Page 67 of A Kiss From Death
I let out a deep, resigned huff. “Out with it.”
Her face lights up with a huge smile, having been given the okay to pry into my life like one of her juicy drama books she loves to read. “So…no hate sex then?”
My jaw drops, shocked from her blunt words. I rip the pillow out from under her head, making her let out a yelp when her head hits the bed. Raising it above my head, I playfully launch it at her face, making her erupt in a fit of giggles.
“No,” I say abruptly. “Therehasn’tbeen,norwill there ever be, any hate sex happening between me and that brute as long as the heart in my chest continues to beat.”
Des peaks out from under the pillow I shoved down on her with a slight smirk. “Woah, woah, woah, Sparkles. Never say never to something likethatuntil you’ve taken it out for a nice spin first. Learned that lesson the hard way.”
I raise my eyebrows at her in question, wanting her to divulge further. She shrugs her shoulders in response, trying to look unfazed. “I might have had one too many ales and told a man—no, a verylargeman—that his ego may be large, but I was sure his penis was small.” Thinking, she adds, “No, I think the word I usedwas miniscule.” Shrugging, she carries on, “Anyways, we bet on a game of Jezzle, and if I lost, I had to spend one night with him so he could show me just howsmallhis…you know what was.” She swats her hand back and forth in the air. “Next thing I knew, I woke up in a random man’s bed above a tavern downtown after the best night of my life, and for the next month, the little traitorous bitch wouldn’t get excited for anyone, me included. The longest dry spell of my life. I tried to go back for seconds when I was fed up with it, but he just looked me in the eyes and told me he would be taking hissmallpenis elsewhere,” she huffs defeatedly. She turns to me very seriously. “Don’t make the same mistake as me.” Pointing down she adds, “I swear she starts purring every time I walk by that tavern now.”
Patting her shoulder, I let out a small laugh I’m unable to keep down. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Grunting, she grabs her book and rolls over to read. Sliding my hand under my pillow, I slip Theo’s journal out and dive back into a time when it was just me and him against the world.
Bending down,I finish lacing up my last boot then braid my hair down my back so it’s out of my face. I slip my dagger into my left boot; I would sooner be trapped alone in a room with a brooding Hade than go anywhere without being able to defend myself. Checking myself over in the mirror once, I turn to leave my room.
I push my door open, but I falter when I run into a hard mass. Dragging my head up until my neck is painfully pulled tight, I stare into a pair of stone cold eyes that promise death.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the deep voice that haunts me vibrates over my skin.
I go to step around his large form, but he grips my wrist, halting me. Seething, I turn around, ready to lay into him. “I’m going to train, and you cannot stop me.”
Hade tenses for a moment, fisting his hands. “I don’t like the idea of that.”
I could punch this man in the throat right now if I didn’t think it would result in breaking all my fingers in the process. “What, and you think I’m going to magically be healed by tomorrow for the next round of the Crucible? Going in after almost a week of resting is more harmful, Hade. Ineedto train.”
I step around him dramatically storming down the corridor right past Winston, who dutifully keeps his mouth shut. I hear harsh footsteps catching up to me in seconds, making me whirl around, pinning him with an angry glare.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell, getting more worked up than I should be. At this point, I’m not even sure what all I’m angry about, just that I need to let off some steam, and Hade is the perfect target to aim it at.
“I never said you couldn’t train, but if you want to fight, you can fight me. I don’t trust the others when it comes to you, and I’m not sending you into the lion’s den alone,” he states.
“I don’t need your help. I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time,” I mutter.
Grunting to himself, he responds, “Good thing I’m not giving you a choice then.”
I turn, ignoring him, and continue my pursuit down the hallway towards the Bubble. Hade keeps in stride with me, both of us silent but sending death threats with our eyes every few moments. I can feel the pent up emotions of the past few days vibrating inside me, needing to be released. Seeing how tense Hade is beside me, I think he is in need of the same reprieve.
We enter the Bubble side by side, drawing all the eyes of my competitors. I ignore them all, striding to the far end where it’s empty and spacious. I stretch out my stiff limbs that haven’t been used in days and groan at how tight they are, which draws Hade’s wide eyes my way. I flip him my middle finger as I dip into a frontstretch, folding my body in half until it feels like my hamstrings are going to snap.
Feeling much looser, I step into the small ring drawn into the sand, where Hade is patiently waiting for me. He drags his eyes lazily from my toes all the way up to my face, checking me over one more time before he deems me fit to fight.
“Give me hell,” he says with a smirk, and before he can even finish his sentence, I lunge at him, trying to take him by surprise.
He’s much bigger than me, so I have to rely on my speed and smart moves. I’m too worked up to dance around with him aimlessly until one of us makes a move. I came here to draw blood, and I don’t mind shedding some of my own in the process.
Spinning, I kick my foot out, aiming for his side, but before my eyes can even register the movement, he catches me by my ankle and yanks me forward so I tumble awkwardly into his chest. He moves at an unnatural speed for me to even keep up with as he pins me to him, looking down with piercing eyes.
“You need to work on making calculated moves with a plan instead of rushing into combat. Never underestimate your opponent, and always look for their weaknesses so you can exploit them,” he states while looking back and forth between my eyes.
My body heats at every place our bodies meet, but I push those thoughts aside as I shove him away and plant my feet in a fighting stance once again. This time, I assess my opponent instead of making moves fueled by rage.
We circle each other slowly as I look over his huge frame for weaknesses. Of course, there’s none to be found, since he is quite literally perfect at everything he does. He wouldn’t be called the Cardinal or tasked to protect the Empress if he was anything short of perfection.
I can tell he is exhausted mentally and physically, even with his muscular body and godly speed moving a fraction slower than normal. If I can tire him out and play with his mind a bit, it maygive me a slight advantage, since I’m well rested. His lighter eye that glows like a lightning bolt lags slightly behind his dark one, making his left side an easier target.
We continue to circle each other, both waiting on the other to make the first move. I never knew death could be so beautiful.
