Page 14 of Across the Sapphire Sea
Next to Elias, Valeri stiffened. Elias laid a hand on his thigh. “They’re gone. Shall we have a go at the winners? I’m feeling lucky.”
“The game is not just luck, but skill,” said Aella. “There’s strategy behind each call. You must communicate well with your partner.”
Elias and Valeri took their places at the table. Communication was not their greatest strength, but here was an opportunity with low stakes.
Ash dealt the cards.
“Your bid,” said Aella to Elias.
Elias looked to Valeri and caught a hint of lust in his stare. Perhaps they would communicate fine after all. “Flowers. Eight tricks?”
“Flowers,” Valeri confirmed with a nod. “Eight tricks.”
With any luck, Elias could tug Valeri from the room and to their cabin just as Remy had Laurence moments ago. He held Valeri’s gaze while he wet his lips.
Lips. L - I - P - S. Lips.
* * *
Four Years Ago
Elias ate his fill from the stacks of food set neatly on the center of the small square table. Dried figs, nuts, hard bread and leathered fish, enough to feed him for days. Valeri had come in mid-meal on silent feet and lit a fire in the wood stove. Already the cozy den began to warm.
He’d never seen a dwelling like this one, hidden in a hillside. Unsure what to expect, the luxury within came as a surprise. Though the space was small, the furnishings were decadent. A thick, emerald-green carpet cushioned his feet. Gleaming black stone rose from beneath the wood stove and behind it up the wall to the vent. Next to it, a lounge of gold and silver brocade dominated the room. Wood slated walls had been stained a dark cherry red, and Elias got the impression they strained to keep out the earth behind them.
Even in the low light, the richness of the colors dazzled his senses. This room didn’t belong in a carved-out mound of dirt, it belonged in a nobleman’s keep, or a castle in the clouds. The decor was the stuff of stories, not real lives.
So was the house’s master with his chestnut curls and wicked teeth.
Valeri had disappeared to another room and returned with an armful of folded fabric. “For you.” He set them within Elias’s reach on the table. Clothes.
Elias ran fingertips over the blue shirt, the fawn-colored trousers. Soft. Not scratchy like his own. And smaller, to fit Elias, not Valeri. “You want me to wear these?”
“If you like.” Valeri stood close to him, watching.
Elias had sat in the only chair, for the table just had one. He’d eaten more than his fill because he didn’t trust the food would be there tomorrow, though Valeri had said,it’s all for you, and even now had offered to clothe him.
Had he known Elias would be coming? Had he orchestrated tonight’s events? Elias raised his gaze to meet Valeri’s.
The demon loomed over him, the expression on his face fond, though they were little more than strangers. The gentle expression did nothing to make him seem any less dangerous—or any less tempting.
Elias wanted to touch him. To feel the muscles of his arms, to brush his hand over the sharp cheekbones, to pull his lips back and get a closer look at the fangs they hid. Such a mystery was impossible to resist. But he sat perfectly still, charting the man before him with his vision alone and keeping his hands to himself until invited.
Silently, Valeri returned his gaze, perhaps conducting an inspection of his own.
“Did you plan this?” asked Elias.
“Some of it.”
“Feel free to elaborate.”
Valeri inclined his head. “I couldn’t have known your master would order you lashed. That bit was merely a bonus.”
“For you.”
“For me, yes.”
Elias stood to meet Valeri eye to eye. “You enjoyed killing him?”
