Page 14 of Sinful Curses
Zeth gazed distrustfully at him as he bit into a piece of dried meat. “Why do you ask?”
“Just trying to learn more about my fellow desert dwellers. What about you, Elsa? Any family?”
Sahira stiffened; she already knew the answer to this question, and it wasn’t good. Orin was trying to make sure she’d told him the truth, but that didn’t mean her friend had to suffer because of it. Orin’s question would reopen deep wounds in Elsa’s heart.
Elsa’s family was killed by witches and warlocks when she was a girl. Though Elsa didn’t respond to his question, Sahira rested her hand over her friend’s and squeezed it.
“No,” Elsa said flatly.
She knew Elsa had some family who might still be alive, but no one she would acknowledge. Sahira didn’t blame her; they were all murderous assholes.
Orin turned his attention back to the demon. Zeth stared at the desert as his hand lowered to his knee, the piece of meat in his hand forgotten.
His questions hadn’t just pulled the scabs off Elsa’s barely healed heartbreak but also Zeth’s. She silently cursed the man as she glared daggers into him.
“Yes,” Zeth said, “or I did.”
“Brothers, sisters, cousins?” Orin pressed.
“A mother and an uncle.”
Zeth stopped speaking as his mouth quirked into a smile, and a sheen of water briefly filled his yellow eyes. Seeming to recall where he was, Zeth turned his head away, and when he faced forward again, the sheen was gone.
“And a wife and son.” Zeth’s features hardened into something that would have sent many running. “Iwillsee them again.”
Sahira stared pointedly at Orin as she waited for some sign he was satisfied with Zeth’s response. Maybe the dark fae didn’t see it because she doubted Orin saw anything he didn’t want to, but Zeth clearly loved his family.
“I hope you get to see them again,” Orin said with more kindness than she was used to from the man.
Maybe he did have a bit of a soul. It was doubtful, but maybe.
It still irked her that she’d told him about Zeth, but she wouldn’t let Zeth get attacked because of Orin’s overwhelming arrogance. The dark fae was a dickhead who considered himself a self-appointed God in bed and couldn’t handle that she might have moved on to someone better than him.
Sure, he was fantastic at sex, but he wasn’t a god, and while he’d completely blown her mind, she’d have orgasms with other men too. Until then, she would keep her friends safe from Orin’s manipulations as much as possible.
She scowled at him as she chewed on her dried piece of meat. Orin didn’t deserve any insights into her life, and she owed him nothing, but she’d done the right thing telling him about Zeth.
She couldn’t let them fight over something that never happened. She didn’t understand why, but for some reason, the idea of her sleeping with Zeth bothered him enough that he might have caused problems in their group.
And they had enough problems.
Orin was confident he could take Zeth, but Sahira wasn’t sure. Yes, he was fast, powerful, and could cloak himself in shadows, but Zeth was physically stronger, and demons were notoriously good fighters. Zeth also had a family to fight for, and Orin had lost weight.
As much as she hated to admit it, she never would have forgiven herself if Orin or Zeth got hurt in an unnecessary fight. So, she’d given Orin information he hadn’t known existed, and instead of listening to her, he’d poked at her friends.
She’d still done the right thing, even if it pissed her off.
Determined to ignore Orin, something he made nearly impossible, Sahira shifted her attention to the distant mountains. They were at least twenty miles away, but the terrain was changing.
Instead of endless sand, some rocks had started jutting up from the earth. Those large, black rocks also hid small creatures that scampered behind them. They’d tried hunting a couple of them, but they were too small for an easy kill and often fled under the sand when they approached.
She’d like to believe all this would improve when they reached the mountains but doubted it. This realm was determined to imprison or kill them, and it was doing afantasticjob.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
“We should get moving,”Orin said. “Maybe we can make it to the mountains before nightfall.”
“It would be nice to leave the sand behind,” Elsa murmured.
