There’s an imperceptible twitch under his eyes that Ialmostmiss before he looks away that makes me curious.
Did he really hear what I pushed at him?
My heart pounds in my chest at the implication. Never, in all the stories I’ve been told, has there been mention of the bonded coupleseverbeing able to communicate telepathically.
For now, I shove it to the back of my mind to revisit later and focus on what’s happening in front of me.
Lucetta presses a knife to his throat like she’s been waiting her whole life for this exact moment, and Sunniva pats him down, all fake sweetness and sunshine.
Honestly, I’m surprised the guys are standing back and letting us take the lead on this. It’s shocking really coming from men in this lifestyle.
“Hi, Kaz,” Luce purrs. “Fancy meeting you.”
Kazimir snarls at her, thrashing in Misha’s hold and causing Lucetta’s knife to dig farther into his skin. “You don’t know who you’re fucking with.”
My skin prickles like static before a storm, every nerve screaming a warning. The truth bleeding out of him hasn’t yet been corrupted, but I feel the shift, the poison threading through his intention.
I can see the lie building. The falsehood coiling in his chest is a slick, black serpent trying to claw its way free. The tase of it coats my tongue—sour, acrid, and slithering across my tongue as if the lie is already alive in my mouth.
Stepping closer, crowding his air, I speak in a low tone. “You’re about to lie.”
His breath stutters, his eyes widening in panic.
“You feel that? Every time you twist the truth, I’ll feel it before you even dare utter the words. And if you do speak them, Kazimir,” I pause, leaning closer so my words feel more ominous, “I’ll peel the lie out of your throat and let it choke you instead.”
Holy shit, the rush that’s pouring through me at my power is so fucking addicting that I remind myself to be careful.
Very careful.
Konstantin’s gaze cuts to me, his eyes sharp and searching. Not just my words, but at the way our bond vibrates between us in agreement with my words. His mouth curves in something that might be pride. Or it might be hunger. Either is dangerous, but I’m learning I have a newfound hunger for danger.
Kazimir pales. “I don’t know—”
“He’s lying,” I snap.
Lucetta doesn’t hesitate to dig her knife farther into his skin until a bead of blood wells up. Kazimir gasps, realizing he’s about to lose his life if he speaks any more untruths, and spills everything in a rush.
“Oleg,” he blurts. “She’s . . . she’s meeting Oleg Belinsky.”
My body sags as the truth rips from him, as if it was focusing so much energy on pulling it from him.
Konstantin’s hand closes over mine and pulls me back. His voice wraps around me like silk and steel. “Enough.”
Misha hauls the man upright while Lucetta wipes her blade on his coat and Sunniva blows a bubble with her gum until it pops.
“We’ll take him and see what else he knows,” Misha says.
Kon nods, never once taking his eyes from me. A shiver works up my spine at the look in them, and I bite my lip.
When Misha and Konstantin’s men drag Kazimir out and the girls follow them, it’s just us left in the shadows. The bond purrs low and heavy, wrapping tightly around my ribs.
“You think I don’t feel you?”
Konstantin’s voice is a dark whisper against me. He steps closer, and the air grows colder, hotter, everything at once. “You are in my blood now,Lisichka. You give my lungs oxygen, my heart it’s beats. You think I will not know when you choose to put yourself in danger?”
My throat goes dry, tasting the truth in his words. “I told you. I’m not porcelain, monster man. I can help. Iwillhelp. I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing. My powers . . . they’re changing. I’m not afraid to hunt her, Kon. Sometimes you forget I grew up in this life. Kingston and the others tried to shield me as best as they could, but I was born in darkness, just like you.”
His beautiful eyes burn like coals, and I shiver. “You terrify me.”
