Page 95 of Tempt

With a groan, I throw my feet over the edge and stand up. Maybe he needs exercise. I could definitely use some. I feel entirely run down, and I know it’s not just that I’m missing Eissa. Yes, he’s been gone for hours, and yes, there’s a gaping hole somewhere deep behind my ribs that he created.

But it’s also that all my routines have been thrown off. There’s no gym for me to work out my frustrations, and I’m not convinced the Eretharian sun provides me with the right amount of vitamin D my body needs to survive.

I’ll have to address that one later. I’m sure they have something for the companions that stay here long-term. For now, at least, I can get some fresh air and take Gerald outside so he can ram his head into boulders and trees and maybe give the furniture a break.

Clicking my tongue, I motion for him to follow, and to my surprise, he does. We leave out the back door where there’s a small walking path into the woods, and I check behind me several times to find him lumbering along.

He seems happier…I think. I don’t know the emotional states of kraduns, but he’s not trying to rearrange trees, so maybe that’s a good thing. Either way, I think the outdoors is good for both of us.

The air here is cleaner and sweeter than Earth’s, and I feel…I don’t want to say better now that I’m out, because I don’t.

But I don’t feel like burying myself in the bed anymore, so that’s progress.

The path curves at the edge, and just as I turn the corner, I notice a shadow up ahead. It’s humanoid but way too tall to be a human, and I freeze as they step out of the shadows. For a moment, my heart stutters in my chest because it doesn’t take me long to recognize him.

Just hours ago, he was staring at me as I was strapped to a chair while Eissa devoured my cum in front of an entire crowd—on his orders. Then, Prince Jyrion’s hair had been pulled back away from his face, and he was wearing low-slung linen pants that were entirely see-through, a thick pendant on his chest, and cuffs on his arms.

Now he’s wearing a simple sheer robe that sits open at his chest, and his hair is tied in a loose braid that rests over his shoulder. His eyes regard me for a moment, and there’s something on his face, almost like a challenge.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Do I bow? Touch foreheads with him? I doubt that since Eissa didn’t do that to him, but I don’t think a casual wave is going to cut it. I’m pretty sure he’s the crown prince set to inherit the entire Vyastil kingdom.

After a short forever—way too long for me to correct this social faux pas—Jyrion lifts his forearm into the air.

For a moment I think it might be some kind of sign he’s going to take me into custody, but then a winged creature lands, claws gripping into his skin. I see pinpricks of violet Vyastil blood dripping from where the creature’s cutting into him, but Jyrion seems unbothered.

He strokes the side of his finger from under the animal’s chin down to its round belly. The thing is bird-like with feathers, but it also has scales, and the face doesn’t have a beak. It’s almost a snout—like a mini dragon if dragons were fluffy, the size of a house cat, and covered in bright blue and purple feathers.

After a moment, Jyrion lowers his arm, and the creature flies off, landing by his feet before hopping over and eyeing Gerald. Jyrion seems entirely unbothered as Gerald lumbers into the bushes, and his creature follows it.

And now we’re alone. Which…is not ideal, I think. Jyrion’s staring at me in a way I can’t quite read, and then he walks over, his legs taking up the space in three strides where it would have taken me double that.

He comes to a stop and tilts his head to the side, and I wonder how I’m going to get out of this without him figuring out I can’t hear. I want to keep the secret because anything the Vyastil consider a defect will put Eissa under more scrutiny.

But I’m not going to be able to fake my way out of this since I can barely read Vyastil lips.

‘What’s your kradun’s name?’

I’m answering before it occurs to me that he’s used sign language, and I get as far as, ‘G E R A,’ before it hits me. My fingers still, then I quickly finish the name. ‘L D.’

He nods.

Well, my cover is definitely blown. Licking my lips, I lift my hands again as anxiety and fear race through me, and my fingers shake as I ask, ‘You know I’m Deaf?’

His gaze meets and holds mine so tightly, I feel like I can’t let go, and the fear gets louder in my head. ‘Yes,’ he signs very carefully. ‘I do.’

twenty-one

EISSA

The last thing in the world I want is to leave Luca after everything he just went through. I can still feel his sense of betrayal after I sent him through the portal alone, but I had no real way to explain what I was doing because it’s not safe for him to know.

If anyone outside of our collective allies suspected for even a moment that I cared enough about my human to spill secrets to him, he would be ripped from me in an instant. He would be taken apart piece by piece until they were satisfied he knew nothing, and by then, it would be too late to save him.

So I don’t explain.

I let him go and endure the pain he sends my way as I wait for the council building to clear out. It doesn’t take long. The princes have disappeared, and the rest of the council are long gone before the rest of the guests depart.

I spend most of that time in my office pretending to be busy, and it’s only when the last of the portals are closed that I make my way out and head toward Rathyn’s apartments.