Tension rolled from my shoulders the further away we got. The desert night wrapped around us, temperatures quickly dropping, and Vale shivered. I tucked an arm around her as I thought.
“When I’d assumed my father was alive somewhere, chasing after him held no appeal to me. He could find me if he wanted to know me. But now…now that I know he isn’t coming back, and that maybe it wasn’t his choice…” I shrugged. “It sounds like he did some incredible things. Maybe his legacy deserves to be remembered. To mean something.”
“His legacy does mean something,” Vale said, rubbing a hand down my back. “Youare his legacy, Cypherion. Last name or not.”
Deneski or Kastroff, did it matter?
I once wouldn’t have cared to carry on the life of a man I didn’t know, no matter how much the lack of information had tampered with my own beliefs of myself. But perhaps we all deserved to be remembered.
Chapter Forty-Six
Malakai
FollowingMila through the web of the pleasure house without ripping her clothes off was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Spirits, I was half tempted to pull her through the next open door, even if I had to spend all the money to my name to rent it for the night.
Her leathers hugged her body perfectly as she wandered ahead, and my cock hardened at the memory of what it felt like to sink into her. She disappeared around the next turn, and I paused, pressing a hand to the stone wall and shaking my head to clear it.
We had answers to find tonight.
“Get off of me.” Mila’s low threat sliced through my thoughts and I raced around the corner.
A barely-dressed man, muscled skin gleaming with oil, pressed her up against the wall, grinning sleazily.
“I paid lavishly for an evening with anyone I want,” he said, looking Mila over, oblivious to how she kicked at him.
“Let go.” She tugged at where he gripped her wrists against the wall—right over her gold cuffs—and rage blurred my vision.
“I’m not used to the leathers, but we can play.” He leaned further down. “Pretend you’re an active warrior.”
“Who do you want to pretend I am?” I growled.
He barely looked up before my fist slammed into his jaw.
The man went sprawling to the tile floor with a loud smack, the thin scarf wrapped around his waist falling. With him completely naked, I dragged him up by his hair and threw him against the wall, my arm pinning his throat.
Blood trailed down his chin. Fucking satisfying.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
“What doyou?”
He pushed at me. “Getting what I paid for.”
“Think again.” I threw another punch to his jaw. “She’s not a worker here, and frankly, I don’t think any of them would deign to touch you—no matter how much coin you spent.”
A small crowd had formed behind me, spilling out of the nearby rooms—many half-dressed—but I didn’t pay them any attention. If this got us thrown out, so be it.
Among them, I found Mila. Hair in disarray, but pure fire in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded, jaw tight.
“You’re lucky, then,” I said to the piece of filth. “Oh, and you missed one crucial piece. She’s not just any active warrior. She’s a general of the Mystique armies.” Fuck, it was gratifying when his face paled. “And if I hadn’t been here, I’m sure she would’ve been happy to show you how she earned that title.” I shoved him down the hall, his bare ass nearly crashing back to the tile. “Now get out. Of the entire house.”
Once he was gone, I spun toward Mila, taking her face between my hands. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
She nodded again. The silence rattled my chest. Last time she’d stopped speaking was in the Labyrinth when the cave-in had triggered memories of her captivity.
