A shadow in the ember

“He did not.”

I swallowed as his unblinking stare latched onto me. His eyes…gods, they were so flat. “You need to feed.”

“And you, the utter last person I want to see right now, need to leave,” Nyktos spat.

My spine went rigid. “You need to feed,” I repeated. “That’s why I’m here.”

His head moved to the side, the movement odd and animalistic. Predatory. “Did you not hear me?”

“I did.” I inched closer, stopping when his lips peeled back, revealing his fangs. My heart tripped a little. “But I wouldn’t be here if you fed like…like other Primals.”

The towel slipped from his hand, drifting to the floor. He didn’t seem to notice. “And how would you know what other Primals do?”

“I…I don’t, but I imagine they’d make sure they weren’t weakened,” I said. “And are able to protect their people.”

His hand lifted from the sink, finger by finger as he straightened and turned toward me. Nothing about the way he moved was normal. It was too smooth. Too focused. “You truly have no fear of death, do you?”

“I…I always knew I would meet an early death one way or another,” I admitted.

“How?” His voice…it was more shadow than anything now, thick and icy. “How did you know you would die?”

“I figured it would either be by your hand or one of your guards if I…”

“If you actually succeeded in weakening me? If I fell in love with you?” He glided to the opening of the bathing chamber. Goosebumps broke out over my skin. “If you managed to kill me?”

I nodded.

His head straightened, moving in that eerie, fluid way. He stared at me for a long, tense moment. The hollows of his cheeks became more prominent. “You need to leave.”

“I’m not going to.”

“Leave!” he roared, and I flinched at the guttural sound as a tiny kernel of fear took root. A tremor ran through him. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to feed from you, and I’m going to fuck you while I do it,” he warned.

A disturbing rush of silky heat appeared upon hearing his words. Something I would need to evaluate deeply. “Is that a promise?” I raised a brow. “Or just more talk?”

Nyktos made a sound, a low growl I never would’ve expected to come out of his throat. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose as instinct urged me to back away. “Reckless,” he hissed.

“I think you know that is one of my talents.”

Eather pulsed in his eyes, bright and brief. “I may kill you. Do you understand that? I haven’t fed in…decades. I don’t trust myself right now. Do you understand, liessa?”

Something beautiful and powerful.

Queen.

I lifted my chin, letting the hair slide behind my shoulders. His now-lifeless eyes tracked those strands as I revealed my neck. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“Foolish,” he purred, his lips parting as his torn chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Maybe, but I’m still standing here.”

“So be it.”

I took a breath. That was all. One single, short breath, and Nyktos was on me, his hand buried in my hair, tugging my head back. He struck as fast as the vipers near the Cliffs of Sorrow, sinking his fangs deep into the side of my throat.