Page 79 of Killer of the Bells
Heh. Yeah, I said what I said.
My decision to stop was aided by a verbal bucket of ice water.
“You decided to get us married and didn’t invite me to the wedding, Vale? Harsh.”
Since my face was still glued to Vale’s, I couldn’t see the speaker, but his familiar voice stopped me in my tracks. It was somehow husky and ethereal at the same time. Like he was in the world, but not of it.
Vale stiffened and moved to block me from Wraith, but I slapped at his restraining arms until we reached a compromise where Vale could be protective, but I could still see.
“A guy is gone for a day—” Wraith began.
“Twenty-three days,” Vale corrected.
“A mere twenty-four hours that you’ve known this man, and you tied our lives to him. Your judgment is abysmal, Vale. Do Ineed to stage an intervention?” Wraith stood directly on top of one of Vix’s most potent and lethal traps, and I was finding it difficult to follow the conversation.
He should have been shredded to pieces instead of standing there innocently resembling a moonbeam in broad daylight. I knew exactly how dangerous the trap was because I’d helped Vix with it the day before.
It was my house, so I couldn’t allow its security to be anything less than the best, right?
“Could you take two steps to the left?” I asked. “I need to check something.”
Wraith moved off the trap, and nothing happened. I was flummoxed. If stepping on the trap hadn’t triggered it, stepping off it should have done the job. At the very least, Wraith should have been sporting a missing leg, but instead, he was busy continuing to berate Vale, who was glaring at me with a look of shocked betrayal.
“Vale, I never should have abandoned you that day. You’re still young and innocent to the ways of this cold, cruel world, and this harlot got his claws into you.”
Vale ignored Wraith and continued to look at me like I’d stolen Oda Nobunaga from him.
“How did you do that?” I stormed up to Wraith. “That was some of my finest work. How dare you still have two functional legs?” I demanded.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, harlot?” Wraith huffed and gave me the once-over. “I suppose he’s good in bed at least? Shall we go find out? I might as well have a turn since we’re all married now.”
I stumbled backward because I fully expected Vale to pop Wraith’s head free from his body, but I was woefully disappointed.
Vale shot Wraith a dirty look and said, “You wish.” Then he took my arm and tried to steer me away from the situation.
“Uh, no, we won’t be doing that,” I informed Vale, yanking free of his grasp and jabbing Wraith in the chest with my index finger. “I’m staying until this guy tells me how he fucked up my trap. No one fucks up my traps but me, and I know it was perfect. How did you do it?” I jabbed Wraith’s chest harder, throwing some of my new strength into it, trying to intimidate him into answering me.
I felt a sharp poke in my own chest and frowned down at it.
“Don’t do that, sweetheart,” Vale said. “Any damage we do to each other in anger hurts us as well.”
I yanked my poking hand back in alarm. “Did I hurt you? I poked him really hard. Are you okay?”
Wraith watched us, and his eyes softened from his cold, distant expression.
“I barely felt it, Echo. I’m fine,” Vale soothed.
“If we hurt each other, we hurt all three of us?” My face burned when I remembered a few of our more intense sexcapades. “Does that mean Wraith got hurt when we…?” I trailed off, unable to finish the question.
Wraith cocked his head questioningly, and his gaze became unfocused and wandered away. He’d stopped paying attention to us between one breath and the next.
“Everything we’ve done has been consensual, so Wraith was unaffected. Any damage to any of us done with malice will translate through the bond, no matter who does it. I’d hoped you’d be unaffected, but unfortunately, that appears not to be the case.”
I waved my hand in front of Wraith’s face and got no response. “Um… is he still with us?”
“Some part of him is aware of the external world when he gets like this, but I’ve never been able to figure out how much.”
“Do you know when he’s gonna come back?” I gave Wraith’s cheek a poke and got no response.
