“Good to know. Next time you go out to pick up someone, I think I’d like to watch that happen.”
He laughs softly. “That hasn’t happened in a long time. Not since—” he cuts himself off and clears his throat. “The barrier that I’m putting on you needs to be a physical one, since we’re trying not to cause a bad reaction.”
I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should push him on what he’s hiding. Maybe later I can circle back to it. “You’ve done this before?”
“I’ve seen it done. It will look like jewelry. For the most part.”
Warmth spreads from his fingers, heating my skin, and I start to panic. “Malakai—”
“Call me Kai,” he says. “Please.”
I swallow. “Kai, I’m nervous.”
“It won’t hurt. I promise.”
Smoke billows from his hand around my wrist, like Cassian’s gift but lighter. Swirling mist that changes colors and swirls in patterns that look alive. And it does not hurt. It is so much more than that. Pleasure rolls through me in a wave that has me on the edge of orgasm in less than a second. Like someone distilled the essence of ecstasy and injected it into my heart. “Oh fuck,” I say, my back arching and my head falling back. I have no control over what my body does, the power whirling through me and making me shake.
I’m not pushed over the edge, instead trapped in that moment just before climax when everything is dripping with euphoria and delirium. It’s not even an orgasm and it might be the best orgasm that I’ve ever had.
Kai drops my hand, and it stops all at once. Left on my wrist is a cuff of silver and glittering stone. Filigree swirls and curlicues like his smoke and vines and the threads of a web. But I can barely look at that, because I’m looking at him. He looks shocked.
“I said I’ve seen it done before, but that did not happen.”
“What was that?”
He leans closer. “Did you come?”
I shake my head. Bite my lip. “No. But close.”
The way he’s searching my face has my heart pounding. Like he might kiss me. I hold my breath for it, but he doesn’t. But he doesn’t pull away either. “Like no other human,” he murmurs.
I can’t breathe. I want more of that, but it’s terrifying. His power last night made me feel warm and safe and it wasn’t touching me. That burst of it nearly had me melting. What the hell does that mean? “I—” I shake my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t either,” he says, “but I have three more of these to do.”
All the breath leaves my chest. “Oh.”
“I can stop,” Kai whispers. “We can figure something else out.”
“No,” I say, probably too quickly. “No, keep going.”
A small smile as he circles my other wrist. One tiny pulse of power. “That good?”
All that comes out is a moan.
He lets me go and steps back. “I shouldn’t. Not after what you’ve been through.”
“That’s exactly why you should.” This time I’m the one reaching, daring to touch him and pull him back. “I’ve never felt anything like that. Ever.” It’s not a lie.
He grasps my left wrist and I hiss in pain. “What’s that?”
Too late, he reveals my brand, still read and scarring. “New decoration for Telem’s property,” I grit out against the pain. I watch Kai’s eyes sink down into fury before fingers clasp around my skin and I’m falling into pleasure again. I can’t control anything, completely possessed by it, and I slump forward, leaning against him. I’m wet. Soaking. Needing more. But it’s not quite enough even if I’m already drowning.
Kai’s other hand comes up, steadying me against him as the second cuff seals over my wrist. I feel it form, pleasure peaking as it fuses together, and then the power leaves me gasping. “I don’t understand.”
He’s staring at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen, or an alien with three heads. No in-between. We do not break eye contact as he touches the fabric of my dress and pulls it up so it’s bunched around my knees. And he’s still watching as he crouches down to curve his hand around my ankle.
I barely have a moment to breathe before the wave crashes. The smoke of his power curls over my skin, seeking and tasting further up my leg, and I grip the edges of the table to keep from falling. I swear that pleasure is radiating directly from my clit, pulses of perfect lust and that nameless desire that sharpens with every second. My own voice shocks me, crying out into the silence. I’d forgotten how quiet it was because of the light roaring in my ears.
As soon as that cuff is done, Kai makes the other, not letting the power cease. One constant stream of sensation. When I stand up there will be a damp spot on the back of my dress. I’m dripping with need, my body convinced that I’m about to come over and over again. I wish that it would. Being on the brink is sheer madness. Hysteria. If this is what it’s like to be insane, I’d take it happily.
It collapses into nothing when he drops his hand. All my limbs are cuffed with the brilliant metal, and it’s finished. He stands in front of me, this time not bothering to hide the fact that he’s standing between my legs, closer than he’s ever been before. My heart is still pounding, and my eyes are having trouble focusing entirely on him. “I’m sorry,” I manage.
“Why would you ever apologize for that?”
I shake my head. “I couldn’t control it.”
One hand comes up and fingers lift my chin so I can’t look away from him. Ocean blue eyes swimming with heat that matches his power. “You are stunning,” he says. “And it was a privilege to watch you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again.
Kai smiles this time. “Why?”
I can’t pretend that the words I’m saying right now aren’t true. They might be the truest thing I’ve ever said. “I shouldn’t want you, but even last night I felt something.”
He nods and looks sad. Confused. “Yes.”
“Does it upset you?”
Kai doesn’t answer, instead moving his hand to cup my face. Chaste even though my body responds like it’s so much more. “Maybe Solomon is right,” he says softly. “Maybe you were sent here to tempt me. Us.”
“I wasn’t.”
The smile is sad. “You wouldn’t know it if you were, Arielle.” I close my eyes, and prepare for him to pull away. But he doesn’t. A brush against my lips and my eyes fly open. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, say something now.”
“What if I am a spy?” I ask him. Touch me, my mind begs. Please.
“If you are a spy, then I am a fool for falling for it. And if you are not, then I am a fool for not discovering what is connecting us.”
His words ring through my mind like a bell tolling. That’s what it feels like. More than just a pull. Like we’re already connected and being reeled towards one another. Not just with him, but with the others too. Almost like the chain that binds Cassian and I. But I was not forced onto an altar for this.
Kai waits only a second more, and I say nothing. He brushes my lips again, and I myself go with that touch. His kiss is soft and exploring. Deepening. I reach out and grab his arms to hold on and feel the metal of his medallions under the fabric of his shirt. This kiss is *me*. Arielle. Not the character I’ve crafted or the lies I’ve spun. Just me. And I kiss him back.
His hand doesn’t leave my face, guiding us together. Malakai tastes like something deep and rich. Orange and oak and petrichor. It shifts and morphs like the colors in his smoke and the shimmer in his wings, and I want to dive deeper to discover all the layers that there are.
“Let me help you,” he whispers against my lips before stealing my breath again.
I have to focus to find my voice. “Help me what?”
There’s more depth to his voice now. Like Solomon when he lost control. A ripple and an echo. “Come.”
Shivers erupt across my skin. There’s no chance in heaven that I would say no. “Yes.”
His free hand slips up my thigh
, pushing my shirt up further, reaching to where I’m wearing nothing underneath. “Fuck,” the rough word slips from his mouth. I arch up into him, pressing my chest to his. I’m so wet that he slips stroking across me. It makes me gasp regardless.
He covers my mouth, swallowing the moan I make when his finger enters me. And then a second one. They curl upward in my pussy, stroking and seeking while his thumb circles my clit in lazy circles. I dig my fingers into my arms. I feel like I’m over a void and about to tumble into nothing. The only thing keeping me steady is him.
Pleasure rises from my core, rushing to meet his fingers. I’m more than ready, and I’ll get there in seconds if he keeps going. And then I feel the light. Power in his fingertips. Just a wisp of that smoke, and I shatter.
That light ruptures in me. I cry out into his mouth, every sound captured by his kiss. I’m flung into that void and it is filled with light. I’m lost in it, and I’m not sure that I’ll be the same when I come back. Hard and fast and bright. And then it’s gone and I’m shaking. His fingers are soaked with the remnants of my climax, still teasing me through aftershocks and spasms that crush down on him.
“That was—I don’t understand.”
I stay pressed up against him as he slowly pulls his hand away. But Kai doesn’t let me go. “Right now,” he says quietly, “it’s simply pleasure. As for the rest of it,” he sighs. “I will find out.”
There’s an unspoken promise in those words. I don’t doubt it. “I have to go,” he says. “Or I will finish what I started and fuck you on this table.”
“I would not say no to that.”
“I can’t.” My heart falters, skipping a beat. “I want to, but I can’t.”
Pulling back to look up into his eyes. “Do no harm? I swear it wouldn’t be harm.”
A faint smile. “In this case, I am not the only one affected.”
Kai kisses me, soft and slow. “The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return with answers.” I feel the loss of him when he pulls away. “You can go anywhere on this island,” he says. “I’ll make sure that everyone knows that. Now that you’re safe.” He glances at the cuffs that started all this.
He disappears out the door before I can call out to him, and I’m left staring at the cuffs too. Kai put them on me to protect me from Hell. But now I think I might be shackled to heaven.
CHAPTER NINE
_______
I don’t see Kai for the rest of the day. And it might be for the best. I can’t make sense of the emotions that are running through me. But I can’t sit still. I change my dress for another one so there’s no evidence of what happened as I’m walking around, and I go exploring. The guard posted near my door does not stop me, nor do any of the other angels that I encounter. Male and female. But no one speaks to me.
Their eyes light with interest and then they see the cuffs gracing my wrists and ankles and change their mind. The cuffs are beautiful. It’s strange to wear them. The added weight to my limbs makes me feel off balance. I’m glad that I don’t have to fight during this assignment—yet. I would not be in the best shape for it.
The gardens surrounded by the palace walls are beautiful. Perfect temperature reigns, and so flowers of every kind bloom like it’s the middle of summer. Pansies and roses and morning glory climbing the walls. Fountains in intricate shapes that don’t quite follow the laws of gravity. The few gardens outside the walls are beautiful too, and they come with the vista of Venice. The island is small, but there’s no end to what I could explore here.
The sun is almost to the horizon when I decide that I’ve had enough. I’m almost about to turn around and go back to my room when I hear a familiar sound: metal on metal. I duck through a dark hallway in a courtyard towards the sound and find myself stepping into another open space. A training facility that is packed to the brim with angels. And they’re all watching a fight.
Atlas and Solomon are in the center of the room, each of them holding a sword that shines with power. I’ve never seen angels train before. Only fighting on the front lines. And I have never seen an archangel fight. In Tartarus, it’s a general rule that you make yourself scarce when the archangels are near, or you’re likely to be ash.
Do no harm does not apply to citizens of the Underworld. I already know that.
This doesn’t seem like normal training though. All the angels are watching this match. And they’re cheering them on like it’s for sport.
Solomon holds a high guard with his sword, ready to strike down on a blow from any angle. And Atlas bounces on his toes, ready to move at a moment’s notice. When they do move, it’s blindingly fast. I almost can’t follow it. They’re there and then not, appearing feet away and then clashing together again. They’re not holding back either.
I move closer to the edge of the ring, stepping carefully around the angels. They barely glance at me. Part of my job has always been stealth, and it was drilled into me until my feet bled. Literally. I was forced to walk on gravel and dry leaves and bubble wrap stolen from the human world. If I made a sound the trainer whipped the soles of my feet, and I would try again.
The training floor was always painted red when I finished.
As stealthy as I am, I still startle when Kai appears next to me at the edge of the ring, stepping out of smoke and mist. “Neat trick,” I say softly.
“I have a few up my sleeve.”
Metal clangs on metal, and my eyes are drawn back to the fight. Now that all three of them are here, I can feel it more clearly. The connection. Three distinct traces that lead to the three of them, but are somehow tangled and woven together. In my mind they glow and flicker like power lines. I focus on the one that leads to Solomon. Where it branches away from the knotted twist of the four of us.
It feels so real. So visceral. I can almost see it. Can definitely feel it.
I imagine reaching out and touching it. It glows like a live wire, white hot and shining. That power arcs between us, a living thing, and suddenly I can feel him. Every movement and breath.
Solomon spins towards me, eyes wide with shock, and in that moment Atlas strikes. His sword is in the checkmate position against Solomon’s throat, as the archangel continues to stare at me. And as he looks, so does the whole room.
Hundreds of angelic eyes on my skin and it starts to crawl. I can feel the crackle of wonder and curiosity in the room. Because no one but the two of us knows why he was snapped out of battle to look at the only human in the room. I wish that I could explain it to them. But that might be difficult since I can’t even explain it to myself.
As he stares, Solomon’s face twists into anger and then rage. The golden rope twining us together shatters. Power strikes it so viciously that I take a step back. I can still feel it there—a thing that can’t be truly broken—but I can’t feel him the way that I did. He pushes himself away from Atlas and stalks out of the training room, taking all the air with him.
Malakai places a hand on my shoulder but says nothing as he follows Solomon. I wish I could see that conversation. On previous assignments, if there was something I wanted to know I could simply follow someone with my power and listen. Or amplify my own hearing. In this case, I’ll have to trust that what Kai is going to say to him will make that anger ease. I don’t want to see that on his face again.
It gives new and intimate knowledge to the image of holy rage.
The angels around me are talking softly now, many of them drifting away. It’s a lot quieter than when I entered. I don’t think that this was the ending to that fight that I expected. Atlas approaches me, standing close so he does not have to speak loudly. “Thank you for that. I rarely win our sparring matches.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I say honestly. “It wasn’t on purpose.”
“Of course not.”
I swallow. “Will he be all right?”
“Are you hungry?” he asks, side-stepping the question. For the first time since I’ve arrived on the island, my stomach rumbles. The reminder that food exis
ts has suddenly made it aware that I haven’t eaten in more than a day. Atlas laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
We walk together back to that same terrace we occupied this morning. The sunset view of the lagoon is gorgeous, the sky painted in broad strokes of pink and purple and fiery orange. I help myself to the food at the table. Meat roasted to perfection with some kind of gravy that makes my mouth water just smelling it. Glazed vegetables tables and mashed potatoes fluffy enough that they rival clouds. I could eat it all.
Atlas joins me at the table I choose, but he doesn’t get anything to eat but a glass of water. When I look at him surprised, he smiles. “I like to wait to eat after a fight. I’ll be hungry soon enough.”
The food is so amazing that I can’t even respond. I’m consuming it in a way that’s really not ladylike—or probably attractive—but my body could give a shit about that right now. Atlas stares out at the sunset while I polish off the plate of food. Seemingly content just to keep me company. And it’s a beautiful place to do so. The colors over the aquatic city blaze bright before fading into darkness, and the chandeliers and torches on the terrace spring to light with that same silver light I saw last night.
“You don’t use electricity?”
“We could,” he says. smirking. “This island has power. But angelic power is brighter, and we do not have to pay for it.”
I make a face. “Angels would have to pay for power?”
“Do no harm.”
Oh. Not paying a bill that they owed would be directly harming a human because it would injure their livelihood. “Kai mentioned that.”
“I imagine that he did.” There’s a sparkle in Atlas’s eyes, and I blush.
“He told you what happened?”
He nods. “Yes, though he wouldn’t have had to.”
“Why not?”
Atlas sighs and looks out at the horizon again. “There’s a reason that they call us the High Trinity. We are bound together. We can’t keep anything from each other.”
Queen of Darkness (War of Heavenly Fire Book 1) Page 7
