Page 57 of Tempt

Snatching the velvet sack from my desk, I drop to my knees and gently pry his mouth open. He gasps, then swallows as I lay several more of the dried herbs on his tongue. They’re stronger zitha than most humans get, and were a gift from the Tarek the last time I aided them.

They still don’t work as well on Vyastil biology, but they have been helpful to keep around in the past, and now I have never been more grateful that I’ve kept a supply. I owe Sabik a life debt for this.

Luca’s lips tighten, then one hand lifts. His fingers were broken before, but the knuckles have straightened, and he forms a fist with a single finger sticking up. He gently shakes it from side to side. ‘Where?’

His eyes are still not open, so I push the answer into his head. My office. With me, my Luca.

His entire body stiffens, then he forces an eye open. His pupil is dilated, telling me he likely has a head injury, but I know it will be healed before the night is over. He focuses on me, then, in spite of himself, he relaxes.

I breathe a little easier and reach out, using my claws to push a few locks of hair off his forehead. Human hair is so thin and fragile, but it feels so soft against the pads of my fingers. I could do this all night if he would only allow me.

I could spend my life at his feet, worshipping every inch of his body.

“No.” He speaks the word aloud, tongue thick, but it doesn’t matter. I understand him.

You are injured, I tell him. Severely. What do you remember before you were hit by the car?

A long moment goes by, then his hand lifts before falling back to his chest. He’s still too weak to sign, and I feel when he gives in and allows images to flow from his mind into mine. It’s strange—there is no sound with them, and I understand the world silently the way Luca lives in it.

He shows me Prince Quilliyn first, standing in his gym beside a large machine that makes lattes. And then there is Cielo and his friends. And then Zane, the blond. I feel a pulse of suspicion and irritation coming from Luca.

And then he’s following Zane, attempting to understand a phone call he cannot hear. He takes a video and sends it, and then there is waiting.

Images flash like a flipbook until suddenly Luca’s in an alleyway. Zane is speaking to someone in a car, and then Luca is noticed. He runs, but he doesn’t get far enough when he’s struck. I feel the pain again, profound enough that it leaves me gasping.

Bones are shattering, his lungs too tight to draw in air, mouth open in a silent scream. His skin scrapes across the asphalt, and then suddenly he feels a burst of energy. He hears a voice that gives him strength.

My voice.

The moment I felt that he was in danger and drew him to me.

He escaped into the clinic…and then the vision ends, and he’s here with me.

I press a palm to his cheek as his other eye opens, and I see his pupils have normalized a little. He’s watching me intently, feeling the weight of my touch against him, and for once he’s not pulling away.

He’s not furious with me for drawing him close and then turning from him. I have been such a…a bastard, as the humans say. A monster, as they like to call us. I have bonded with him, wanted him, taken him, toyed with him…

…and rejected him.

I deserve the pain he’s in now.

Don’t do that, Luca says into my head. Not right now, please.

I nod and take a breath as I process everything I’ve just seen. I did not recognize the person driving the car, but it won’t take me long to go through the records of known extremists that both offices have been keeping track of. I don’t know that I will find a match, but I will try.

Zane, on the other hand, is a bigger problem. He is Everest’s best friend. He works at Prince Quilliyn’s gym. He could potentially have access to the Foundry, and there’s a good chance he knows about the portal keys.

If he has connections to the extremist group, that will be a problem, and I must ensure he’s taken into custody for what he did.

I glance down at Luca, whose breathing has evened out. I feel him pressing into my head, trying to see what I’m thinking. For once, I don’t push him away, but instead of giving him my thoughts, I sign.

‘There are multiple problems we need to take care of tonight. The first is Zane. He can’t be allowed to walk free after what he did.’

Luca’s jaw tightens, and he nods, then winces in pain. ‘The second?’

‘You.’

His eyes go wide. ‘Me?’