Page 24 of Dirty Little Saint

“He means fall in love,” Valentin mutters.

Riot throws him a dirty look before he continues. “They usually have plans for who they want us to marry—women who aren’t in the order but come from good breeding. So, if we get distracted by a female initiate, if we start thinking thoughts about choosing her as our mate instead… they invoke the rule of Hekate.”

He takes another pull of whiskey. Sweat beads on his forehead. “The woman would be forced to fuck every initiate whenever they wanted. Indefinitely.”

My stomach knots. I saw how those men looked at me last night. They would have given anything to do more than what they did. “That’s disgusting. How many times has this happened?”

“Never.” Valentin shakes his head. “It’s never been enforced.”

My cheeks flame. “But last night, Holden threatened you with it because of me. He’s not going to stop coming after me, is he?”

“No,” Riot murmurs. “But he doesn’t understand the bond the four of us share. He knows you broke the curse and opened the gates, but he has no idea how powerful you are. We sensed it every time. You unsettled the ravens just by being here.”

Atlas pulls out a vial of poison and chugs it back while looking at me, his eyes aflame with the toxin. “As I said, it could have been much worse.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Thank you for your commentary, Atlas. Let’s switch places next time and see how much worse it is for you.”

He chuckles. This asshole actually chuckles. “I like that kind of shit, Maur. You forget my nature. Don’t get soft on me now.”

And here, this whole time, I thought he was the sweet and gentle one. Fuck me. He’s more unhinged than Val and Riot put together. And my traitorous pussy spasms at the thought.

Fuck, now all I can think about is his hands on me, making me do things my mind doesn’t want my body to do. And my body is saying fuck you, brain, this man’s cock is my medicine.

Atlas smirks as if he can read my mind. We can all sense each other’s moods and emotions now that I’ve received two sigils from them. It’s like getting imprints of thoughts and words without full sentences. But they’re better at it. It frustrates the fuck out of me when I can’t read them as well as they can read me.

“I want some of that.” I motion to the vial.

He pulls out a fresh one, and I drink it down in one sip. I jerk forward as the poison burns my throat. A metallic taste fills my mouth as if I’ve swallowed a thousand needles.

I cough and lean over the table, my vision blurring.

“Whoa. Fuck. Maur, you’re not supposed to drink the whole thing.” Atlas rubs my back as I gasp for air.

“I thought you were teaching her moderation,” Riot growls.

“She doesn’t know what that is,” Val adds. He removes a tin box from his jacket and offers me a joint from it. “Have a few puffs. It will take the edge off.”

I’ve never been happier to see weed in my life. Back in the old days, my bestie, Bailey, and I would get so fucking high there wouldn’t be a single snack left in the house at the end of the night.

I let Val light it for me and relish a deep, long drag, coughing a few more times as my chest expands, and the fragrant smoke fills my lungs. “What did I just drink?”

“Pure uncut nightshade,” Atlas announces with pride.

“You’re an imbecile,” Riot barks at him.

My head is fuzzy, and my limbs feel like dead weight, but I can’t stop the lazy smile from stretching across my cheeks. I’m definitely fucking high.

Val glares at me. “I’m going down to the crypts.”

“Again?” Riot and Atlas bark out at the same time.

He scoffs. “Yup. I need to clear my head before dear old Dad arrives.”

“Want some company?” I ask, my words slurring.

He grinds down on his teeth, flexing his jaw. “Maur… I’ve reached my quota of pleasantries for the day.”

My stomach flips. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Less than an hour ago he expressed remorse for leaving me alone with those bastards. Now, he can’t get far enough away from me. I’m starting to get whiplash from his mood swings.

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