Page 10 of Song of Night

A few feet away, Zara stiffens, and Ellielle’s cruel smile widens. She doesn’t answer me verbally but simply turns to Zara, closes the three-stride distance between them, and in one swift movement, draws a tiny knife and slices it across Zara’s neck.

The scent of Zara’s blood turns the whole room to crimson.

I blur across the room, an animalistic roar ripping out of me. I stop myself at the last second, my hand an inch from encircling Zara’s throat. My entire body is shaking violently with the urge to drink from her, to taste her, to claim her.

“Hmm.” Ellielle makes a gesture with one hand, a casual flick of the fingers. “Seems I was right.”

“You do not know what you’re doing, angel,” I snarl.

Zara is staring at me, eyes wide, not moving a muscle. She knows if she tries to run now, she is dead.

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Ellielle says. “I’m saving this city. Something you can’t do if you lose control. You think you can cross the Waste and negotiate with our greatest enemy in the state you’re in?”

“You’ve overstepped, Ellielle.” I turn to face her, my inner demon blazing behind my eyes. Magic or no, I am still darkness and flame, and I can see in her expression that she knows it.

She swallows but her posture never weakens. “Feed on her. Now.”

I turn back to Zara, my control hovering on the thinnest razor’s edge. Even with everything that’s happened, using her as a blood bag doesn’t feel right. Before, when I’d fed on her, it hadn’t been about basic need. It had been an entirely different kind of craving.

Zara meets my gaze steadily, and with one hand, she pulls her hair to the side so I can access her neck. “She’s right,” she says softly. “You’re crossing the Waste tomorrow. You need to be sharp.”

My willpower shatters and I yank Zara against me, one hand encircling her waist, the other sliding into her dark hair. I groan as my lips meet the soft skin of her neck, her blood racing hot and fast beneath it. My teeth extend, puncturing her flesh, and ecstasy rolls through my body as her essence pours into my mouth. My magic may be gone, but Zara is magic. Pure magic.

A small moan escapes Zara as I drink from her, her body shuddering against mine. I can feel the curve of her breasts, her hips, her thighs pressing into me. Energy floods through me and the agonizing hunger falls away. I hate that she makes me feel this way, because she can never be mine. Not anymore. Not after being his.

My body, however, has no such compunction. I can feel myself hardening like a sword, pressing into Zara’s belly. She shivers against me again, and my fingers dig more tightly into her. I suck at her neck and she moans, louder this time. I want to taste her everywhere, penetrate her in every possible way…

The thought shakes lose the hold of my hunger. I gain control of my senses and step away from her. This cannot be. Nothing like that can exist between us ever again.

Zara averts her eyes from mine and takes another step away from me, her hand moving to her bleeding neck. Ellielle steps forward and hands her a square of cloth.

“Well, that was…enlightening,” the lady of House Angelus says softly. “I can see now why Zara made it into your inner circle so very quickly.”

I scowl over at her, wiping blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. “Enough with your commentary, Ellielle. My hunger is abated now. You can send Zara back to Kieran and we’ll continue our plans for dealing with Vyrin.”

Ellielle laughs. “Oh, I think not, Asher. We can’t risk you going into Cyrena and having another issue with your hunger.” Her eyes dart to Zara. “It seems your little witch is the only thing that will satisfy you these days.”

“Meaning what?” I take a threatening step toward Ellielle. “I’m not taking Zara with me.”

Ellielle just steps toward me herself, so close that her chest nearly bumps mine. “That’s precisely what you’re going to do.”

“Think again,” I snarl.

“I’m not asking, Asher. We’re engaged now, remember? Consider it a condition of our arrangement.”

Beside me, Zara goes still as a statue.

“You can’t add conditions after we’ve already made our agreement,” I snap.

“Be reasonable. You know I’m right.” Ellielle sighs and strides for the door. “I’m not going to waste further time arguing the point. You need the witch. At dawn, you will begin the journey across the Waste together.”

When she reaches the doorway, she turns and shrugs. “And, if you’re going to lose control and kill someone, it might as well be someone we don’t care about.”

Chapter Seven

ZARA

I’m not sure what’s worse… Asher’s icy silence or the misty stretch of toxic wasteland as far as the eye can see.

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