Page 17 of Phoenix Falling
My heart rate picked up. Helios. Fuck.
White fangs gleamed as the shifter smiled. “I thought you might have.”
I took a deep, deep breath. “What kind of price are we talking?”
“The prince dead.”
I laughed; there was no holding it back. Even filled with terror, I couldn’t believe that was what he assumed would move me. “That’s kind of a given, is it not? I mean, if you’re wanting to take over…”
“We don’t want to take over, at least not the lair,” Helios said. “We want to decimate it.”
Another given, but whatever.“Again, what’s in it for me? I get to destroy my home, and, what, join you guys?”
A pause. Helios tipped his head as if considering me seriously for the first time. Then he grunted. “You name it.”
That’s right, prick.“First, that steel out of my neck.”
Another pause, and then the blade slowly retreated. I straightened my jacket, wiggled my neck, and turned my head for a little look-see. The shifter behind me was fierce. Red eyes gleaming gave no hint of his shifting form, but the other shifters circling us obviously respected him.
But it was Helios they feared. I could smell it. Facing the leader once more, I narrowed my eyes. “Now, what else should I ask for?” I tapped my chin thoughtfully.
Helios growled. “Don’t test my patience.”
That was okay; I knew exactly what I wanted. “There is a female on the Warrior’s Council. Lyris.”
“Females are valuable,” Helios said, his eyes flashing, “especially one old enough to be on the council. Your information would have to be very good indeed.”
“It is not only good, it’s not just information. I can get you inside the lair.” If it meant getting my hands on Lyris once and for all, I’d do anything.
Helios considered my proposal long enough that I began to sweat, but ultimately he saw it my way.
“Fine, traitor. You have a deal.”
ChapterEight
RISK
Ihadn’t thought Sun would contact me. When he’d texted fifteen minutes ago, it had taken me a ridiculously short time to tell him yes, but still, something inside me continued to shout that he couldn’t actually be interested in me. The real me, not the Risk me.
And yet here he was, marching across the road toward me as if cars weren’t slamming on their brakes and honking at the interruption of their late-night adventures to who knows where.
Sun didn’t care. He just kept coming.
Watching him, I felt like reality was bending around me. Maybe because I knew what he was, what his people were, to me there was no mistaking that he wasn’t human. And yet all these people just walked on by. Well, the men walked by, most of them side-eyeing Sun like he was dangerous—which he was. The women had a totally different reaction; they stared, their tongues practically hanging out of their mouths. I got where they were coming from even if I wished my gift was something more powerful than glamours. Maybe laser eyes so I could zap them for staring at what was mine.
And that right there was a problem. Sun wasn’t mine. He wasn’t even a man, for fuck’s sake. I had to stop thinking about him like one. Whatever we managed to have together, it was only ever going to be temporary. I could never reveal to him what I was, and he would never trust me again if I did.
So no, Sun was notmine.That did not mean, however, that I was happy about all the drooling.
Oblivious to my internal chaos, the big bad vampire strode right up to me where I sat on the bench outside of the Hermitage Hotel. Even the creamy lights I sat under didn’t soften him, but in all honesty, he didn’t need softening. That was part of what drew me, the cutting strength of him, the air of authority that told me no one was getting through him to get to me. I’d never had that before. It had always been me against the world, with no one to stand in front of me.
I couldn’t let myself get used to that. I couldn’t rely on it. Not now. Not ever.
Sun glared down at me. “Why are you frowning?”
I blinked. “What?”
“You look upset.”
