Page 82 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

Thank you … my little friend.

“Look at me.” My head swings back around and Kalix’s deep green eyes are right there and angrier than ever. “Did you break my persuasion?” he demands.

I swallow before I respond. “Not on purpose.” It’s the truth. As much as I’d love to claim credit for thwarting him, it was one of my spiders that did it for me. I make a mental note to leave a treat out for him and his friends in the near future as a sign of my appreciation.

Kalix’s lips turn down even further. His scowl doesn’t detract from his beauty, though. A pity. I figure it couldn’t hurt for these Darkhavens to be less attractive; it would certainly make them easier to deal with.

“You are not what you seem, are you, little mortal?” Kalix’s question strikes fear deep in my heart. I don’t move for several seconds, not even to respond.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity sitting there staring at him staring at me, I dip my head and jerk my chin to the side. His hand immediately falls between us, but it doesn’t leave me completely. No. He wouldn’t let me win just like that. Instead, his fingers weave through the thin fabric of the tunic I wear to bed. He tugs, bringing me closer.

“I don’t know why you came to my room this late, Master Kalix,” I grit the words out through my teeth, anger and frustration filling each syllable. It’s so damned demeaning having to prostrate myself before these vile half-blooded Gods. The irony of my own lineage makes no difference. “But you should know as well as I do that this is completely inappropriate.”

A deep chuckle resonates within his chest. “Inappropriate?” Kalix’s fingers tighten on the fabric over my chest and he pulls it taut. I resist, not following the movement even though I know all it does is stretch the neck opening out so that there’s no doubt he can see straight down over my bare breasts underneath. “You should know as well as I do,” he repeats my words in that mocking tone of his, “that inappropriate is what I do best. Now…” He slides forward, one leg lifting onto the mattress as he moves up and grabs ahold of my face once more. “Tell me the truth—you requested time off to travel outside of the Academy grounds to meet a man.”

I gape up at him. “Did you follow me?” Was that why I’d been feeling so odd? As if there were invisible eyes on me the entire time? I knew I wasn’t fucking crazy, but how had he done it? I’d never caught sight of him, or anyone else for that matter. More than that, Mortal Gods were even more restricted than Terra.

He tilts his head. “In a way,” he hedges. “But I digress. You met a man in Riviere City. A mortal.” His grip hardens, as if steel is pressing into the sides of my cheeks. He glowers down at me. “Who. The. Fuck. Was. He?”

Breath squeezes into my lungs. How much does he already know? What can I tell him? Will he believe a lie? Each question shoots through my mind with lightning speed. “He’s no one,” I try, only to have Kalix click his tongue at me and lean down into my face.

His tongue comes out, slowly, capturing the entirety of my attention as it swipes across his lower lip before disappearing back into his mouth. “Another lie like that and I’ll have to punish you, my sweet Terra,” he warns. “I want the truth. Who was that man?”

I know which one he’s talking about. There’s only one man I met in the city, only one man I suspect would earn this sort of reaction from him. I could just give over the cover story. It would play out fine if I did—after all, all paperwork and witnesses that know me in this city know only what they’ve been told, save for Madam Brione, and she is the one who helped to come up with my background in order to gain access to the Academy. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that Regis is nothing more than my brother—the only family I have left, and he’s nothing that Kalix needs to concern himself over.

So, I don’t know why the fuck something else comes out of my mouth.

“Why are you so curious about a mortal man, Master Kalix?”

A bolt of pleasure pierces me at the confused surprise that immediately converges on Kalix’s expression the very second the question escapes my lips. His mouth opens, lips parting and closing in utter shock.

“You asked me if he was my lover,” I press forward despite the danger bells ringing in my head. “Does that bother you? Do you not want him to be?”

The sound of rending fabric reaches my ears and I blink once before, together, both Kalix and my heads bend down to find that he’s ripped my shirt clean down the center. He releases it immediately and drops his other hand away from my face, but the damage is done and either side of the raggedly torn pieces fall over my breasts, forming a deep v as it barely covers my nipples.

“So, he is then…” Darkness grips his expression. Anger. Irritation. Like a child who’s just been told someone else was playing with their toy. “And after your night with Theos. Tsk tsk tsk.”

That cannot be what this little visit is about, but it’s good to know that Theos didn’t keep what happened between us a secret. It makes the decision for it not to happen again that much more solid.

Kalix doesn’t leave the bed, nor does he move off of me. In fact, curiously enough, he doesn’t move at all. He remains right where he is, still as a statue, save for where he dropped my now ripped shirt, his eyes locked on my exposed flesh.

With a deep sigh, I shift beneath him and shake my head. “No,” I answer, finally. “He’s not my lover.” I can’t help the disgusted twist of my lips. As if I would ever be with a manwhore like Regis. The thought is grotesque. “He’s my brother.”

Kalix’s head jerks up. “Your brother?” he repeats.

“Yes.” I nod. “And while I don’t know what’s expected of Mortal Gods and Divine Beings, I can certainly tell you that we, mortals, do not fuck our siblings.” I shift beneath him, turning my head away. “Now, I suggest that you—”

Whatever I was about to say is suddenly cut off as the shadow that is Kalix falls over me. His hands lift to my face, grabbing hold and turning it towards him. When his mouth crashes against mine, my whole body grows cold and then hot.

What. The. Fuck.

My hands land against his massive shoulders and I push. For all the good it does me, Kalix doesn’t fucking move. Instead, he sinks down deeper, lowering himself over me as he pins me beneath his body. So, I do the only thing I can think of—I bite him. Hard.

Kalix finally drags his head back. The taste of rawness and blood lingers on my tongue. His grin is unabashed, unashamed, and certainly not angry anymore. Bewilderment continues to assault me. “You said he wasn’t your lover,” he reminds me.

I gape at him. Is he actually serious? “So?” I demand, pushing against him again. “That doesn’t mean I want to make you my lover!”

“You didn’t seem to mind Theos,” he replies.

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