Death Game: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #3) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,71
work.”
The more I owned in nine days’ time, the better.
I might have enough to bring Sundulus and Fyrlia head to head again. But what I really wanted so very desperately was to trigger the end cascade.
Against Fyrlia.
I wanted to end this for good.
I hadn’t slept, so when my phone vibrated, I sat in a movement much too fast for a human.
Blinking against the glare of light, I read the message from Daniel.
He’s here, Miss Le Spyre
Phew. Here goes.
I didn’t bother creeping to the windows overlooking the south of the estate. If he was here, he was focused on me.
Taking a breath, I slid back the window and leaned out. Putting all my regret and sorrow into the word, I whispered, “Kyros.”
He mentally jerked.
I peered into the thick darkness, wondering if he could see me. “Please come inside.”
His longing was an echo of mine. Through the other ugly emotions, even now, our want for each other remained.
“Please,” I repeated.
Retreating to the bed, I perched on the end, and waited.
I had no idea what to expect from him. That we couldn’t be separated endlessly was painfully apparent to both of us, yet he didn’t want to be in my company any more than the blood bond dictated.
That hurt a lot.
But I couldn’t blame him for it.
My bedroom doors opened, and Kyros entered, not bothering to shut them after.
I didn’t look up, fully occupied by the onslaught of emotions exploding from him. Fury. Betrayal. Yearning. Lust.
“You came,” I said, my voice shaking.
It probably meant he was unable to resist the call to claim me, but my mind clung to the tiny hope his reason for coming had nothing to do with the blood bond.
He stalked around the room, keeping a wide berth from me.
I was grateful for that. My head spun with his presence and scent. The urge to go to him, to wrap around him, was almost undeniable.
“I’m not surprised you can’t look at me,” Kyros said, bitterness unfurling like a whip.
The gloves were off.
Stiffening my spine, I tilted my head back when he stopped before me.
A meadow-green gaze met mine. Impossibly handsome as always, the only clue to how the vampire really felt was in the bone-deep weariness in his gaze as he looked at me.
Hollow.
I did that to him.
Him to me.
His family to mine.
Mine to his.
At this point, I’d lost track of who’d wronged one another. All that was left was his emptiness, my guilt, and the threat against those we cared about.
“You must have questions,” I said softly, leaning back to put distance between us so my body recalled it needed air to survive.
I blinked through the vibrations and haze cloying my mind, pushing and whispering to take him. To make him mine.
The vampire loomed over me. “What makes you think I want to hear anything from your mouth when you’ve spent the last month lying?”
Hmm, probably double that time, actually.
“You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t,” I answered.
“I needed to look upon the human who single-handedly killed my family. Perhaps I wanted to gaze upon her and wonder how I never saw who she really was.”
He didn’t believe the words, but he wanted to. More than anything. That felt worse.
Kyros’s throat worked. “The uncertainty and guilt holding you back from accepting me. It wasn’t anything to do with your doubts about me or my family.”
I took a shallow breath. “No. I couldn’t cross that line while lying to you.”
“Maybe there’s a shred of decency in you.”
The sarcastic words stabbed into my heart. “Kyros, I tried to make things right. You know I did.”
He scoffed, turning away. “You tried to pull yourself from the grave you’d made for yourself.”
I stood. “That’s not what happened.”
Kyros whipped back, green eyes flashing. “Then why did you wait until you had proof to bring the matter to our attention? Why, if not to save your own hide?”
Because I didn’t want to see this look on your face.
Blowing out a breath, I watched him pace around the suite. “The end cascade. When is it?”
The glance he threw my way asked if I was crazy.
I braced myself. “I know it doesn’t seem this way, but I care about your family too.” The shits had wormed their way into my heart at some point. It even bothered me that Julius would die.
“Do you often secure the death of those you care about?” he asked, cocking his head.
Focused on his emotions, I did my best to brush aside the comment.