Alright, it's not that bad. It's just a connection, nothing more. I must have somehow initiated it without realizing what I was doing. Another troubling thought suddenly enters my mind, piling atop this colossal mound of horseshit. I shut my eyes, searching within myself for that hated, but vital iron cage, and sigh in relief once determining the bars are still intact.
So, I didn't lose control, thankfully, but it still doesn’t explain how the bond came to be, and that’s even more unnerving. Wondering if Darius can feel the bond like I do, I flit my gaze to him and I no longer have to wonder.
Jaw locked and nostrils flaring, his lust-filled gaze burns into my own, searing me to my very core. When his fingers curl into the wood of the entryway, I can see the veins in his forearms thicken with restraint, and I know he feels it, too. At least I think he does, until he drags his eyes towards the table and spots the weapons scattered across the top.
His face shutters and hardens, the flames in his eyes icing over. Pushing off the entryway, he stalks towards us. “Outsiders are forbidden to carry weapons in the city.”
At the sound of his gravelly voice, a zing travels straight to my clit and I inwardly whimper.
I guess I didn't imagine the sound of his voice, either.
“Piss off,” Aurora says, slapping her hands to her hips. “They're just looking. Besides, it's nice to have someone appreciate my work.”
He gives her an exasperated look. “I appreciate your work. You know I do.”
She scoffs. “If you did, you wouldn't be in talks with Arcadia to replenish the Guard’s weaponry.”
Amara gasps and stabs the dagger into the table. “How could you do that? She's your sister!”
Ignoring Amara, Darius folds his arms over his chest. “I've told you, Rory. You don't have the staff to produce at the volume I need.”
“And I told you, if I had a contract, I could hire help,” Aurora retorts.
He rubs the back of his head, sighing as if he’s had the same argument a thousand times before. “I would if I could, but Mother wants Arcadia to be our sole supplier. It'll help strengthen relations with Queen Celene.”
“Of course, she does,” Aurora says bitterly, fiddling with the edge of a dagger’s blade. “Just another one of her political games.” Slapping the dagger down on the table, she rounds on Darius. “You know my work is better than theirs.”
He lays an arm across her shoulders and presses a soft kiss to the side of her head. “Far superior.”
If I hadn't been seated already, I would've swooned at the sight of the gruff male giving such tender affection.
“Hmph.” Aurora pouts for a moment, then glances up at Darius with her brows knitted together. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you'd be stuck in the tower all day.”
“There's a…” His words trail off as he glances at me stonily. “Situation.”
I shuffle in my seat, uncomfortable with how cold his eyes are now compared to how they were just minutes ago. The lust within me, although still present, has lessened the longer the siblings have been speaking. With the way he’s looking at me now, it's practically nonexistent, even though I can still feel our link throbbing in my chest.
It's not real, I imagined it. Or I finally lost my godsdamn mind, which is quite plausible, if I'm being honest with myself.
“That sounds ominous.” Aurora pulls away from him, concern marring her features as he drops his arm from her shoulders. “What kind of situation?”
He side eyes me before meeting her stare. “It's not something I wish to speak about in front of outsiders,” he sneers.
I inwardly jolt at the verbal slap. I know he doesn't know me or trust me and, truth be told, he shouldn't. But the way he said outsider was clearly slung as a barb. I wrack my brain for what I could've done to upset him from the time he walked in the door to now. For anything that could excuse such rudeness, but I find nothing. Confusion and, ridiculously, a pinch of hurt sours my stomach.
Seeing the flat expression on Aurora’s face, I can tell I'm not the only one who perceived it that way. “Well, it'll have to wait.” She turns her back on him, dismissing him in the process, and faces me, giving me such a sincere smile that I can't help but return it, regardless of my current emotional state. “I'm visiting with my new friends.”
Shoving aside Darius' comments, I ask Aurora, “Do you mind if I take a look around? I was hoping to stock up on a few items.”
“Go right ahead.”
“Are you daft?” Darius bites out. “I just said outsiders are forbidden to carry weapons.”
“I heard you just fine,” I snap, hurt and confusion swiftly morphing to anger. “I’ll purchase them now, but pick them up when we leave.”
“Asshole,” Amara mutters.
“Of course, you can,” Aurora says with a strained smile, pointing towards the curtains. “Head to the front and you'll see an archway on the right. That's where I stock the nicer items.”
I try to return her smile, but I'm sure it comes off more as a grimace. “Thanks, Aurora.” I toss my leg over the bench, refusing to look at Darius as I pass by. As I draw back the curtain, I search for the bond that connects me to him, the bond I'm now sure more than ever is only a hallucination, and realize it no longer feels like a euphoric tether, but a weighty chain.
Chapter 9Darius
“She won't be spreading her legs for you anytime soon,” Amara says in a flat tone. “If ever.”
Without a doubt.
Aware of my vulnerabilities to Lena’s charms, I promised myself I wouldn't allow her presence to cloud my judgment any longer. With Griffin’s ominous prediction and remembering how strange and secretive she and her companions are, I can't allow lust or attraction to blind me to the threat they may pose. No matter how intense that attraction may be.
But all promises were tossed aside the moment I spotted her straddling that bench. All I could think about was stripping her bare for her to straddle me just the same. Legs locked around my waist. Black rippled tresses draped over my chest. Pillowy red lips moaning my name. My hands warmed at the thought of squeezing her plump ass as I bounce her dripping cunt down on my cock.
Utterly transfixed, I saw nothing but her. Until I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of Amara twirling a dagger. Libido doused at the sight, I tore my gaze from Lena’s to the view of all these unknowns armed in the presence of my sister. How easy would it be for one of them to grab a knife and plunge it into her chest? Not difficult at all, given the situation. I wouldn't have noticed, and I doubt I would’ve reacted in time.
Lena’s effect on me is all-consuming and deeply unsettling. I hadn’t even spoken a word to her and she had already managed to suck me in with those bewitching eyes, the world disappearing for all but the two of us. For someone who’s unused to blundering, I’m furious at myself for failing so miserably.
Dragging my gaze from the swaying curtains, I turn to face the others, only to meet Amara’s cold glare. One ankle crossed over the other, she leans a hip against the table while dragging the tip of a dagger across her palm, eyeing me as if she wishes to gut me with it.
“Did I say I wanted to spread her legs?” I bark, both of us well aware I'm full of shit.
