Page 20 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘No.’ He cocked his head again as I ground my teeth. ‘Not yet.’ The ‘not yet’ part sparked a flicker of hope. ‘I’m making grilled cheese sandwiches… if that’s alright?’ His voice was slightly strained. The last part sounded awkward—like it physically hurt him to ask for permission. I almost applauded the effort. Almost. But, upon hearing his words, my anger nosedived, and a traitorous smile touched my lips. But come on… grilled cheese.
‘Perfect. My favourite.’
‘They always were. Take a seat.’ He motioned towards the bar stools, and I huffed out a breath before settling into one as I watched him work. The aroma of grilled cheese permeated the room, and my mouth watered.
‘You know,’ I said, watching the cheese sizzle, ‘kidnapping and sandwiches don’t cancel each other out.’
He didn’t look at me. ‘They don’t,’ he agreed coolly. ‘But they help.’
The muscles in his Titan-sized shoulders and arms flexed as he busied himself, his face devoid of emotion. I noticed a tattoopeeking above the edge of the V of his tee, but the one on his arm was missing.
‘Where’s your tattoo?’ I asked, and he paused, turning to me.
‘I take Cerberus into the mortal world as a tattoo.’
‘Oh,’ I squeaked.
‘While I’m here, he roams freely. You must meet him; he’s missed you.’ I inhaled sharply—the demon dog of the Underworld missed me? ‘He won’t harm you, Persephone; he loves you.’ He half-smiled, showing some teeth this time, and it transformed his face into something simply…mouthwatering—well, until I noticed the fang. A fuckingfang?
‘You, erm, have fangs?’ I whisper-croaked as I felt the blood drain from my face.
‘I do.’ He ran his tongue over the sharp canines.
‘Oh,’ I muttered in a stunned stupor.
‘It’s evolution.’ He shrugged, eyeing me closely.
‘Evolution?’
‘Well, when we relinquished the human world to humans, who then proceeded to ravage the planet out of greed, we lost worshippers. Or rather, the other gods did. It didn’t impact me quite as much, being king of the dead.’ His eyes met mine again, and I gulped. ‘Loss of worshipper signified the loss of our life force, as it were. Blood is the essence of life; we developed fangs to counter this possibility many, many aeons ago. Thanks to Hecate…’
‘Hecate?’ I drew in a sharp breath.
‘Indeed. Aeons ago, Hecate was rather an anomaly. Ask her about it.’ A half-smile tugged at his lips. ‘Drinking blood helped to preserve our life force. We don’t need to do it now, obviously. However, it can still be a pleasurable experience.’
‘You’re vampires?’ I whispered.
He released a throaty laugh that made me shiver. ‘No, not at all. We are gods.’
‘Oh.’ I looked down at my hands. Lifting my eyes to his, I asked, ‘Do you still feed?’
He shook his head. ‘Not often. Not unless we are injured or weakened.’
‘Weakened?’
‘No being is so powerful it cannot be weakened, Persephone.’ He turned away and carried on cooking, leaving my mind in a whirl.
When he served lunch, I ate slowly, my stomach in knots, and we sat in silence. The grilled cheese sandwich was divine, but with the god of the dead sitting before me, I struggled to swallow.He has freaking fangs. Gods have fangs. My mind couldn’t keep up with this insane world. But, I needed to ask about things—about Persephone. When I met his gaze again, they swirled with golden flecks, like angel fire.
‘Why do your eyes sometimes swirl with gold?’ I asked, taking another bite of my sandwich.
‘It’s the aether in my body. Heightened emotions affect it. In my true form, my eyes are pure gold.’
‘Your true form? Like in the alley? When I was fighting the Lamia?’ He nodded in response. ‘You’re made of shadows,’ I said, almost to myself.
‘My shadows are my aether too.’
‘I prefer your human form,’ I muttered, causing his lips to twitch. Damn it—Ireallypreferred it. Too much. Warmth surged between my legs.
