Page 16 of A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness

“Oh, fucking stop it, Caed,” a disgruntled, dry feminine tone echoes into the shadows. “It’s pointless. The stones are wet and the sound is getting on my nerves.”

A masculine sigh erupts and then the curious snicking noise ceases. The spider creeps closer, but we’re so far from the torch that nothing but gray shadows swirl around us, disruptingthe arched surroundings. I strain to see past the gloom to the outline of the two figures side by side in matching cells.

“I’m sorry, Ari,” the man says, his throaty voice hoarse and deep. It’s almost lyrical in quality, but that’s not what causes my reaction.

That voice. Male. Deep. Even. It’s the voice of Caedmon, God of Prophecy.

Chapter 8

Kiera

For the second time in just as many nights, I return to my body with a gasp and sit upright in the four-poster bed, distantly aware that I’m no longer alone. Dull light peers in through the window, shining over the warm male body on the other side of the mattress. My hand inches to the dagger strapped beneath my clothes—re-donned after I’d cleaned myself the night before—on instinct, but I freeze when I recognize the shiny white-blond locks against the pillow.

Ara is perched on Theos’ hip over the covers and her other friend is missing—no doubt still below in what must be the dungeons of Ortus Academy. My heartbeat slows rapidly as I take deep, steady breaths. Theos grumbles in his sleep and moves closer, rousing my spider Queen as she opens her eyes and jumps off his body, disappearing over the side of the bed—no doubt to find a more comfortable sleeping place.

My throat works reflexively as I consider the revelation from the Ortus spider.

I’d seen the blood in Tryphone’s mind. I’d seen Caedmon’s unseeing eyes, bloodied and empty as well as his crumpled body. How could anyone—even a God—have survived that?

“Kiera?” Theos’ groggy voice is sleepy and deep. Slowing my breathing, I glance down at his upturned face. Something in my own must reflect the tumult of emotions cascading through me because he blinks and the exhaustive layer of slumber disappears in an instant. He sits up and reaches for me. “What’s wrong?”

My lips part but no words escape. What can I say? How do I explain? I shake my head. It makes no sense. What if … what if it really had been a dream? A wish. A hope.

If Caedmon isn’t dead then maybe we still have a chance to gain his help. Caedmon knows what the future holds. He’s the one that’s supposed to guide us. I shake my head and blow out a long breath as I sink down against him, pressing my forehead to his shoulder before realizing that he’s naked from the waist up.

Rising once more, I blink at him. “What…” I reach for the blankets and rip them away, gaping at the sight of Theos in full nudity. “Did you walk to my room like this?”

When I meet his gaze again, there’s a curl of amusement at the corner of his mouth and one arched brow. “Perhaps…” he hedges.

I fling the blankets back up over his lap and the length of a slowly growing erection there. With a growl, I turn away from him and slide towards the edge of the mattress. “Fucking stupid,” I mutter. “We’re literally being held in a brimstone prison, awaiting a soul-sucking death, and you’re?—”

Laughing, Theos’ arms close around me and pull me back further onto the bed. Short of elbowing him in the gut and planting a fist in his handsome face, escaping his grasping clutches is an effort in futility. For a moment, I consider withdrawing my dagger anyway, but then give up on the idea as he settles me onto his lap and ducks his head into the curve of my neck.

Despite the straining cock prodding my backside, he breathes slowly and evenly for several seconds, not reaching for my breasts or the placket of my trousers. Instead, he seems to take a moment before even speaking. “Tell me,” he insists. “What is it?”

I close my eyes as dawn’s light brightens against the window and washes the rest of the room in flat illumination. My hands are on his forearms where they hold me to him. “Later,” I croak out. “I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I’ll tell you and the others later.”

Theos lifts his head and one hand reaches up, touching my chin. My eyes open as he urges my head around so that I’m forced to meet his gaze. Golden and glowing ever so slightly, he peers at me with a seriousness that I’ve rarely seen from him.

“You do trust us?” he asks, his voice light despite the strain of his features. “Don’t you?”

No.

Yes.

Fuck. I don’t fucking know.

My answer, when it comes, is all I can offer. “I trust you as much as I trust anyone, Theos.”

His lips curve upward and the divot between his brows eases marginally. “I suppose that’s the best I’ll get from you.”

I shrug helplessly. “It’s the best anyone’s ever gotten from me.” And it’s a lie, I think to myself, because over the last few months, I’ve come to realize something about Theos and his brothers.

The Darkhavens are cruel creatures, monsters in their own right, but to each other they are loyal … and to me… I think they might be everything I didn’t even know I was searching for.

Dipping his head once more, Theos settles his mouth over mine. His tongue nudges my lips apart and sinks inside. With a groan of both dismay and frustration, I open my mouth and lethim have his way—a concession I’ve never given to anyone else. That is, anyone outside of the Darkhavens.

His kiss is easy and languid. Even with the hard ridge of his cock sliding against the fabric over my ass and lower back, he doesn’t push for more. Instead, he appears perfectly content just to kiss me. His tongue plies me open again and again, his head turns one way and then the other.

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