Page 12 of Left Hand of the Divine
He rolled his eyes at me, and a surge of irritation travelled through our bond. He ran his hand through his midnight-blue hair, sending the strands in all different directions.
I walked over to him and brushed my hand over the dishevelled waves, flattening them back into some semblance of order. “I know you are frustrated and worried about Roux. We all are. But I need you to be focused on the task at hand. Angering the others isn’t helping anyone.”
Atticus looked up into my eyes, his nebula irises shifting between purple and blue, and leaned into my touch. “I know. I just want to know that she’s okay. The not knowing is driving me crazy.”
“Trust your bond with her. It’s more powerful than you can ever imagine.” I traced my thumb over his Adam’s apple. I had an unhealthy obsession with that part of his anatomy. It was sharp and always seemed to pull my attention when he swallowed or spoke. I wanted to bite it and watch it bob as he swallowed around my cock. Would his throat bulge around me?
“Whatever you’re thinking, you need to stop,” Atticus whispered as I stroked his throat, the vibrations of his voice tickling the pad of my thumb deliciously.
I smirked down at him, knowing exactly what he was getting at. I could feel his reaction through our connection as the hum ofhis desire flowed through my veins. It was rather… invigorating. “Really?”
He swallowed, the movement tight against my hand. “Yes. Now isn’t the time, and don’t we still need to find Prometheus’ key?”
I squeezed his throat, just a little, and enjoyed the way his eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “Spoil sport, but you’re right, and we will probably find it in here.”
I released him from my hold, immediately missing the feel of him beneath my skin. When I looked back at the others, I found them watching us with fascination. “What?”
Magnus grinned, his sharp little fangs showing behind his smile. “Just wondering if you’d let us watch.”
I cocked my head at the three of them, then flicked a glance at Atticus. Strangely, I didn’t get a sense of disgust or aversion through our bond. Only curiosity. Interesting…
“Perhaps,” I said with a shrug. I wasn’t averse to a bit of exhibitionism, but I was usually under someone else's control. Making Atticus submit was an intriguing desire and one I wanted to explore when we eventually found our way out of here. “Come on. Let’s see if this key is here while we make our way through this chamber.”
“What does it even look like?” Rayne grumbled before wandering off between the stacks.
“No idea,” I replied as I headed towards a glass display cabinet that had caught my attention. “Prometheus just said we would know it when we saw it.”
I had the feeling that the small triangle would provide some sort of reaction when I grew near the key. At least, I hoped it would; otherwise, we’d be wandering these halls for the next few centuries.
“Do you think it’s actually shaped like a key?” Magnus asked as he sifted through some trinket boxes with careless abandon. I frowned at him. He really should take more care.
“I’d be careful with those,” Rayne chuckled affectionately. “One of them might have belonged to Pandora.”
The vampire froze for a moment before returning the box he had in his hands with a lot more care than he’d shown it a moment before.
Atticus sniggered at him. “You really should brush up on your ancient history. There’s nothing left in the box apart from hope.”
“Still, we can’t be too careful,” I added. “These things are down here for a reason.”
I carried on past the cabinet full of cursed jewels and rounded the corner into the next aisle. The first inkling of defeat crept into my bones. There were shelves upon shelves and cases upon cases as far as my eyes could see. They were all set neatly one behind the other, and I wondered who had organised everything. Had he done it to keep himself occupied and his mind busy?
A sliver of pity sliced through my mind at the thought of him down here, all alone with only endless hours of emptiness for company. At the time, I’d thought we were doing the right thing, but now… Well, now I wasn’t so sure.
“What is it?” Atticus asked as he fellinto step beside me.
“I think I feel regret.” I wasn’t sure since I’d never felt it before, but I think that’s what it was. This feeling of shame wrapped in dread. “I regret what we did to him.”
“To whom? Erebus?”
I turned to Atticus and lost myself in those pools of changing nebulas. His emotions were swimming in his eyes, and I could feel them travelling through our connection. It was a little overwhelming, and I couldn’t decipher them all. It made me feel… confused, agitated and… damn it. I couldn’t name them fast enough. There were too many, all wrapping around each other, blurring the lines and making it impossible for me to make any kind of sense of them. They were smothering me, pulling me down and burying me.
“Thane,” Atticus whispered softly as he wrapped a hand firmly around my arm. “It’s okay.”
“How is it okay?” I yelled, my voice ricocheting around the room. “He’s been down here on his own forcenturies. How can anyone be okay with that?”
“Hey,” he snapped, shaking my arm. “Would speaking out all those years ago really have made a difference, or would it just make you feel better about yourself now?”
The infuriating man had a point.
