him?”
“Maybe they drugged her?”
He chuckled, picking up a small, carved wooden box from which he removed a golden ring. “Come. See what I have for you.”
He dropped a ring engraved with a pattern of interlocking circles into my open palm. “It’s a symbol of my people, meaning unity,” he said, slipping it onto my finger. It fit perfectly. “All members of my house have them.”
I thought of the sewer rats on the beach, and the markings on them, suddenly the ring’s weight felt oppressive. He shut the box and stood, unreadable, mysterious, and serene, reaching out to take my head between his hands. Terrified, I looked up into his eyes. My breath came harder. How many times had I been told to beware him? Yet, I found myself falling under his spell.
His fingers brushed over my face. “Don’t be frightened, Bird of Prey. Tell me how this game evolved?”
“Ethan got the idea from the Ibsen play he saw me in. It became his life’s work.”
“We needn’t be rivals, Mia.”
He massaged my temples with his fingertips. My eyes closed for a half-second, then opened full on his calm blue gaze. I stared at him, open-mouthed, forgetting all the careful training of my senses, completely captivated. The sight, sound, taste, and smell of him, drew me. Wasn’t this what Ethan cautioned against? His lips parted, tongue lightly moistening them. His breath warmed my skin. I longed for that mouth all over my body.
His fingers traced the line of my brow bone, down over my nose. “Understand, I’m the moon and you’re the tide, without my favor you cease to be, but if you do as you’re told, go smoothly, and don’t make waves, my love and favor are yours. There’s work for you. After the council forbid us to pursue science, Gaius swore he’d work together with me for this cause, but I suspect greed recently got the better of him. Through Kurt’s contacts with the little rats, we’ve learned that Gaius has abducted many of their number, and many shipments of an unknown nature have been made to the Palazzo. It could be nothing, Gaius is a great collector of art as well as flesh, but if he’s my competitor I must know. He’s recently made another offer for you. Dirk is coming into his portion, and Gaius wishes to bestow on him the gift he most covets. Your power to see in the blood is an asset to this house. Go with Ethan, as if he intended to negotiate a settlement with them, and then contrive to be alone with Dirk. Use your gift to uncover information. In the end, Ethan will refuse Gaius’s offer… ”
“Dirk will hurt me. Nothing gets him off like my pain.”
“Don’t fear.” I fell under the spell of maddening stroking of my temples, struggling to retain my will. “Nothing will harm you. You have my promise. I know your deepest desire.” He slashed his wrist, pressing it to my lips. His consciousness poured out, filling me along with his blood. I reached out to catch the rays shining from his face. “See what I will give you… ”
Kurt, as I first saw him, in the moonlight on the terrace, the god of love, surrounded in cascades of roses. His hand stretched out and I went to him. He was too real to be mere fantasy. I smelled his blood and heard his heartbeat. I was no longer in the tower room but somewhere on a beach with him, waves rushing as a brilliant, blood-red sun rose before us.
Brovik’s voice insinuated itself around my brain. “My boy is beautiful. Feel him inside you.” Kurt’s smooth fingers and mouth caressed my skin. His hands cupped my breasts. I bore his light weight, his teeth and tongue on my throat as he moved inside me. “Imagine a world, where the two of you would be free.”
I shook and shuddered with pleasure. “Yes-s-s!”
“Do as I say and it will be so. Mia!”
I blinked my eyes. Kurt was gone. I met Brovik’s steady gaze, fully aware of what had just transpired, but not quite sure if it was just my imagination.
He nodded to me. “It’s nearly morning. Ethan will be back soon.”
“I’m afraid… ”
“I’ll protect you. Go, do as I say.”
Later, I lay awake as Ethan opened the door to our room. “Still awake? Have you finally learned all you desired, Pandora?”
“I understand your need for him, Ethan. Nothing in the world is as powerful as the hold he has