Page 63 of Hallowed Games

He put a finger to his lips, his pale eyes blazing in warning. “And you need to put that kid out of your mind, just like I have.”

My nostrils flared. “No.”

I felt his dark power skimming over my skin beneath my cloak like a caress.

I shifted forward, my lips near his ear. “Someone like you could take the Pater down if they wanted. What stops you from ending it all? If this is what the Archon truly wants…” Even I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence, the ultimate heresy.

If this is what the Archon wants, maybe the Archon is as twisted as the Serpent.

“Elowen.” His breath warmed the shell of my ear. “Talking about this is dangerous.”

I’d laugh if it weren’t so depressing. Was there anything in Ruefield Castle that wasn’t dangerous? Because I’d spent at least one day this week hauling my broken body above flying blades.

Even Maelor’s shocking blue-eyed beauty was dangerous. I felt at risk of falling under his vampiric spell if I wasn’t careful.

I reached for his face and brushed my fingertip over his full lower lip. “So why not end the danger for everyone?”

His expression darkened. “Because it’s not that simple.”

What seemed simple to me right now was that I just saw two people executed yesterday simply for trying to stay alive. “Not that simple?”

He shifted back from me abruptly and dragged his hand through his dark hair. “If you’re finished, Elowen, I must move on to the next Penitent. You’re supposed to be unburdening, not interrogating me.”

My heart started to race. I hadn’t achieved what I’d come for yet.

I crossed my legs, this time letting the cloak fall open to reveal a completely bare thigh. Just as I’d hoped it would, his gaze dipped, eyes darkening. Heat spread along my cheekbones, my chest flushing.

He scrubbed a hand over his mouth, his eyebrows drawing together. He stared at my thighs, and my pulse raced.

“Elowen, did you come in here half-naked?” His voice had gone husky, sensual. His gaze flicked up to me, heat burning in that pale blue. “What am I going to do with you?”

CHAPTER 29

My heart fluttered, breath turning shallow.

I thought I had him where I wanted him. “I’m sorry. This cloak is making me feel very hot. I don’t know why they have us wear them.” I started to unbutton it, and his eyes slid down to follow the movement of my fingers.

He stared, entranced, as I opened it up before him, showing him the transparent fabric that clung to my peaked breasts. The cool air of the whispering chamber kissed my bare skin, raising goosebumps. My naked thighs clenched as he looked at me like he was hypnotized.

His hand moved for my waist before he drew it back again. With a tightening jaw, he forced his eyes up, but his gaze didn’t get farther than my nipples. He’d stopped moving, and shadows slid through his eyes. That darkening of the blue felt like a warning. Like a message to mortals, telling us to run.

Yet here I was, offering my bare body to the vampire.

“This is a bad idea,” he murmured. “Because I want you more than anything, Elowen. And that is a very dangerous thing.”

As with Sion, I now heard the faint tinge of a Lirion accent in Maelor’s voice, a roll of his Rs. Maelor had just been better at hiding it. It was an accent transported through time, the lilt of a language that died out a century ago.

My heart thundered, blood heating.

I let one strap of the chemise fall down. I leaned forward, stroking my hands up his thighs. “Would you ever be disloyal to the Order?”

He gripped his armrests, eyes dark as night. “How much more evidence do you need?” he hissed. “For you, yes. You’ve seen me be disloyal over and over. But Elowen, if I lose control…I can be lethal.”

My heart raced faster, but it wasn’t just my life on the line. I still needed more from him. Despite all his warnings, I needed him to lose control. “There’s something else I need to unburden, I’m afraid.” I bit my lip. “It wasn’t really carnage that I fantasized about, Maelor. I saw you stripping off my clothes, touching me. Lust is a sin, isn’t it? Is it a sin to imagine you tying me up and fucking me hard?”

His fists clenched, knuckles going white, and he tore his gaze from my breasts. “You’re playing a dangerous game with me.”

“None of this is a game. Not how much I miss being able to touch someone. I thought I’d never kiss another person again, and then you came along. You risked your life for me, and I felt your lips on me and your tongue against mine. I can still feel where you touched my ribs like a warm, delicious brand. I feel like I’ll die if I don’t have more.”

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