Page 82 of Death Game: Supernatural Battle

“How have I not noticed that?” A wrinkle formed between my brows.

“I wait until you’re asleep. At the start, I’d return to find you strangling the pillows.”

I’d sleep-reacted to his anger? “I wish you wouldn’t do that to yourself. I don’t want you to see me that way.”

“To see a courageous woman fighting off a man who has every advantage to save the person she loves?”

I fell silent.

When he pulled into the garage ofKyros Sky,mynerves returned full force. Neither of us spoke until we entered the elevator.

“Thank you for letting me handle what happened today,” I said, studying my appearance in the mirror. I couldn’t wait to wash the make-up off my face. “That meant a lot.”

Kyros’s gaze landed heavy on me. “I couldn’t trust my reaction. My eyes were too bright.”

Oh.

“That’s something you value, I take? Your ability to handle situations like today?” He pressed.

Today was a craziness of its own. “I value your confidence in me, yes. You can physically handle nearly anything, and you have so much experience. I find it empowering when you trust me to protect myself.”

He was quiet on the walk to his lair.

I could feel him mulling over what I’d said, so I entered the bathroom without disturbing his reverie and stripped out of the shirt and royal-blue underwear.

The water hit the long scratches down my chest and stung like shit, but I twisted my hair into a knot and scrubbed the stress of the show away, cleaning the layers of make-up off my face.

Sighing happily, I dried off and wrapped the towel around me.

A quick peek in the bag Francesca gave me revealed the white negligee I wore earlier. With the nail marks, it wouldn’t look as cute.

Clad in the towel, I entered the room.

Kyros had removed his red blazer and shoes and sat on the round sofa with his legs outstretched. I perched on the edge, staring around his lair and wondering how many walls would remain in three days.

“Are there a lot of other Vissimo who do multiple exchanges with humans?” I asked.

“The term is mate, Basilia. Not multiple exchanges,” Kyros said, tipping his head back against the sofa to meet my gaze. Toffee strands splayed over his face.

He was so fucking handsome.

Reaching over, I brushed them back into place. “I know.”

His gaze softened, and he caught my hand, kissing the back before releasing it.

“Yes, a few. One clan in particular, Koani, have a history of relationships with humans—not necessarily with their permission. That’s where I discovered information about how long it would take you to adjust after the fourth exchange.”

“How long will it take this time?”

“Not as difficult. You’ll need to minimise exertion for everything, but these changes aren’t as dramatic. You’ll have around 10 percent of the speed and strength of the weakest of our kind, whereas the strength of your senses matches theirs.”

I loosened the knot in my straightened hair as I remembered the words in the mating ritual book. “Are you ready for how powerful you’ll become after this exchange?”

My joke fell flat.

Dang.

“What I mean to say is that I’m sorry you don’t get much from mating with a human,” I said, clearing my throat.

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