Page 56 of Until the End of Ever
One way or another, we were on the edge of a knife, about to fall.
“I just can’t wrap my head aroundthis.” She grimaced, sounding baffled. “Why would you offer her your troth if you don’t care?”
Troth. An old-fashioned notion; and as far as possible from what I’d offered Thea.
I brought my hand to her chin and tilted it up. I didn’t like it when she looked away. Besides, she needed to see the sincerity in my eyes. We were finally talking. “I don’t want to become a monster.”
Her eyes widened as her gorgeous lips parted. “What?”
“I don’t want another Great Massacre attached to the Regis name. So I picked the woman least likely to drive me to any sort of passion in order to ensure I wouldn’t care.”
“That’s…fucked up,” she said. “Like, you think if someone hurt her, you wouldn’t care, even if she was yourwife?”
“I’d hunt down the responsible party and kill them,” I replied immediately. “If anyone,right now,hurt Thea, or any other unders, I’d investigate, and bring them swiftly to justice. That’s the duty of a founder. One I perform for my family, given my predisposition for it.”
I brought my hand up, focusing my energy to my palm, red flames dancing around my skin. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed it. “But no, I wouldn’t actually consider murdering a few million people on top for her sake. Whether she’s the next Mrs. Regis or not.”
I didn’t want to speak badly of Thea to feed Kleos’s ego. In truth, there was nothing wrong with the chit. She was pretty enough, gentle, kind and well bred. It was technically not her fault that I started to yawn halfway through every conversationwith her. Shebored me to tears.Most people did, but Thea was even more tedious than the rest. I wouldn’t call her vapid. There was plenty of substance, from what I knew of her. I simply had zero interest in anything she liked, valued, or considered worthy of mention.
The woman watchedfootball, for Hades’s sake. And she listened to rap. I couldn’t fathom how Kore, a woman of excellent taste, put up with her. Presumably because they were the two only founders’ daughters around the same age, so they’d befriended each other like Ronan and I. But Ronan was interesting, at least.
“Thea’s equally indifferent,” I divulged. “She wants a pretty crown, to live in the manor, and say she’s a Regis. I don’t matter.”
“That can’t be true.”
“Her family initially approached Mother with a proposal for Damian and I. They, and she, didn’t care which one she might get.”
Kleos’s sharp intake of breath was so cute. “And you still said yes?”
“Not then, no. I caved when she showed up to the manor naked under a coat one day. I figured that’d give me some peace for a few years.”
She shook her head. “And have you changed your mind? Or do you still think you want a cold, impersonal relationship to avoid hurting people?”
“If you’re asking me whether I believe it’s the logical option for me, the answer is still yes. But I’m not solely a creature of logic. I’ll repeat: are you interested in me, Kleos?” I was done beating around the bush.
Everything she’d said and done in the last half hour suggested a resounding yes, but she hadn’t said so. I needed her to. I was already too far gone without so much as a hint from her.
“It’s not fair,” she muttered, her former anger replaced by frustration, and a degree of nervousness.
“Go on, Valesco,” I teased. “We already established this: a little honesty and you get what you want. Tell me.”
“Why shouldI?” she retorted, crossing her arms. “All of a sudden, you’re demanding to know what I think, what I want, whenyou’venever mentioned being interested in anything other than a romp in the sack either.”
“You could always ask,” I retorted. “But something tells me you’re rather scared of the answer.”
She gasped. “Scared? Scared!”
She still wasn’t asking, which told me everything I needed to know. Kleos knew the words I’d give her, realized there would be not coming back, and she wasn’t ready.
That was as close to capitulation as I was going to get, wasn’t it?
“Fuck it,” I said, deciding we could finish this talk after I’d done something as essential in that moment as breathing.
And for the very first time, I brought my mouth to hers, not hesitating until I’d tasted what belonged to me.
23
LUCIAN
