Now I’m not even sure. Maybe he isn’t lying.
“I don’t believe you.”
He levels his gaze at me. “Fucking cupcakes and shit, I swear it.”
His rumbling laughter finally breaks through; the deep sound of it tumbles through me. It makes me smirk at him even as my eyes roll at his words. I tip my head back against the tree, looking at the stars as they peek through the branches. They wink and twinkle with mischief.
His next words snap my attention right back to him.
“Let’s not forget youdidtry to kiss me to find out for yourself.”
My lips part with outrage. “I didnottry to kiss you.”
He studies the curve of my mouth with intent. The dark scar that strikes in glinting colors across his features looks like the gods themselves have cursed his good looks. My heart dips as a serious expression pulls at his sexy features.
Is he done showing me the softer side of himself already?
“No. I guess you didn’t.” The moonlight softens his skin tone, giving him an ethereal glow. The sharp angle of his jaw makes him look more dangerous than a man who was joking about cupcakes less than a minute ago. “I guess it wasmewho wanted to kissyou.”
I don’t answer with a witty comeback, and his lips part for a moment, his words poised against his tongue before he finally speaks.
“You know, when Carver first came here, on the very first day, his parents died.” His brows crease. His words are quiet and filled with tense emotion. I can’t help but wonder if this is the first time he has talked about it. “He watched them die. He was a total mess. They died right in front of him. And then he consumed their souls. Couldn’t stop himself from carnally wanting to devour their existence.”
Carver snores softly, his limbs stretched toward me. He looks so peaceful now.
Even he couldn’t stop the demanding magic of the Wild Hunt from taking control.
Sorrow lines Nollix’s handsome face. He looks older in this moment.
Wiser.
He looks just as broken as I am. As all of us are.
He does handle it a little better than I do, though.
“What about you? What about Jeriko?” I ask quietly. This one moment of openness that is shared between us feels fleeting, like I need to take advantage of it and learn what I’ve never been able to before.
“I—my story is for another night.” He sighs. “As for Jeriko, you’ll have to ask her. She’s been a part of the Wild Hunt for longer than me. Sometimes, I think she was born into it.”
I nod my head, understanding why he would keep his secrets. Hell, I didn’t even talk for three years.
In the quiet, he continues again. “When you first showed up here to be a member of the Wild Hunt, I thought the king had lost his fucking mind.” His teeth dig into the flesh of his lower lip. “I thought he’d sent us this quiet, weak woman as a punishment for something we’d done.”
My eyes narrow slightly on him.
“I didn’t realize it was your way of coping. I didn’t realize there was this power hidden away within you that I’d never be able to tame. Don’t sink back into that coping, Vi. Don’t give in.” His words are gentle and drift all through me with warmth.
His advice circles my mind once more. He actually thought he could find a way to manage me?
Sure, even I’ve tried to quiet the dark energy within me, but I can only push it down so much.
“You really thought you could tame me?” I bump my shoulder into his, letting his body heat wash over me.
A smirk tilts his lips. I think he’s just happy I spoke at all.
He bumps my arm right back, teetering me off balance.
“Someone needs to,” he says with a growing smile that has me gaping at him. I can’t believe I actually want to smile from his taunting words.
