Page 40 of A Reign of Storm and Madness

Kiera

As we seek out the others, Kalix is beyond relaxed. It’s as if he’s the one that just got back-to-back orgasms and not me. All the while, my stomach is tied up in knots, and despite the heat pouring off the copious number of bodies all through these rooms and the great hall, I feel cold down to the marrow of my bones.

I don’t know how Kalix knew Dolos would be in that room, but considering how accustomed the Darkhavens are to all things in the Academy and how well they seemed to know what to expect before we’d even entered, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that things like this happen regularly throughout their years at the Academy.

Kalix leads me through the rooms and great hall. Now that the night has waned, there are fewer people amidst the crowds, and those that had been strapped and tied above the great hall have either disappeared entirely or been replaced by new faces and bodies, all rapt with sexual fever. I cross my arms over my chest, shivering as I trail behind Kalix. There’s no need for him to hold on to me so much anymore. He seems content to let me follow, confident that I have no intention of running away.

Step after step, I move behind him like a shadow as Kalix steps into a darkened hallway. I blink and he’s gone, disappearing completely from my sight. My feet come to a standing halt and I glance back, wondering if perhaps I’d just missed him turning around and moving past me at some point. But no, there’s no one here. No one up one side or down the other of this deserted corridor. My heart starts beating rapidly, pounding against my chest.

I’ve never felt so much fear in my life, and yet, now it curls around my throat, wrapping long tendrils of fury and dread over and over until I swear I’m covered in the sickening emotions.

Don’t panic, Kiera. Never panic. Instead of Ophelia’s voice in my head, I hear Regis’ calm gruff one. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, holding it in and counting down from ten. The fear doesn’t dissipate immediately, but it does lessen if only a small kernel, just enough for me to reopen my eyes and calmly lower my hands back to my sides as I take in the space around me.

This corridor is long, but it’s close enough to the rest of the party rooms that I can still hear people—moans, cries of pleasure, and even some of pain. I swallow thickly. Kalix had told me not to leave his side or no, wait, that had been Theos. Theos had told me not to leave their side—but Kalix hadn’t said anything. He simply told me not to push him away.

My upper lip curls back in irritation. I sniff delicately, sensing something beyond that odd smoke and spice scent from earlier. It’s not as powerful in these back rooms and hallways, not as invading. My head feels clearer and my mind sharper. My eyes fall to the wall alongside me, roving down the dark stones and then … I pause.

A shadow of a man darts out of a side alcove I hadn’t noticed before and I jump back, hands coming up and balling into fists at the ready. The shadow comes mostly into view a moment later and Kalix’s cold, snake-like eyes watch me with keen intelligent interest.

He doesn’t say anything and neither do I. Then he sighs and reaches back the way he’d dived out of the wall and slides a hand behind the stones there. My eyes widen as the wall moves, shifting slightly, just wide enough for one person to pass through. He nods for me to continue. I lower my hands back to my sides and glare at him through the lace mask still covering the upper half of my face as I take a step forward before turning and sliding into the space he’s opened for me.

Almost as soon as I enter the darkened nook, the heat of his chest is against my back again. Darkness encroaches, dimming the view around me and though I suspect my senses are stronger than an average mortal, I still find it difficult to move forward without putting my hands out to ensure I don’t run into another wall.

Skimming my fingers along either side of the walls in this small space, I take a hesitant step ahead and then another and another. All the while, Kalix’s presence remains a steady constant at my back. The hairs on the back of my neck and along my arms rise.

I don’t like how close he is—especially after what just went down. I cough, clearing my throat as I seek my way through the darkness. “So,” I murmur quietly, “why do you think Dolos will assume I’ve learned my lesson just by treating me like a common street whore in front of him?”

Kalix’s chuckle is deep and intimidating. “A common street whore?” he repeats, amusement lifting his voice from the laugh that seems to settle somewhere low in his chest, too low for anything light to touch because every time he does it, it sounds like a monster’s laugh.

I stumble a step and a hand reaches out—his—grabbing hold of my hip and helping me to right myself. With a curling scowl, I reach down and slap at the hand that’s still touching me. Now that I no longer have to pretend to be human with him, it feels ridiculous to have him treat me as if I’m weak and fragile.

“That is not how I treat common street whores,” Kalix says at last. “In fact, I don’t treat common street whores at all since I rarely leave the Academy unless called upon by one of my father’s associates.” His hot breath touches my ear as he leans closer than before. My spine stiffens. “If you wanted me to treat you rougher, all you had to do was ask.”

I pull away from him, stomping a few steps ahead in an effort to get away from him. It doesn’t work because, in the next instant, he’s right there once again, invading my space as if it’s his right. A growl rumbles in my throat and I shove it down. Now is certainly not the time to antagonize a psychopathic Mortal God who can kill me just as easily as I can kill him.

“You’re sidestepping my question,” I snap. “Why was that necessary?”

Kalix doesn’t answer immediately and as the end of this dark tunnel grows slightly brighter, a dull glow of something in the near distance makes me blink my eyes as our surroundings come into clearer detail. This damned mask is driving me crazy.

“Dolos needed to know we have you under control,” Kalix whispers finally. “He likely sensed your rebelliousness when you were first taken to him, and he needed to see you broken. Dolos is the God of Imprisonment for a reason and he sent you these clothes because he wanted to see his prisoner in chains—pretty chains, but still chains nonetheless. It was better that I did it than one of the others.”

My breath fogs in front of my face, coming out in a white cloud in front of me. I didn’t realize the temperature was dropping so much, but now it makes sense. It must be why I’m so viscerally aware of Kalix’s heat as he stands so close to me.

“Keep going,” he urges and I do simply because I don’t think I have any other options. The light gets brighter until the two of us step into an open space with dirt ground and I look up, seeing the dark glittering jewels of the stars above. We’re outside.

“Finally.” I jerk my head down as Theos’ voice slams into me a second before his arms come around me and practically rip me away from Kalix. The white of his hair flashes in front of my face for a brief second as he dips down and moves his palms down my arms and over me, I think, checking for something.

“She’s fine,” Kalix says as he moves away from my side. A chilling wind whistles through the ten-by-ten space here. There are three tall stone walls on either side, one curved outward, and as I glance up and up, I realize it’s because we’re outside near one of the towers of the Academy.

Theos straightens away from me and then cups my cheek. “Are you okay?” he demands.

I’m so stunned by this show of concern that I just nod in answer. His face darkens and he curses before ripping the mask away from my face. I blink and reach up, touching the skin just below my eye as the rest of the world comes into clearer view. Even if that damned mask hadn’t been meant as a blindfold, it had done enough to hinder my sight that now that it’s gone, it feels like everything is filled with a new sense of clarity.

“The party should still be going on,” Ruen says as Theos drops his hands away from my face to undo the buttons running up his coat. “We should get going.”

Theos slings the jacket around me and I’m not stupid enough to refuse it, since I’m fucking freezing. Putting my arms through the too-long sleeves, I wrap it tighter around me and inhale the scent of spice and rum that seems to be his natural brand. He puts a hand to the small of my back, the heat of it slipping past the fabric and into my skin as he does.

Kalix doesn’t say anything as he looks back at me from where he’s now standing in an opening passage that leads from the small alcove that is protected by the walls of the Academy’s building. I swallow sharply, waiting, but he says nothing. He merely smirks at Theos’ protective hold on me as his brother glares at him accusingly.

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