Page 208 of Born of Blood and Ash

Veses screamed, her back archingas thick blood poured into my mouth and down my throat. Her blood was sweet—toosweet—and tasted of roses.

Tearing through the delicate flesh of her throat, I rearedback and then spat a mouthful of blood in Veses’face.

Bele laughed.

Veses fell back against the stone,panting.

I forced myself to lift my fingers from her wrist, catchinga glimpse of the deep, crescent-shaped slices in her skin that my nails hadleft behind. Then I made myself stand and back away from her as the strangetingling sensation faded from my skin.

I dragged the back of my hand across my mouth, wiping awaythe blood as Rhain and Nektas rose. “Get up and getthe fuck out of here,” I bit out. “And do not ever come back looking for Nyktos. If you do, I will prove you right.”

Breathing heavily, she sat up. Bloodstained curls fellacross her chest as she looked at me.

“That this is an act,” I said and felt Nektas’s questioning stare on me.

The Primal stood with far more grace than I would’ve thoughtcapable, especially with her throat torn open and her right hand hanging askewfrom her broken wrist. Her damn nose had already healed, though.

Veses turned and then stopped.

“Whatever you’re thinking about saying or doing,” Nektas drawled as Ehthawn rosebehind him, “I would strongly advise against doing so.”

Veses’ back stiffened, but shefaced me, her blood-smeared lips pressed into a thin line. “Kolis offered you adeal,” she said, her voice hoarse. “That’s why I came here. To get Nyktos to convince you to take the deal offered to you.”

“And you thought you could accomplish that?” I stated, nothaving the mental capacity to wonder if what she said was true.

A subtle flicker of emotion skittered across her face, and aslight tremor hit her hands before she straightened the fingers on heruninjured side. “If you don’t accept the deal, you will regret not doing so.”

Rhain cursed.

A rush of heat traveled up my spine as my eyes locked withhers. “Is that a threat?”

“No,” Veses answered as mist rose,swirling around her legs. “It’s only the truth.”

“Can I talk to you?” Rhain asked as I stalked towardone of the side doors.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped and nodded. It was probablya blessing that Rhain was delaying my return to the younglings. With or withoutthe notam, I didn’t need to be anywhere near them in my currentmood…or with Veses’ blood smeared across my chin.

Yuck.

“Can you give us a moment?” Rhain asked Rhahar,who had been trailing behind us.

I stiffened, knowing what was coming as Rhahargave a way-too-elaborate bow before backing off. “I know I didn’t control mytemper out there. You don’t have to tell me.”

“That’s not what I was going to bring up,” he said, much tomy surprise. “I…I just wanted to let you know that nothing has changed.” Hisgaze briefly met mine. “I haven’t told anyone what you did for me, and Iwon’t.”

I took a step back without realizing it. Denials rose to thetip of my tongue and spilled over. “There’s nothing you could really tell them.You were unconscious—”

“I know you made a deal with Kolis,” Rhain interrupted, hisvoice low. “I don’t need to know the specifics of what that deal entailed to understand.”

My skin flashed hot with prickly, stinging heat. Pressureclamped down on my chest.

Rhain stepped in closer. “Have you told Nyktos?”

The tightness moved to my throat.

Rhain took my silence as an answer. “That’s what I thought.”He looked across the courtyard, and then his gaze returned to mine. “I knowyou’re not asking for my advice, and I also know it isn’t my place to say shit,but those details won’t stay between you and Kolis.” His voice dropped evenlower. “Kyn was still there, wasn’t he? He knows, and he clearly told Veses.”

The ground felt like it shifted beneath me. “It doesn’tmatter. I know you don’t believe me, but nothing happened.”

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