Page 8 of The Warlock's Kiss

It was a minor expenditure of magic. The Sundering had left him with immense stores of energy, which had been increased by the proximity of the ley line. Fixing the windowpane was like removing a cupful of water from the ocean. But he let the unnecessary usage fuel his irritation, nonetheless. Were it not for the humans, he’d still be upstairs in his study, reading peacefully rather than repairing a window that had been intact for over a century.

He turned away from the front door to see the humans exit the parlor and walk down the north hall. Releasing a heavy breath, Merrick pulled more shadows from his surroundings, thickening his shroud and venting a bit of the magic racing along his arms and crackling up his spine. He kept his gaze on the boy this time; it was concerning that Merrick’s eyes seemed inclined to shift toward the female of their own accord.

“Danny, really,” the woman whispered, “we should get out of here.”

Yes, you should.

“It’s okay, Addy. If someone was here, they would’ve already shown up, right?”

Merrick squeezed his fists; they trembled in his anger. That attitude—just another version ofbecause I can—thathumanattitude, had tainted his life from his youngest days. But humans had squandered their time on top. They’d failed to cement their dominance before the world had shifted. Now was the time for beings like Merrick.

NowMerrickwas the one with power, and humans would learn how helpless they truly were.

Silent as a stalking cat, he followed the humans along the hallway, keeping several paces behind them.

Addy hurried to keep up with Danny, falling behind more than once as she scanned her surroundings and peered into dark rooms, her concern apparent in her expression. She was the older of the two; why hadn’t she asserted control? Why hadn’t she reined in this childbeforethey’d done wrong?

Danny stopped suddenly and turned his head to the right. “Look, Addy! I bet there’s food in there.”

Like a rat sniffing out grain.

Why was Merrick following them? He should’ve acted by now, should’ve confronted them. Did he simply want to see how far they would go to fuel his own anger?

The boy stepped into the kitchen. Addy hesitated, twisting to look toward Merrick. Her brows were knitted with worry, and her lips parted with a soft exhalation. She looked through him; he knew it was an effect of his magic, but it was oddly disappointing.

What would she look like with her features relaxed, with her luscious lips upturned in a smile? What would she look like when joy sparkled in her gaze rather than fear? What would she look like with those big, expressive eyes half-lidded in desire?

When he breathed in, the air was scented with a hint of lavender—herscent. A deep ache stirred in his groin, and prickles of heat skittered briefly across his skin.

When was the last time I bedded a woman? When was the last time I felt any sort of lust? Perhaps I’ve simply denied those urges for far too long…

But that didn’t ring true to Merrick. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an urge. That could easily be explained by his tendency to avoid contact with people as much as possible, but for desire to stir so strongly within him after a single glance at an attractive woman…

The resonance he’d sensed when he first saw her reasserted itself; he’d let it fall to the back of his mind, but he couldn’t ignore it now. It lured him closer to Addy, coaxed him with its gentleness, its sweetness, to approach her. Was it comingfromher? He didn’t understand how it could be—it seemed familiar somehow, and he’d never seen this woman before today.

He shifted his focus away from the mana song again; he needed to direct his attention toward the situation at hand.

This is more than attraction…and that I cannot explain it is infuriating.

Addy pursed her lips and headed into the kitchen to join Danny. Merrick trailed behind her, stopping in the doorway to observe.

Danny had already returned his knife to the sheath on his belt and was currently in the process of rummaging through Merrick’s cupboards.

“What are youdoing, Danny?” Addy hurried toward him.

“This is weird,” he replied, stepping aside to show her the contents of one of the cupboards. “Look at these.”

“It’s just containers of flour and spices.” Addy reached up to close the cupboard, but Danny stopped her.

“Not containers, though, Addy. Jars. Like…ancientjars. Look at the wire things on their lids.Andmost of the lids are wood.”

Somehow, the crease between Addy’s brows deepened. She glanced around as though she expected to see someone watching her—Merrick might have found that amusing under different circumstances—before taking out one of the jars and examining it.

“It’s not weird, it’s just old,” she said. “It really kind of fits everything here, doesn’t it?” She replaced the jar, and Danny didn’t resist when she closed the cupboard this time. “Now let’sgo, okay? We have some light left. We’ll”—she swayed slightly and blinked several times in rapid succession, as though to clear her vision—“we’ll just…just have to find a decent spot in the woods.”

“There’s stuff we can eat here, I know it. And it’s warm and dry, Addy.”

A myriad of emotions flitted across Addy’s features as she stared at Danny. She looked like she was at war inside her head, like her conscience was battling her desire to agree with the boy.

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