Page 62 of Avidian
As his face nears mine, he freezes, his body going rigid. His eyes narrow, locking on my neck like a predator spotting prey.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my heart skipping as his hand brushes my hair back over my shoulder. I know immediatelywhat he sees. Oh, Damien. The bruises. They must have surfaced by now.
His jaw tightens, and hisses through clenched teeth, “Who did this to you?”
“No one alive, remember?” I force a half-smile, trying to lighten the mood, but he doesn’t take the bait.
“Kat.” His voice is tight, his eyes dark with restrained fury. “I let it slide the first time, but this is the second time you’ve had bruises on your neck. What the fuck happened in the veil? I thought spirits couldn’t touch humans.”
I shift, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s complicated,” I say quietly, looking at my hands instead of him.
“Try me,” he says, crossing his arms but staying close, his tension palpable.
I exhale slowly, bracing myself for the explanation I’m not sure how to give.
“Spirits can’t touch humans—not usually,” I begin. “I don’t even know if it was Damien the first time. It was all confusing. I couldn’t make out his face. But this case is different.”
Malachi sits beside me on the edge of the bed, still only wearing the damn towel. His presence is steady, grounding, even as his dark eyes bore into me. “I’ve seen you pet Mischka,” he says, his tone probing but not unkind. “You're spell casting.”
I nod, tucking my legs under me. “Yes, I do pet her, but it’s not the same as it was when she was alive. She doesn’t feel solid, but there’s...something. It’s warm, faint. Like touching a memory.” I glance back at Mischka, who chooses that exact moment to appear, doing her usual circles around the room before stretching out on the bed behind us. Her presence always makes me smile.
“It wasn’t always like this,” I continue. “I couldn’t feel her for a long time. Our connection grew stronger because I keep hernear me. She’s here so much now that it’s like she’s closer to crossing back over, if that makes sense.”
Malachi leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees, his focus unwavering. “So how is this case different? Why is Damien so strong? Why is the connection there so intense?”
I shrug, frustration bubbling under my skin. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But it scared the shit out of me. That’s why I wasn’t in the veil for long after he...” I falter, my throat tightening as the memory sweeps through my mind. “After he grabbed me, I panicked and ran back to you.”
His lips twitch into the briefest smile, gone almost before I register it. There’s a softness in his expression, like he’s holding onto the fact that I said I ran back to him.
“I don’t like this at all, Kat. I don’t want you projecting again. The strength of that connection…” He pauses, running a hand over his damp hair. “And you know the first thing you said before you passed out after you crossed back over was that Carmen set up Damien and he’s alive. Want to fill me in on what that means?”
After the heat of last night, I’d completely forgotten about my conversation with Damien—and Carmen’s warning. I was too busy thinking about him.
“Can you get dressed? It’s very distracting having you next to me like this,” I say, throwing my hands out in mock exasperation.
He chuckles, entirely unbothered, strolling over to the closet. And then he drops the towel.
Fuck me.
My eyes betray me again, drinking in every inch of him before I can stop myself. His back, his shoulders, his...everything. And by the smug look on his face when he glances over his shoulder, he knows what he’s doing.
“This,” I say, turning abruptly to face Mish instead. My hand rests on her fur, petting her with more focus than necessary. “This right here is why I forgot to tell you about my conversation with Damien.”
His low chuckle carries across the room as he pulls on his clothes. “I’m sorry you’re so easily distracted, clever demon,” he teases.
When he comes back to sit in front of me, now dressed in a perfectly tailored dark-brown suit that somehow makes him even more frustratingly attractive, I finally let out the breath I’ve been holding.
I narrow my eyes at him, catching the satisfied smirk playing on his lips. “You’re insufferable, you know that?” I grumble, crossing my arms.
“And yet,” he says, leaning forward with a cocky grin, “you can’t seem to look away.”
“I don’t know who killed Damien, but I do know Carmen was playing him. She might have had something to do with his death too,” I say, my voice steady despite the unease I feel.
Malachi’s expression hardens, his jaw tightening. “But you said before—he and Carmen were having sex the night they were killed, right?”
“They were, but Carmen had a boyfriend, and it wasn’t Damien. He made it sound like she set him up or something. I wish I knew who her boyfriend was, but no one at Viktor’s would tell me when I asked. They all acted like they didn’t know—or didn’t want to get involved. And she’s been too evasive to get an answer out of.”
Malachi leans back slightly, his brow furrowed in thought. Mish stretches beside me, her movement so lifelike it almost pulls me out of the conversation. I stroke her fur absently as I continue.
