Page 147 of Obsidian and Frost

And then… something about Lazriel. Not indignation that he’d fed on him, but… intrigue? Almost… excitement? It had titillated him, turned him on.Huh.Hadn’t seen that coming.

His gaze swept over me and then a whole lot more flared. Need, desire, concern that he wouldn’t be enough, the uncertainty of sexual inexperience… and then contentment. Relief that he’d let what he’d been holding back loose.

“Much better, huh?” I said.

“Yes,” he breathed. “Decidedly so.”

I smiled, then climbed off the bed. “Rest now.Sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

“I need to do damage control with Lazriel and Sylas, ensure they’re okay, then I’ll be back. Donotget out of that bed while I’m gone, all right? It’s vital that you rest. I’m sure you can feel it too.”

“Yes, I can,” he admitted. “You have my word,little shadow.”

“Good.”

I watched his head loll on the pillow, sleep looking like it would take him quickly.

And then I opened the door and headed out.

24

~Sylas~

Fuck! Motherfucker! Fuck me!

“I’m fine.”

I blinked and looked out at Lazriel finishing off the fifth blood bag I’d conjured for him, squeezing out the last few drops.

Off my look, he added with a quirk of his lips. “Now,I mean.”

I scrubbed my hand over my face.

“That was…whew…so that’s what Immortal blood is all about. Holy fucking shit.” He had a starry-eyed look as he uttered the words.

He was high.

Unequivocally affected and awfully high on Immortal blood.

“He relaxed into it, you know?”

“What?”

“Cassius… as I deepened the draw, he was into it.”

I frowned. “You’re sure?”

“Shit, yeah. I felt it. No doubt about it.”

That was… interesting.

I didn’t get more time to think on it as Lazriel tossed his finished blood bag on the floor at the foot of his bed—because, ofcourse—then leapt up and executed a backflip onto the mattress and threw his hands in the air with awhoop.

“Take a breath and try to relax. You ingested a mass amount of his blood.”

So much that if Cassius hadn’t been Celestial born, he likely would have died. And then I would have needed to pull some necromantic death violation magic in order to pull him back from the Valley of the Dead. The fact he was so deeply tethered to Velra would have put her at risk too.