Page 28

"Yes." I cut her off. "But I get to choose when and how. Being hungry doesn't strip me of that choice."

"Won’t you starve?" Pyrah’s eyes plead with me to see sense.

"Eventually."

"Then why…?”

"Because I want to find another way." The words spill out before I can stop them. "I'm tired of being a threat to you. Tired of wondering if this time I will take too much. If this time the hunger will win."

Her blue eyes flash in the darkness. "You haven’t hurt me."

"Not yet." My voice rasps on the words. "But I won't gamble with your life every time I feed from you. I need to find another way. One that lets me love you without fear. You're precious to me."

"I'm not some delicate flower."

“Precious like a gemstone. Strong but still breakable.”

She lets out a shuddering sigh, her resolve crumbling. “Rook…”

"The soulstone is our only chance at finding kelrial ." I brush a lock of her fiery hair from her face. "Without finding equilibrium, my hunger will always be a threat between us. I must return to the castle.”

"It's too dangerous." She catches me by the wrist and holds me there. “The queen's guards are everywhere."

"Which is exactly why I need to go now, before I'm truly starving. If I wait until hunger takes over, I will be a slave to desperation. I need to go while I still have my wits about me.”

"Let me come with you."

"No." I shake my head. "Fuck,” I add, for emphasis. “I won't bring you anywhere near the queen. Not after what she did to Lark."

"But—"

"No,” I repeat, solemnly, and I hold her gaze in the darkness. “My mother's soulstone is hidden somewhere in that castle. Once I find it, we can create a more permanent bond together. Something that lets me feed without endangering you."

Her fingers tighten around my hand. "And what if you don't come back?"

"I will always come back to you." The promise aches in my throat. "But I need to do this. For us. For our future."

Her eyes shine with unshed tears. "I don’t want you to go, but I understand why you need to do this."

I tilt her chin up. "Stay with Lark. She will keep you safe until I return."

She nods once, sharp and angry. "Just...don't die."

"I won't." I pull her close, breathing in her scent one last time. "This is the only way I can ensure I never hurt you. Let me do this."

"Go," Pyrah whispers.

And I must, before I lose my courage. I return to the campfire. “Lark,” I ask, “could you cast a portal to Netherhaven?”

Frowning, my sister pokes at the fire with a stick. “I thought you didn’t want to go back.”

“I left Bolt in a stable on the outskirts of the city. And I promised Pyrah that I would buy her some clothes of her own. Netherhaven has the biggest night market in Chymeria. Better to do my shopping there without being noticed.”

I don’t breathe a word about the soulstone. For the time being, that’s a secret between me and Pyrah.

Lark frowns at me as if doubting my intelligence. “Rook, you can’t wander through the night market in Netherhaven with black horns and silver hair and glowing red eyes.”

“I can wear my cloak. And gloves.”

She squints at me as if still unconvinced. “Should I come with you?”

I shake my head. “Stay here.”

“Rook, wait.” Pyrah stares up at me, and if I were a lesser man, her sad eyes would be enough to defeat me. Shivering, she rubs the goose bumps on her arms, despite the fire.

“Are you cold?” I ask.

“No,” she says, though I suspect it’s nothing more than a brave lie. “I have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something is telling me that you shouldn’t return.”

I cup Pyrah's face between my palms, her skin warm against my cold fingers. The firelight catches in her blue eyes, turning them to liquid sapphire. My chest aches at the fear I see there.

"Listen to me." I brush my thumb across her cheekbone. "I have survived far worse than a trip to Netherhaven."

She grabs my wrists, keeping my hands against her face. "Please don't do anything reckless."

A smile tugs at my lips despite the dread trickling down my spine. "When have I ever been reckless?"

"Rook." Her fingers dig into my skin. "I'm serious."

"I know." I press my forehead to hers, breathing in her scent of clovers and dragonfire. "I will be careful. No unnecessary risks."

"And you will come back before dawn?"

"Yes." I kiss her on the cheek, a chaste kiss—a safe kiss. "Have faith in me. A few hours in Netherhaven won't kill me. I know every shadow and twist in the streets of the city.”

“You might not believe it,” Lark says, “but my brother is stealthier than he looks. He was something of a sneak thief when he was a boy, though he's too honorable to confess to any theft.”

“It’s true.” I shrug. “An incubus is a creature of the darkness. This will be a return to the darkness of my childhood home.”

Pyrah stands on her toes so she can curl her fingers around my horns. She drags me down into a fierce kiss. Fuck . It’s so hard to kiss her back without devouring her. I let her take control, while I endure with equal parts torment and pleasure.

“Promise me you will come back,” she whispers against my lips. “If you don’t, I will hunt you down and murder you myself.”

“You have my word.” But then I smirk. “If you do murder me, though, make sure to claim the bounty on my head.”