Page 71 of Traitor Witch

Val is more than aware of what I will do if he doesn’t comply.

He glares at me, his dark eyes flashing with fury. The silence which stretches between us is a battle for dominance, both of us waiting to see who blinks first.

“Enough.” Kier steps from the shadows, his glamour fading.

I begrudgingly release Val. His hands fly to his neck, rubbing away the sting.

The fae stares us both down, arms crossed over his chest.

“Have you asked her about your curse?” I ignore the admonishment in his gaze and change the subject.

“Have you asked her if she’ll let you feed from her again?” Val interrupts before Kier can answer. “Maybe you should keep your nose in your own fucking business and out of ours.”

I glower at him. “If I feed from her, I might kill her. The only thing standing between you and the other half of yoursoul is your pride, stubbornness, and fear. So don’t lecture me.”

I turn on my heel and storm across the deck. I make it through the hatch, and halfway to my cabin, only to crash into the woman who haunts my every thought the instant I’m below deck.

Of course, my bulk sends her flying. My hand flies out to catch her, but she recovers so fast it’s unnecessary, putting space between us that has my every cell growling.

“Sorry, Lady Solar, I didn’t see you there. Are you alright?”

She nods, the wariness leaving her eyes. “Stuck in your thoughts?”

“It seems so.”And all of my thoughts are about you.

Her soft smile makes my pulse race. “I came to ask you something.”

She reaches into the neckline of her dress and pulls out a chain with something dangling on it. Her slender fingers fumble for a second at the clasp before she hands me the still-warm metal.

It’s a ring, a rather plain one at that. I turn it over in my hands, confused. The flat face on the outside of the otherwise plain band bears the crest of a raven, staring out from within a circle.

“I need to know who the crest belongs to,” she says, twirling her hair around one finger.

But I can smell the blood. Old, dried, dead.

It’s not hard to connect the dots. “You want to find your High Priestess’s killer.” Somehow, this ring is a clue, a link to the murderer.

She doesn’t deny it. Her chin rises, daring me to make something of it.

“I don’t understand.” She’s a Solar, for all that she seems to be able to fight, taking life should be anathema to her.

She looks up and down the deserted corridor. “I need toprove my innocence. Nos said you could help me because you know the major human and vampire families.”

I’m not convinced.

This seems like a quest for vengeance and a dangerous one at that. A good male wouldn’t put his mate in the path of harm… but I don’t think I can truly deny her anything. A glance at the crest on the ring tells me I don’t have to.

“This isn’t a human or vampire insignia.” I shrug, urging her with my eyes to drop this. “Nos lied, I cannot help you.”

Her brow furrows, and I can tell she’s about to say something. She thinks better of it and moves to leave, but my hand reaches out before I can think better of it. It slams into the wood by her head. Corralling her against the wall. Caging her in a way that makes my every vampiric instinct purr.

“What is it?” My voice is lower, taking on that hypnotic quality I hate.

I see the way her pupils dilate. Part of me wonders if it’s fear or arousal even as my nose confirms it’s both. My fangs drop as the thought of dipping my head and taking her vein again overwhelms me.

Have to pull back or I’ll scare her even more.

I’m better than this.