Page 17 of Ashes of Honor

I reached my hand across from the desk and she glanced down warily before taking it. “Come on. Let’s take a break. I’ve beendyingto fuck with that machine since we got back.”

“Can we not say dying, please?” Amaia’s laugh was clipped and morbid.

She rose to her feet, and I gave my girl a pat on the ass on the way out the door. “Anything for you, Princess.”

Amaia

Considering the amount of people that came through the Elemental Room the last few weeks, it was a shock to see it in such great condition. They’d only had to replace the sensory film on the wall fourteen times. Entrance interviews may be on a backlog, but our record keeping couldn’t slow now. Now was when it was most important. Words could be manipulated, science could not.

The blank white room was illuminated by fire magic. No matter the conditions of the room or if someone lost control, the flames would forever burn, protected glass designed not to break in nuclear blast zones. This bunker was our last resort should theworst ever happen again and everything within it was built for survival.

I watched him as he entered and stopped in the center. He leaned over the machine with both arms, the muscle in them bulged against his black t-shirt.Good on me for going with this uniform choice.

Alexiares turned around and caught my stare. I tilted my head with a small smile as I watched with need. “Well, you know what to do.”

“Maybe I want some assistance.” Alexiares licked his lips with a heavy, weighing stare. “You are the blood queen, after all.”

Bloodreina this, Bloodreina that.I fucking loathed the name, and he knew it.

I strolled over to him, shoving him out of the way. “Cute.”

The motions were muscle memory as I pricked his finger and dropped his blood onto the dial. He kissed my forehead, smearing the blood across my lips as he pulled back. I pushed to my toes, kissing him and giving him a taste of his own medicine.

The computer chimed. “Ready?” I asked.

“Always. Fire first?”

“Probably safer that way,” I chuckled. “But since I’m curious, let’s try earth.”

Vines and thick moss covered the main wall. The lush green appeared impenetrable as he toyed with his magic. A pattern evolved in a brighter green than the rest. The shape of a heart appeared before my eyes. My hand flew to my heart as I mocked him in flattery before he drew the outline of a dick in roses. I cackled. Amused didn’t even begin to capture the feelings seeing a more juvenile, playful side of him stirred in me. It saddened me the more I learned about his childhood. He’d never had the freedom to express anything other than stoic anger. I couldn’t imagine growing up in a world that was only colored gray.

The screen began loading data and caught my attention. Alexiares stole it away moments later as he shifted to fire. The air around him seemed to hum, a low vibration I couldn’t ignore. It crackled beneath his skin—lightning coiled right beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed. The gravity of it was jarring. It stirred something inside me. Awe almost, but more primal.

MyBloodhound’s power was vast. It pulled at me in a way I could never have expected.

My breath turned shallow and my pulse quickened. A shiver snaked down my spine. I wanted to laugh and moan all the same. The ecstasy of it all. His power was beautiful. It called to me. Whispered the things it could do. The world it could bend … I wanted it.

My jaw damn near hit the ground before I remembered to fix my face. Alexiares glanced back at me, water dripping down the wall as he doused the flames. His gaze fell down to meet my stare, awaiting the results.

“Shit,” I mumbled. “You broke the scale.”

“I’m riding high right now.” Alexiares studied his hands, then cast me a glance.

“I think that officially makes you the most powerful person I know.”

“And how do you feel about that?” His large hand fell over his chest for a brief moment. Alexiares stared back at me for … approval? No. Fear. Acceptance.

“Like I want to fuck your brains out,” I cooed, inching closer to him.

“Oh?”

“Oh,” I mocked, tilting my head just enough to make it clear I wasn’t letting it go. I caught his hand, threading our fingers together, daring him to pull away. He didn’t. Instead, with infuriating ease, he dragged his finger along my bottom lip, like he had all the time in the world.

“Which part did me in, you think?” The sweet scent of fire and rain invaded my space. I welcomed it as he loomed over me, the harsh features of his face giving me a flutter in the pits of my stomach. “Moe’s woo-woo antics or Reina’s experiment?”

“You want the truth?”

His hands found my waist. “I’d expect nothing less from you.”

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