Page 22 of A Kiss From Death
“Go eat a bag of oranges.” I roll my eyes at him and flip my middle finger up with flare.
“That’s the second time you’ve said that now. Why?”
I gasp. “Don’t tell me you’re an orange supporter?”
“So what if I am? What do you have against them?” He raises a brow.
“For starters, it takes half a day to peel the blasted things. No one should have to work that hard for a snack. Then, they arecovered in those tiny little white strings that taste like butthole and get stuck in your teeth. Once you suck all the juice out of the tiny wedge, you’re left with sticky fingers and a wrinkled sack of orange skin that’s bitter and chewy. Not worth the time and effort for the tiny bit of euphoria you get from the juice, in my opinion.” I huff in annoyance. “They are public enemy one in my book. The Empress would outlaw them if she had any brains.” I probably should have kept that last sentence to myself, but it seems my mouth has a mind of its own tonight.
“Interesting.” Hade looks at me as he guides me back towards my room. This man is like a walking contradiction with his words and his actions. The way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he is truly curious about my silly revolt against oranges, but then I think back to him punching me in the face and not even caring to apologize about it.
Men.
“That’s all you have to say on the subject?” I pin him with a fake serious glare. “This is serious business, sir,” I grumble.
Hade growls next to me. “I told you not to call me that.”
“And I told you, you have a growling problem, but here you are, acting like a wild beast instead of a man.” I shrug and take off, skipping down the long, dim hallway away from him. I throw over my shoulder, “You should really take up my idea of letting off some steam.”
“Empress, you will be thedeathof me.” Hade grumbles under his breath as he starts jogging down the hall after me. “And who do you suggest will help me release some of this so-called steam?”
I gasp dramatically. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a cattle of women lining up at your door every night?”
Sighing, he continues to chase me down the hallway. “None worthy enough of my time. Now slow down before you hurt yourself.”
Peeking over my shoulder, I take in Hade in all his glory. He truly is a masterpiece sculpted by the gods. His shaggy, obsidian hair flops about his forehead as he jogs without breaking a sweat. The man is an anomaly. His one gray eye glows like an orb in the dimly lit hallway. If this scene was a painting, I would call it “beauty masked beneath a beast”.
I speed up, giggling over my shoulder. “You’re gonna have to catch me for that to happen,Death Reaper.” And then, I take off.
I know I shouldn’t be poking the beast, but the alcohol running through me has given me the courage to be someone else, if only just for the night. Tonight, I don’t want to be Nyxi. I just want to befree. Free of the Crucible and my impending death, free of the heart that barely knows how to beat inside my chest now that half of it has been severed forever.
Peeking back over my shoulder, I find Hade is nowhere to be seen, like he has just vanished into thin air. Poof, gone. Maybe the Fire Water is getting to my head?
That can’t be right. I swear, he was just a handful of feet behind me. Halting my steps, I look around the eerie hallway, my heart pounding with a mixture of weariness and thrill.
Muscular arms engulf me from behind, blanketing me in shadows. “Caught you,” Hade whispers next to the shell of my ear. “What’s my prize?”
My heart feels like it might combust from his nearness, and that alone sends a chill up my spine.
“How—what—” I stutter, trying to wrap my brain around what just happened. “How did you disappear and end up behind me?” I’m a jumble of confusion. “I never saw you pass me… That’s impossible.”
His finger drags down the side of my neck. “Nothing is impossible in Lunaria. Call this your first lesson.”
“Magic,” I whisper.
“Correct.”
My heart skips. “Show me.”
He smirks. “Only if you beg nicely.”
I shoot him pleading eyes. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh,Nightmare, I would do a lot worse than that. Now, ask me nicely, and maybe I’ll comply.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and grit out, “Will you show me…please?”
“No, but I do love to watch you beg.” He grabs my arm, dragging me towards my room.
