Page 111 of Soul Forge

The moment he retreated, her legs buckled. She slid down the wall to sit on the floor, watching the red shine like a starburst in his eyes again. Sypher blinked, and the dark veins and sharpened teeth retracted. From the look on his face, Vel hadn’t completely shut him out this time.

“El,” he began softly, crouching down in front of her. His mouth was set in a hard line, the ridge in his brow deep. “I warned you not to goad him.”

“I just wanted him to stop using me to get at you,” she mumbled. “I wanted him to see that it was wrong.”

“There were better ways to convince him of that than almost letting him kiss you,” Sypher answered slowly, his frown deepening.

The princess groaned and dropped her face into her hands.

“You look like you want to stab someone.” Elda watched Sypher tug at the collar of his outfit and scowl. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, sure. My wife wants to sleep with my unhinged split personality, and I’m wearing a robe. Arobe, El. And it’sgreen,” he complained.

“It doesn’t look as bad as you think it does,” she sighed, ignoring his jibe.

She spared a moment to take in the absolutebeautyof him in Cenet’s royal attire. The green was deep and rich, making his hair seem paler and his eyes even brighter. It softened the scar at his throat and accentuated his physical appeal in a way Elda hadn’t expected. Even his light tan turned golden. The neckline was deep enough to reveal the warped pendant that was always present around his neck, resting right over his heart, the dark runes across his chest framing it.

“I’m a soldier. This is ajoke.” He shot her a sideways glance. “And you didn’t deny wanting to sleep with Vel.”

“I don’t want to sleep with Vel!” she yelled, glaring at him. It was hard to look menacing in her own flowing pink gown, butshe did her best. She could almost imagine the demon laughing at her. The thought turned her cheeks the same shade as her dress.

Sypher rolled his eyes. “Yes, you do.”

“Idon’t!” she gritted. “I was flustered. My words came out wrong. He’s very intense!”

“We’re bonded, El. I can read your emotions through our connection.”

She deflated, chewing her lip. “But Idon’twant to sleep with him. I don’t love him.”

“You don’t have to love somebody to be attracted to them.” He folded his arms across his chest, his brow puckering. “I forgot how sheltered you were in Eden.”

“My experience of romance came from the few books I was permitted to read. And the one and only time a man touched me before you, it was Horthan, and it was decidedly negative.” She shuddered at the memory of his wandering, intrusive hands.

Sypher’s frown faded. “Does that make me a positive experience?”

“Don’t get cocky,” she muttered. “Horthan sets a very low bar.”

“You complimented me.” The Soul Forge grinned, showing off his sharp incisors. “You think I’mnice.”

“I think you’re anass,” she retorted, but her lips twitched against a smile. It was hard to stay morose with him beaming like that. It made that confusing flutter in her chest rear its head – something she fought to ignore. Infatuation with Sypherandhis demon soul was something she could only see ending in disaster.

“If you compliment Vel like this, I can see why he likes you so much.”

Elda pressed her hands to her face. “He doesn’t like me. He’s messing with me.”

“He does like you. And you like him.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she argued. “If I’m attracted to him, then logic says I should be attracted to you, too. You share one body.”

He finally chuckled, moving closer. When she backed up against the bedpost, he laid his hand against it above her head and brought his face closer to hers, listening to her breath hitch. He smiled. “Youareattracted to me. I just avoid getting in your face.”

Elda’s cheeks burned. “This bond isreallyinconvenient,” she muttered, shoving him away, knowing he could sense everything she felt even when she tried to hide it.

Sypher laughed, the fire in his eyes dancing. “Welcome to my world.” He grinned. “Sorry to burst your bubble.”

She folded her arms, fighting with the question that wanted a voice. Despite her struggle, curiosity won her over. Her heart was pounding before the words even formed. “If Vel is attracted to me, does that mean you are too?”

What if he said no? What if he saidyes? She regretted asking the minute the question was out. Giving it a voice made it real. It made it something she couldn’t take back. It meant waiting for an answer that she both didn’t want and also wanted more than anything else in that moment. Her mind was a confusing mix of conflicting thoughts and emotions, all wrapped up in a tangled web of imagined insults her family would throw at her if they ever found out the truth of her feelings.

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