Page 32 of Princess of Bael

By the end… I’d felt somewhat differently.

And seeing the woman before me—the female wielding one of my swords with a grace worthy of an opponent—I feltverydifferently.

She frowned at the handle of my sword, setting it down and picking up another. She tested the weight of two more before she nodded, appeased, and paired it with a holster.

I’d opened this room to find myself a weapon, not give her one of her own. But watching her cinch that holster around her waist had me staying quiet. She looked too good wearing my sword to demand she remove it.

Instead, I focused on finding what I wanted—several knives, some throwing stars, two guns, and a sword of my own.

Kayla helped herself as well, grabbing a pair of daggers that she slipped into her boots and a gun that she loaded with steel bullets instead of silver.

I put silver ones in my mine, something she didn’t seem to notice. It had me questioning if silver actually impacted her. She was a Halfling, so, in theory, it should. But silver didn’t hurt any of the Divinity members, and they were all part Archdemon.

I would just need to be careful not to accidentally shoot Kayla. Her desire to kill me didn’t go both ways.

I very much craved her lively essence.

In more ways than I care to admit.

Clearing my throat, I pulled on a pair of socks and boots from my wardrobe stash in the corner and finished my ensemble with a long black leather jacket that swept the floor near my ankles.

Kayla stood watching me while I finished, her irises flaring with obvious appreciation.

The attraction is mutual, I thought at her. Not that she could hear me. Out loud, I said, “Let’s go.” I held out my hand, my way of testing her resolve to trust me on another teleportation jump.

She didn’t hesitate.

She stepped forward, pressed her palm to mine, and casually asked, “When a member of a mated pair dies, does their partner inherit their previous possessions?”

I grunted, following the path of that question to its clear end. “You’re not taking my armory.”

Her gaze glittered as she looked up at me. “We’ll see.”

“No,” I promised her. “We won’t.”

I tugged her into my torso and engaged my ability to traverse the realms before she could spout more nonsense.

And smiled at her sharp intake of air. “Better hold on,” I whispered against her ear. “Wouldn’t want to risk losing you midflight.” Not that I would ever let that happen.

No. If anything, my problem would be letting her go.

Because she felt far too good in my arms.

As though she were meant to be right here with me.Forever.

It was the mate-bond fucking with my brain. But at some point, my soul would win this battle of wills. And that would cause the most irrevocable damage of all.

Because when that happened, I’d really make her mine—something she would just have to accept, or something she’d reject, thus fighting me until one of us died.

Maybe she’ll inherit my armory after all,I mused.

A concern for another day.

Right now, we had an unknown battle ahead.It’s time to spill some blood.

Kay

Ezra’s energycaressed my skin, cascading a sense of contentment through my aura.