Page 42 of Satanic Shadow
“I’m considerably taller,” he replies. “You would struggle to reach me if I was standing.”
I roll my eyes, dropping my hands to my sides. “Fine.”
But neither of us moves, and after a few seconds, Dane braces his hands on his knees, as if he’s getting ready for a fight. The ink mocks me—the symbols I’ve been studying, the writing I have no idea how to translate.
“I have another question.”
He sighs. “Of course you do.”
“How did you get your tattoos? I highly doubt there was an artist in your realm, considering you have no idea what anything normal is.”
“I do know normal things. I don’t know what half of human inventions are. That’s all. And as for the tattoos, when one comes into great power, they are branded by that power.”
I look at him, confused. “So, no one actually tattooed you? They just… appeared?”
“Technically, no. I was born with mine. I have always been branded. Any other questions?” His tone is snappy, as if he’s getting fed up with being asked about himself.
I try to imagine a baby version of Dane with tattoos and fail. “No.”
“Very well.” He gestures to the floor in front of him. “Any day now. I may not be growing old, but you definitely are.”
How dare he?“You know, being rude isn’t helping.”
He inhales, holds it, and lets it out through his nose. “Will you please hurry the fuck up and come here? You’re overcomplicating it.”
For a beat, I debate in my mind if this is even happening. Since day one, this idiot has repeatedly called me names, messed with me, and threatened to kill me. Yet here I am, taking one step after the other, the distance between us eliminated with each step. “I still don’t like you.”
“The feeling is mutual, little mortal.”
“I loathe you,” I counter. “Detest. I wouldn’t hesitate to step on your foot with my sharpest stiletto. In fact, we need to dance together at the ball—I’ll do it then.”
“Cute. I look forward to watching you embarrass yourself. Can you even dance?”
No.
Dane chuckles.
He’s sitting as calm as a cucumber, his sleepy gaze following my slow footsteps towards him. Gravitating. A pull so strong, I can barely breathe. With my shoes nearly touching his, I watch his Adam’s apple move in his throat as he looks up at me. Cocky, yet under the voided shell he’s trying so hard to hold up, I can tell he has some nerves.
His eyes shift at my proximity—once green, now the brightest silver, almost as if he has the full moon in them. With him notbothering to stand, I forcibly kick his legs open wider, making sure it hurts.
Well, it might have hurt a human, but all he does is smirk at me as I lean down and rest my hands on his knees. He’s making no effort at all, and for that, I dig my nails into his legs. But all he does is raise a brow. “This is all a little over the top for one kiss, do you not think?”
No, I’m nervous as hell, and you’re acting far too calm.
The corner of his mouth curls into a half-smile, and I shake my head. “Shut up. Can you make your eyes green again? So it feels like I’m kissing an ordinary person.”
I lower to my knees between his legs, but annoyingly, he still towers over me. With lazy eyes on my face, he eliminates some of the distance by leaning his elbows on his knees. “I can’t control them.”
I sigh. But deep inside, butterflies are going wild as his scent reaches me. No, not butterflies. Dragons are having a battle, with flames and wings and roars. “What does?”
He drops his silver eyes to my mouth and then back to my eyes. A flicker, but I see it. “My mood.”
“Why am I not surprised? I swear you are the most depressing person I’ve ever had the displeasure of spending time with.”
He fights a grin, and his eyes shift back to green, and he at least looks human now. “I don’t usually know when it happens.”
“They’re silver a lot around me, so I guess being pissed off brings them out.”
