Page 15 of Burning Ice
“You don’t know who taught you the power of ice? Would you like to know?” He took another piece of bread and fed it to Mirel, brushing a knuckle over the dry lips as they chewed.
“N-no,” Mirel rasped after he swallowed.
“Here’s what I know. It was you, at the Aureate. You were the one who killed Ludo Fandi, through Cyprian’s hands. That was impressive. But why risk yourself for him? Do you know Cyprian?”
Mirel looked away.
“Did you want Ludo dead?” Kylix leaned in on his own volition, hunger making his incisor itch with the need to kill. He licked his lips and brushed them against Mirel’s cold cheek. “Or did you just enjoy the violence?”
“N-no.” Mirel jerked back, eyes wide.
Kylix laughed. “Little ghost, and a little liar as well. What am I going to do with you? Vandor, what should I do with this thief? Throw him in our cells, or into the arena?”
“Sir, perhaps?—”
“Shut up.” Kylix brushed his mouth against Mirel’s temple, breathing in. “It would be a waste to kill such beauty.”
Mirel’s cheeks darkened.
Kylix dragged his lips over the heated skin, following the slope of his jaw down to the curve of his mouth. “It was also you who froze my crime scenes,” he murmured. “I could have you arrested for that.”
Mirel pulled back, breath ragged.
“Do you live in the graveyard?”
“Y-yes.”
Not anymore, Kylix’s inner voice whispered.
Good Light, what was happening to him?
“For how long?”
Mirel’s shoulders sagged. He shook his head lightly.
Kylix wanted to laugh it away, wanted to punish him for his useless stubbornness. Nobody refused an Essential, Helion Elite, let alone an Imperial Prince. Yet here he sat. Mirel, small, bound, exhausted, famished, and did.
It made him want to discover every inch of him. Peel off every layer of grime and refusal until he understood why the hell he’d chased after him. Why he had brought him here.
Why his body reacted to him the way it did. It wasn’t simple hunger or a need to kill. No, there was something else.
Mirel’s skin had turned pale with exhaustion. The tremor in his body told Kylix his strength was nearly gone.
“I will find out who you are.” Kylix leaned closer. “I will know, and then you’ll regret not having told me.” His breath felt warm against Mirel’s cool cheek, his heat ghosting his lips.
“I will hunt you down. Bring you to your knees.” He could feel the faint tremor of breath against his mouth, could feel the way Mirel’s silver lashes trembled.
He let the crust graze the parted lips. “Or you could tell me what I want to know.”
Mirel’s tongue flicked out to take the bread, making Kylix’s hunger spike.
“How—”
His question was cut off by the sound of a deep chime.
Kylix yanked up. “Who the fuck comes to my place unannounced?”
Vandor flicked his multi-slate. “It’s Moargan. Cyprian is with him,” he said.
