Page 54 of Lord of Bones

His jaw set, and for a second he looked angry. But then he shook his head, as if to dismiss whatever he was about to say. “What else do you need from me?”

I hesitated, chewing the inside of my cheek as I considered asking for more. Water would be nice, or another point in the right direction. But there was the big fat question of payment. The more I asked for, the more I’d rack up the bill. And who knew if I’d be able to afford it.

I didn’t even know what he expected in exchange for the boots.

“Nothing,” I said, swallowing hard.

He cocked his head to the side. “Nothing at all?”

“No.”

His eyes narrowed, turning dark and stormy, and he was silent for a long moment. His gaze on mine made my skin prickle, a heat stirring in my middle, but I shoved the thoughts aside. The fact that he turned me on so much by just standing there was alarming.

“In that case,” he said finally, uncrossing his arms, “I have a gift for you.”

“A-a gift?” I was skeptical, but the excitement in my voice was clear, my mind spinning with possibilities.

I probably should have been more suspicious, but at this point I wasn’t going to turn down anything that could potentially help me find my way out of this hellhole.

With another flourish of his wrist, Belial produced a piece of bread. It might as well have been a thanksgiving feast for how happy I was to see it.

“Food,” he said. “To keep your strength up.”

I wanted to tell him how little strength I’d get from a scrap of bread, but I was so hungry I didn’t care. Bread was better than no bread.

I reached for it, and paused, cocking a singular brow at him. “This isn’t going to cost me, is it?”

His mouth curled into a smile beneath his mask. “A gift is a gift. You don’t owe me for this.”

I was hardly dignified in the way I snatched it from him and shoved it into my mouth, tearing a bite out of it. I was pretty sure it was the hunger talking, but it was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.

“Wine to wash it down,” he said, conjuring a wine bottle filled with red liquid.

My lungs slapped together at the sight of it. It wasn’t water, but it was better than nothing. “Uh, thanks…”

I swallowed down about a quarter of the bottle, my cheeks flaming red from the alcohol’s warmth.

“Thank you.” I was thankful, grateful, and in his debt more than ever.

When I handed the bottle back to him, he brought the glass to his mask’s mouth and ran his tongue over the rim. Tasting where my lips had been.

The noise he made was caught somewhere between a moan and a growl. He threw the bottle aside and it disappeared into a cloud of glimmering blue magic before it could smash into a headstone.

“Don’t thank me.” His eyes darkened as he stalked toward me, like a predator about to pounce. “You’re about to show me just how grateful you are.”

Chapter20

RAYVEN

There wassomething in Belial’s stride that put me on edge and made my pulse race.

“You should have told me what you wanted before you gave me the boots,” I said.

“That’s not how this game works, little human. I make the rules.” His tone was dark and full of hunger, but I could still hear the smile in his voice.

“What do you want me to do?”

He came to stand in front of me, his eyes roving down my body and gleaming with satisfaction at the way my skin flushed. “I want you to worship me…while the Lord of Bones watches.”