I lifted my chin to meet his fiery green gaze. “So, it’s better to live in oppression than fight for freedom, is that it?”
His eyes flashed and then he snorted in disgust and stepped back. “It’s easy for those who have not seen war to judge those who have trudged through it. Elora ended the carnage, and things may not be perfect, but there is peace. We must stop the rebels.” He sighed and the fire bled out of his stance. “Besides, aren’t your people as much slaves to the Arcana as we are to the Draconi? Why don’t you fight back?”
He had a point, and it was an uncomfortable thought. Our society was a faux democracy. On the surface, we had a say, but in reality, the final decision would always be made by those in power.
Something thudded above us.
“Excuse me? Have you caught it yet?” the old lady called up from the hallway.
“It’s all right, Ms. Finch, just go back outside. We’re on it.” I gave Azren a look of finality; this conversation was over.
For now.
Azren slid the dagger I’d loaned him from its sheath and nodded. With K gripped firmly in one hand, I pulled the string. The ladder descended soundlessly. The old biddy had kept it in good nick, which was weird, because how often did she go up there?
Another thud, but softer this time.
Azren and I locked gazes in silent communication. Okay, there was definitely something up there. He gestured that he should go first.
Sweet, but this was my gig. I shook my head and then began to climb. The hatch wouldn’t budge at first, but a hearty shove had it cracking open. Dust billowed out, catching me on an inhale. My cough was a rough rasp. It had been a while since anyone had opened that door. Which begged the question, if something was hiding up here, then how had it got in? Via the roof, maybe? Was there a breach somewhere? Had there been an attic window? I should have checked for this shit before entering the building.
With another heave, the hatch door fell back, exposing nothing but darkness. A white string fell in my face. The light switch, no doubt. A tug, but no joy. Okay, we were going in blind. At least the space was boarded. Or so the old lady had said.
Darkness closed around me and the musty air tickled the back of my throat. My night vision kicked in and shapes and lumps became visible—boxes, trunks, old furniture, and knickknacks. The space was large and there was definitely moonlight coming in from somewhere—possibly a hole in the roof, maybe even the breach that the intruder had used to gain access?
Azren popped up behind me, his dagger catching the meager light and glinting dully. My scalp prickled. There was definitely something up here. Climbing up into the room, I moved slowly and silently across the dusty boards. The space wasn’t as cluttered as it could be, but there were plenty of places for the intruder to hide. The most obvious suspects would be one of the little people—a boggle or a hobgoblin. They were vagrant creatures who moved from place to place, never settling anywhere too long. Myth said that their ancestors had lived alongside humans at one time and acted as invisible aides around the home, but those creatures were gone, back to their world, leaving behind confused neph descendants struggling to deal with this strange attraction to homes that didn’t belong to them.
Let’s hope that was what we were dealing with. Azren moved off to the left, not too far but far enough to be able to scope out his side of the attic. Skin pricking in warning, I made a circuit. Behind a set of crates and an overturned, partially open suitcase was the breach—a rip in the roof, jagged and unnatural.
Something had torn its way in.
“There’s nothing here,” Azren said.
But we’d heard it. “I think it may have escaped through this hole. We should patch it up before we go, to stop it from getting back in.”
Azren came up behind me, the heat of his body strangely soothing in this eerily dark room. “What’s to stop it tearing another hole to get in?” His breath tickled the top of my head. He reached over my head to finger the jagged aperture. His arm brushed the back of my head, and the urge to lean back against him was a sudden, shocking ache in my bones. “That’s a lot of material to tear through,” he mused.
I stepped under his arm. “You’re right, it could come back. We need to catch whatever it is. We’ll need a trap.” I headed for the hatch. “I’ll go back to the—”
“Watch out!”
Something slammed into my back with enough force to whiplash my neck. My teeth bit into my tongue, and the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. The board rose up to meet me, and I braced myself just in time, palms scraping wood. But my elbows gave way under the weight on my back, throwing me forward. A flash of silver, metal perhaps, and then the back of my head was in a vise-like grip.
“Azren!”
I caught a glimpse of him before the thud and crunch of metal meeting bone filled the air. The grip on my skull eased a fraction, and I twisted out of the thing’s grasp, bucking and attempting to roll from under the creature. Azren body-slammed my attacker, freeing me completely to get a proper look at the monster.
But this was no flesh-and-bone creature, it was obsidian and silver machinery, spiderlike in composition. It recovered quickly from Azren’s attack, leapt onto the ceiling, and scuttled away. Like fuck was it escaping. It was way too big to get through the hole. We barreled after it, reaching it just as it folded in on itself and slipped out the breach into the night.
Azren turned to look at me, hands on hips, his harsh face twisted in confusion. “What was that thing?”
My mouth hurt where I’d bit my tongue. “I hath no idea.”
***
“Yeah, thome kind of metal thing, right. I know. Crathy. Thank you. I apprethiate it.” I ended the call to Noir and pocketed my mobile.
Azren leaned against the wall that bordered the house, arms crossed. He looked totally at ease, but that was a facade. I’d spent enough time with him to know when he was on high alert, and right now, Azren was scoping out the area, his body ready to react at the slightest provocation.
I joined him by the wall and hopped up, taking a load off. Damn, I wasn’t sure what ached more, my feet or my mouth.
“How’s your tongue?” Azren asked.
I stuck it out at him, then winced. “Count your blesthings that thing didn’t attack you. You’d probably have bitten your tongue off entirely.”
His gaze was fixed on the deserted street. “Shedim tongues are hardy and extremely versatile.”
Okay, now that was taking my mind in totally inappropriate directions. Not to mention wondering how he kissed, but we’d been down that line of questioning and it had almost ended on a demonstration. “Good to know.”
He smirked. He knew exactly where my mind had gone.
“Howth’s your hand?”
He held it up, crusted with blood but completely healed.
“I can’t believe you punched a machine.”
“What did you expect me to do? Give it a hug?”
What? Wait. Had he just made a joke? My lips parted in a grin. “Look who grew a thense of humor.”
He cut a glance my way, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. An honest-to-God, genuine fucking smile. My heart stuttered and then began to beat a little faster, because damn if it wasn’t the most glorious thing ever.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” the little old lady called from the porch.
I blinked, tearing my gaze from Azren’s face. “No, thank you, Mith Finch.” The thought of anything hot on my tongue right now made me cringe. “My colleague isth on his way as we sthpeak. We’ll get you all sorted.”
She nodded but didn’t make a move to go back inside. Couldn’t blame her, really.
Azren had his face averted now, back on alert. Back on sentry duty, but that smile ... wow.
Noir was on his way, and the house would soon be warded. The little old lady was gonna get the star treatment at no cost, and to be honest, the poor biddy deserved it. That thing, whatever it had been, could have killed her. Question was,
why hadn’t it?
Chapter 5
“Wila bomb, you made it!” Mack lifted me off my feet in a crushing hug and rained kisses on my forehead.
“Urgh, quit your slobbering, you monster.” But I hugged him back.
He set me on my feet. “Come on, you’re just in time for the killer honey ale chug.”
Azren shot me a quizzical glance.
“It’s a potent, fermented concoction. Popular by those who don’t value liver function.”
“I can only take three pints before my knees give out,” Mack said. “But Wila here holds the Hunter and Prey all-time record for five pints.”
Yeah, he was right. “Not tonight.”
Mack pouted. “Oh, come on, Wila. I’ll split my winnings with you.”
It was a common misconception that with my stature and my female hormones there was no way I’d be able to hold my drink, but Mack and Tay had discovered quite quickly how false this assumption was. Alcohol didn’t affect me like it did most neph. In fact, it barely had any effect at all, so chugging several pints of killer honey ale in quick succession was like drinking several pints of weak ale, all it did was get rid of my inhibitions and lead to bad decision making—like the night I’d banged Tay.
So, it should definitely be a no, but Mack was fluttering his lashes at me and doing the totally adorable imploring eyes, and seriously, I’d learned my lesson the last time, right? I’d be careful this time ...
“Pwease ...”
I bit back a laugh. “Fine.” Shrugging off my coat, I handed it to Mack and then cut a path through the revelers. Fergus waved excitedly from behind the bar, his tiny face flushed and bright-eyed. Yeah, he’d had plenty of killer honey ale.
Mack’s hand at the small of my back propelled me the rest of the way to the bar, and before I knew it, several tankards had been lined up and people were shouting out bids. Fergus cackled. Of course, he knew the score. He’d been there the last time I’d kicked arse at this game.
I held a finger to my lips and dropped him a wing.
Azren leaned up against the bar to my left and folded his arms. My attention was immediately drawn to his toned, muscular forearms and then up to his biceps straining under his black T-shirt. I tore my gaze away. No ogling the Shedim, Bastion.
Mack held up his hands. “Quiet. Okay, we have our next contender. Bids are in.”
“She’ll be down by one,” someone shouted.
I bit back a smile. The bar hadn’t been half as busy the last time, and those that knew the score were wisely keeping their mouths shut, ready to cash in. Mack rang the bar bell, and I picked up the first tankard.
A minute and a half later, six tankards down, the world was pleasantly fuzzy. Time to tap out. With a belch worthy of a groundhog, I slammed the final tankard onto the bar.
A whoop went up, followed by some good-natured exclamations of shock.
“Come on, pay up.” Mack began collecting the losers’ money.
Azren polished off the tankard of killer honey ale someone had handed to him and then shook his head, blinking rapidly. He looked in horror from me to the six empty tankards lined up on the counter.
I gave him a lopsided smile. “I have an iron constitution.”
Tay appeared behind the bar, his gaze zeroing in on me, and my stupid, traitorous heart picked up its pace. He smiled, small and intimate, and my pulse thudded hard in my throat.
Fuck, six pints of knock-you-on-the-floor ale and my willpower was ready to pop on its boots and take a hike.
I grabbed Azren’s arm. “Okay, listen. Whatever happens, do not let me go off alone with Tay.”
Azren’s eyes narrowed. “You think he would hurt you?” Was that a slight slur to his tone?
“God, no. Tay would never hurt me. But I may hurt him.”
Azren smiled, flashing his razor teeth. “I doubt even you could do that.”
The lip-loosening effects of the ale were truly in force now. “Look, I like Tay a little too much, if you get what I mean. It’s not good, so I need to stay away.”
Azren glanced over my shoulder at Tay and then back to me. Something dark and undecipherable flitted across his face, but heck, with the way I was buzzing, deciphering anything would be a feat right now. Six tankards? Why the heck?
“I think he may like you a little too much too,” Azren said. “I’ve seen that look before on many a male when faced with the object of their desire.” He raked me up and down with his slightly glowing jade eyes. “What’s stopping you from pursuing this?”
I took a deep breath and filled him in on the troll-needing-a-mate thing. “So, you see, it can’t be.”
“Because you don’t like him enough.” Azren nodded as if he was totally on the same page.
I blinked up at Azren, momentarily stumped by the statement, because even though it was logical, it wasn’t true. “I like him too much. I just don’t do the love thing.”
He leaned in, his sweet ale breath kissing my lips. “But what if he was happy to just like you, over and over again, forever.”
The warm yearning Tay’s appearance had inspired intensified into a pulsing throb between my thighs.
Azren’s hand slipped onto my hip, and a gentle tug pulled me up against him. His jade eyes glowed softly as he leaned in. “I’m all about the liking, and I’m happy to like the fuck out of you.”
He’d said it again—the F word, and my insides were suddenly molten. Part of me was like, what the fuck? But the other, ale-intoxicated part of me was ready to hit the gas on this, and then an arm wrapped itself around my elbow and pulled me away from the demon.
“A word please, Wila.” Tay’s tone was frosty.
Azren released me with a wicked smile filled with promise. God, I wanted to lick that smile. But then I was being tugged across the room and through the door leading to Tay and Mack’s private quarters. We’d come this way last time, mouths fused together, hands tearing at each other’s clothes. Whoa, bad move.
I slammed on the brakes as my better judgment asserted itself. “I can’t have sex with you again, Tay.” I shook my head. “Uh-uh. Nope.”
Tay blew out an exasperated breath. “How many have you had?”
I held up a bunch of fingers, hoping it was the correct number. “Six.”
“Fucksake, Wila. That Shedim was all over you and you didn’t even care.”
Azren, he was talking about Azren. Yum. And yes, Azren had been a little up close and personal, which wasn’t really like him ...
“You should sleep it off,” Tay said sternly.
God, he smelled good. That fucking cologne mixed with his heady troll scent chock full of pheromones. So good. My hand was on his chest, stroking his pectoral, and then I dug in with my nails just the way he liked it. A low, guttural moan tore from his lips and his eyes flared with primal hunger. The fuzzy feeling evaporated as common decency reared its head.
“Shit, Tay. I’m sorry.” I pulled away. “I’m a fucking idiot. A total bitch.” I turned to leave, but he snagged my elbow again.
“Wait. Wila, you can’t keep running away from this. From us.”
“There is no us, Tay. You know I can’t give you what you want.”
His face twisted in pain. “But what if I could give you what you want?”
My pulse fluttered in my throat. “What are you talking about?”
He stepped into my personal space, welcome as the rain on the parched earth. “I can leave the knell. I can leave and be free of the mating instinct. We can be together.” He swallowed hard. “No strings attached.” He grazed my cheek with the back of his hand. “We don’t need to be mated to be together.”
The final vestiges of intoxication took a leap, because to a troll blood his knell—his connection to his ancestors—was everything. It was where they drew their strength. It was a community, a home no matter how far they strayed. It was where the Slumber took them. He’d give that up for me? A fist closed itself around my heart and squeezed, and tears pricked my eyes. I re
ached up to brush my fingers down his stubbled cheek and trace his strong jaw. His eyes fluttered closed—the giant gentled by my feather-light touch. The forbidden part of me yearned to taste him, to scream yes, do it, dump them and be with me, no strings, just two people who like the fuck out of each other, but this was the selfish Wila taking over, because as much as Tay wanted to think he’d be cool with no strings attached, he’d never be happy with it. He just wasn’t wired that way. It would eat away at him, and eventually, it would kill anything we had. I couldn’t bear to lose him as a friend, so I’d have to lose him as a lover.
“I can’t do that to you, Tay.”
His eyes popped open. “I want you, Wila.”
I wanted him too, with a visceral need that I did a fucking ace job of keeping under wraps. “No strings isn’t who you are, and you know it. This connection we have just got confused for a while, and we slipped, but we have to forget that ever happened.”
“Wila, I lo—”
“Don’t say it.”
My heart squeezed painfully at the crushed look on his face, and, not for the first time, I hated myself, this broken part of me that couldn’t do the most basic thing that everyone else seemed to fall into so easily.
“Your friendship means the world to me.” My throat closed up, forcing me to swallow the lump that had formed there. “I can’t lose you. If you turn your back on the knell, then you’ll regret it. You’ll regret it, and eventually, you’ll grow to resent me.” My eyes pricked. “I can’t live with you hating me, Tay. I just can’t.”
He opened his mouth to protest even though doubt glittered in his eyes.
I placed a finger to his lips to hush him, but a danger flashed in his eyes, and before I could pull away he’d gripped my wrist and taken my finger into his mouth. Heat flooded me, knees buckling as he swirled his tongue around it and then sucked, drawing a desperate throb from the apex of my thighs. I tugged, desperate to get free, and he released my hand.
Chronicles of Arcana (The complete collection books 1-4) Page 23