"I think I may be grateful for my blindness, after all," she said. "Something tells me that if I could see the reckless speed you're driving at, I would probably have a stroke."
"No doubt."
She rolled her eyes at his ready agreement. "You have no idea how to comfort anyone, do you?"
"In case you haven't noticed, princess, social skills aren't my forte. Hell, you're lucky I'm housebroke."
Oh, he was an evil one.
But there was something almost charming about his caustic retorts. They were angry and biting, but seldom mean-spirited, and now that she had seen the real Zarek, the one he kept hidden from everyone, she knew those barbs for what they were.
Armor.
They were sent out to keep everyone away from him. If you let no one into your heart, then you never had to be hurt by betrayal.
She didn't know how he stood living like that. In constant pain and loneliness. Letting hatred guide everything he did or said.
Zarek was a harsh man filled with more venom than the nine-headed Hydra. But even the Hydra had eventually met its match.
Tonight, Zarek had met his and it wasn't Thanatos.
Astrid wasn't going to give up on him.
They rode until her ears buzzed and her body was cold all the way to her bones. She wondered if she'd ever again be able to thaw out.
Zarek, who seemed oblivious to the freezing weather, continually zigzagged their course, as if trying to keep Thanatos from following them.
Just when she was sure that the concept that immortals couldn't die of frostbite was a myth, Zarek finally stopped.
He turned off the engine.
The sudden silence was deafening. Oppressive.
She waited for Zarek to get up and help her off the snow-machine, but all he did was tug the helmet off her head. He pitched it away with a curse.
She heard it hit the ground, then silence returned and was broken only by their breathing.
Zarek's rage reached out to her like a tangible menace. It was vibrant and frightening.
Part of him wanted to hurt her, she could sense it, but underneath that she felt his pain.
"Who are you?" Zarek's voice was demanding and every bit as cold as the arctic winter. He kept his arms around her and his voice was right in her ear.
"I told you."
"You lied to me, princess," he growled. "I might not be able to read minds, but I know you're not what you appear. Human women don't have Katagaria companions. I want to know who you really are and why you were dicking around in my dreams."
She was shaking from nervousness. What would he do with her now?
Would he leave her for Thanatos?
She was scared to tell him the truth, and yet lies weren't something she practiced unless she had to.
He had a right to be angry at her. Not that she had lied to him; she'd only neglected to tell him a few things. Things such as her real purpose, why she had helped him, and the fact that the wolf he hated could become a man...
Well, she had lied about Sasha being dead, but Sasha had deserved it.
And she had drugged him.