Page 21 of The Arbiter

Two of them exit the door on the ground floor, and I spin us so that she’s pressed against the wall. As I lean in to whisper a quietshhin her ear, it brings our bodies flush against each other. Not once does she try to make a move to get away from me. Her face is looking over my shoulder, and when she turns it back to me, I lower my hand and capture her lips with my own.

I don’ttrulywant to tie her to me, but the compulsion to do so is just too much to handle. It only takes a few seconds before her power bends to mine, and I feel them meld together. I wish I could say that I don’t enjoy the feel of our lips together, but it would be a lie. Any human or Damned that caught sight of us would think nothing of this one small act. A Rite, on the other hand, would see it for what it is- a link between the two of us. Even Nocturna herself won’t even realize it’s there unless I tell her.

Her Damned companions break us apart as they come out after her, and I whisper a warning that I hope she’ll heed before jumping the side rail.

Cloaking myself, the two on the ground never see me. I take off into the trees until an odd feeling stirs in my gut. I haven’t been soul-linked with anyone in centuries, and I’m going to have to get used to it again.

Creeping back through the trees, I watch as Nocturna and the two Damned enter her residence. It brings another feeling to the surface, and I’m shocked by it to say the least. Jealousy isn’t something that a Rite was created for. yet there it is.

I shadow myself again as I climb the large tree leading up to the window on the third floor. Feeling much unlike myself, I keep spying as Nocturna paces and argues with the one called Enoch even though it’s more like him arguing with himself than anything. Until he grabs and kisses her, that is. My hand flexes, and the branch underneath it snaps.

The Strige on the couch turns his face toward the window slightly and smiles as if he sees me. That smile turns to a grin as I feel a flash of power come from Nocturna half a second before Enoch hits the floor. Having not smiled in so long, the muscles in my face struggle as the corners of my lips turn up.

Enoch throws some words at Nocturna before walking back out the door, and I keep my eye on him as he takes off on foot down the road. When I look back up, it’s to find the other Damned taking advantage of what’s in front of him. Surprisingly, the Strige doesn’t bring back that jealousy. There’s something familiar about him that I just can’t put my finger on.

Jumping down from the tree, I take off after the angry one. Nocturna is in good hands, and if I stay any longer, I may do something that we would all regret.

***

Nocturna

“Hello? Nocturna?” Jamie asks, waving a hand in my face.

I shake my head as if I can throw out my thoughts that way. “What is it?”

She looks at me as if she’s asked the same question multiple times.Shit, she probably has.

“I was asking how you think the meeting went last night,” she says, fighting a smile.

Shrugging, I answer her honestly. “Don’t fucking know. The only thing I walked away from the meeting with was that the Infernal handle business like a bunch of dirty pirates.” Oh, and a kiss from a Rite that I can’t seem to get out of my head. But there’s no need to tell her that.

I catch her eye and can’t stand it any longer. “Ok, what gives? Why in Damnation have you been staring at me like that all day?”

Her answering grin makes me want to smack her, and her next words solidify that feeling.

“Only that Felix saw a certain Rite jump from your balcony last night. Also, you haven’t been able to stop staring at Liege Monroe all evening.”

“What’s it to anyone, huh?” I snap.

She throws her hands up in front of her. “Hey, it’s not a big deal, and I’m pretty sure that we’re the only ones who know. I just think it’s good that you’ve got a balance going on. That is, if we aren’t counting the other…we’re not countinghim, right?”

My eyes roll so far back in my head that I don’t think they’ll ever be straight again. “He’s definitely not in this equation, and we are way beyond talking about said situation. Now go clean something.”

“Aye aye, boss lady,” she says, mock saluting me before walking away.

Fucking Damned.

Speaking of, Monroe catches my eye from across the room where he’s having an intense conversation with Raphael. He winks at me before turning back to the still talking Strige in front of him. I muster a small smile for him and quickly turn away, not needing anyone else keyed into what Felix and Jamie have managed to pick up.

When did everything become such a clusterfuck?

My insides churn and cause a quick flux of power that makes my skin itch.

All of a sudden, the sound of breaking glass comes from the first floor, and I run as fast as my four-inch heels will allow down the stairs behind Felix. As we emerge from the bottom, I catch sight of a Rite and Lupin locked in a dirty fight near the stage. The mirror on the side wall is broken and sitting underneath is a human woman covered in blood, clearly in shock.

Monroe, who I felt the entire time at my back, steps up beside me. We lock eyes, and I motion toward the girl. He doesn’t hesitate or ask any questions before he makes his way over to her. I don’t even have to watch to make sure that he fixes her up and has her memory erased from whatever she witnessed. Whatever this connection is between us makes me trust him.

In the meantime, I’ve got two grown ass supernatural beings to kick out of my club. I watch in aggravation and a bit of shock as two of my other bouncers jump into the fight, the other people giving them a wide berth to simply watch. The two fighters struggle against their restrainers to get at each other again. They manage to toss them halfway across the room, then fists fly and connect with flesh as they go at it again. When they crash into the stage, it sends our performance chairs sliding every direction, a few of them broken beyond repair.

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