we weren’t going anywhere else anytime soon, I didn’t protest. Besides, I preferred her to be as comfortable as possible since this was going to be a long flight.

I took a seat across from Khalid in the executive chairs on his jet and waited while he fixed us both a blood-laced bourbon cocktail. He made what appeared to be a clear, fizzy drink spiked with blood for Emine. And pulled out a bottle of water for Lily—one she eagerly accepted when she returned.

She’d tied her blonde hair up into a ponytail and had wiped off her face. I suspected she’d cleaned up other areas as well because her scent was refreshed, but she still needed a shower.

If our conversation went well, I’d take up Khalid’s offer to borrow his.

He sent a message up to his pilot, saying we werecleared to leave, then sat idly and sipped his bourbon. It seemed he wasn’t kidding about waiting until we were in the air.

I relaxed into the chair and grabbed Lily’s hand, her nerves hitting my senses. She’d only flown the one time, and her memories told me it hadn’t been a very enjoyable flight. I didn’t comment about this one being better because that remained to be seen. Instead, I offered her my strength and softly suggested that she look out the window.

She obeyed, her wonder touching my heart as she admired the land growing smaller beneath us.

Another first experience, I marveled. Which wasn’t necessarily true, as this was her second time on a plane. But this was her first time witnessing the true beauty of flying, and that was a refreshing sensation indeed.

“You know,Erositasused to be revered,” Khalid said over the rim of his glass. “Alas, Lilith has changed all that. Not because she doesn’t respect the bonds—she has her ownErosita—but because personal relationships threaten her platform.”

Had, I thought.ShehadanErosita.But I didn’t bother correcting him because that wasn’t the point.

And he wasn’t done, either.

“What dear Lilith fails to understand is that there are plenty of ongoing relationships that were formed before her very creation. I mean, some were during her lifetime, but my point is, some friendships are untouchable.” He glanced at Emine. “Same with Sire bonds.”

“Not all Sire bonds are favorable,” I replied. It wasn’t meant as a rebuttal to his logic—I agreed that it seemed this society had been founded on a lack of commitment to others. But I’d always been a lone wolf, so it hadn’t bothered me.