Page 32 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

He sat back, looking over at his brethren as the eyes of the female drank him in. He didn’t take in the details of her face or hair or even what she was wearing. The warmth of her hand on this thigh did nothing.

Something was off.

Majorly off.

Whilst his brethren were taking full advantage of this night, kissing, laughing, getting blinding drunk and probably working their way to spending the night with someone, Torin felt alone.

Torin's pulse quickened at how irritated he felt.

Suddenly, Gideon sat down at the table, and a little relief swept over him that he would no longer be left with his thoughts that were turning darker by the second. The girl removed her hand from his leg at his dismissal of her. And he was even happier when the girl got up and left.

“Brother.” Gideon nodded and handed him a drink that he trustingly took. It was his special, a sugar spiced rum and ice, which brightened his mood a little.

“Why are you over here when you could be speaking to that pretty brunette at the bar?” Torin eyed Gideon whilst taking a drink.

“Meeting girls in a tavern is not my style.”

But this was no normal tavern, this was La Luna.

He managed a small laugh. “Lighten up, Gideon; we have a huge mission to complete and only the Gods know when it will end. You should enjoy tonight while you can.”

“Maybe you should take your own advice, brother.” Gideon relaxed into his chair.

Maybe he should.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, a female with silky dark hair strutted past in a burgundy dress that was cut low enough from behind to expose her tanned back.

Torin sat forward in his seat.

He didn’t have to see her face to know who it was as she moved through the crowd. He would have known that body anywhere, that hair anywhere. Her long legs were bare against the twinkling lights of the tavern, and she walked with confidence through the crowd—confidence that sometimes only came out in anger or in training.

A twitch in his pants reminded him to breathe.

He took the glass in his hand and drank the contents, not taking his eyes from where she walked as the crowd parted for her. Stealing a quick glance at Gideon, he noted that he had seen her too.

Their little argument this afternoon had led him to believe that she would be staying well within the tower walls tonight, but again, she surprised him. How had she gotten here? Did she come alone? If she came here alone, he would scold her for that later, but she had finally sparked his interest tonight.

As she walked up to the bar, she flicked her beautiful midnight hair over her shoulder and looked around, searching the crowd. Was she looking for him? He almost begged the Gods for it to be the case. He rolled his tongue against the roof of his mouth and then onto his teeth before taking a breath. By the time she had ordered a drink, his pulse was practically jumping out of his neck. He noticed a few males checking her out, their eyes roaming over her, appreciating her beauty, and his drink glass almost shattered under his grip.

If any of them were brave enough to go over there and speak to her he would—One started walking.

He stood abruptly, nearly taking the table with him. His heart thundered in his chest, harder than when he trained. She politely smiled at the man who had gotten a little too close for his liking. He wanted to tear the guy’s head off his shoulders.

“Easy,” Gideon warned subtly, putting out his hand. But it was enough to catch the attention of Artem. He always was a hyper-observant bastard. He looked from Torin to Emara and shuffled himself out from the grip of the females on his side.

“What’s going on, my man?” Artem stood directly in front of his view.

“Nothing. Get out of my way.”

Artem placed a firm hand against Torin’s shoulder. “You can’t go over there like a crazed lunatic. She won’t take that well. I saw you two together today.” He almost laughed. “You need to soften your approach if you don’t want her to swing a fist towards your face.”

“Or melt it with her flames,” Gideon reminded him of her little trick, and Torin could have sworn he saw a little piece of protectiveness etched into his eyes. But Gideon did not move. He wasn't prepared to go over to Emara and intervene in her little conversation with her new friend.

He tried to smile, and he was sure it failed. “Thank you both for your marvellous advice, but you will have to excuse me. I have a spleen to rip out.”

He pushed past Artem Stryker, knowing he wouldn’t stop him. None of them could. Maybe all of them at once, but they weren’t about to get their asses kicked out of La Luna, not tonight.

Walking closer, he took in every breath-taking detail of her. She was stunning. Magnetic.

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