Page 78 of Till Death

“My eyes?”

“Some of them are white,” he growled.

“Oh, my lashes? I don’t know. Must be something that happens with Maidens sometimes. That’s my guess, anyway. Nothing dangerous, I promise.”

It wasn’t that I was unwilling to tell him about the temple. But nothing had come from it either time I’d gone, and I didn’t want questions to lead to the Maestro.

“Come outside with me, Nightmare.”

“Ask nicely,” I whispered, so faint, if he leaned in to hear, our lips would have touched, and that very thought heated my skin.

A dark chuckle left his lips, and I couldn’t help but glance at them. Couldn't fight the pull. “Please?”

I wanted him to touch me. Almost as much as I wanted him to hate me. Because in both ways, there was passion with Orin. His guarded feelings were always a storm.

“Lead the way, Husband,” I managed.

He waited several more moments. His eyes glued to mine, the war within mimicked on his face. We were perfect enemies. We fought so beautifully. And in scattered moments, I preferred that anger, the fury he gifted to distract from every other problem in this world. Because I knew what to do with anger. I knew how to coax it, how to stroke it. But I had no idea what to do with the rest of this.

He pushed away from the wall, took my hand, and led me down the steps. There was a heartbeat between those joined fingers. Our bond, throbbing.

Hollis and Althea waited by the front step for us, both sets of eyes gleaming with delight. Paesha followed behind, her ever-present scowl a comfort through the myriad of emotions and confusion.

“I had a genius idea,” Althea said, bouncing on her toes, cheeks rosy, having fully recovered from the heavy workload weeks ago. “Orin needs to practice.”

He scoffed. “I don’t need to practice. Just condition. Train.”

“And I’m a dancer, not a fighter,” Paesha added, though her words were drawn as if the admittance pained her. I’d seen her fight. She was both.

We moved into the giant opening between the house and the tree line.

“So, you want me to kick your ass until it doesn’t hurt anymore? Toughen you up a bit?”

The side of my husband’s beautiful mouth lifted. “Think you’re pretty tough, Maiden?”

“I seem to recall the last time we fought, I left you knocked out on the floor. There’s no thinking involved here. I’m tough, and I know it.”

“I’ve got a coin on Dey,” Paesha said, nudging Hollis.

The old man chuckled. “I’m not taking that bet.”

“I’ll take it,” Althea said. “But we have to make it a fair fight. No one can use their hands or weapons.”

Orin halted, turning to me with a sly smile, his eyes never leaving mine as he addressed her. “How am I to take down the mighty Death Maiden without my hands?”

“Get creative, husband,” I answered.

The citrusy smell of magic, that rich, pure scent of raw power filled the air. I turned to see Althea holding cuffs out toward us.

When Orin groaned, she smiled sweetly. “We can’t have anyone cheating when there's money on the table.”

“I would never cheat,” he said, holding out his wrists.

“Oh, yes, the honorable Orin Faber, who tricked his wife into marrying him,” I countered.

His smile faded as he waited for Althea to latch the metal rings around his wrist.

“You don’t have to put your hands behind your back,” she said, studying my stance.