Page 107 of Wicked Curses
She was sure he anticipated her jumping his bones again when she did, but that wouldn’t happen. After his parade of women these past few days, there was no way she was screwing him again.
The idea made her skin crawl while a part of her yearned for his touch. Sheloathedthat part but would have to get used to disappointment.
She didn’t hate herself after her one mistake—or more likesixof them—but she would if it happened again.
Everyone made poor choices sometimes; life would be alotless interesting if they didn’t. But if she continued to make the same poor choices, she would be an idiot, and she’d never considered herself one of those before.
She could blame one bad choice on her hunger, lack of sex for decades, and the fact that even if Orin was the biggest douchebag she’d ever met, he was handsome and charming. Plus, he’d helped save her life; of course she made a bad choice after having death nipping at her heels.
Those reasons wouldn’t exist next time, or she hoped they wouldn’t.
Besides, once she was out of this town and away from him, the temptation would be gone, and everything would be alotbetter.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll leave in a week.”
They smiled at her.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-NINE
The nightbefore they were supposed to leave, Sahira packed all her supplies in a blanket she’d cut and stitched into a bag to hold everything. Small and sturdy, she could sling it over her shoulders like a backpack.
She had everything she needed and was ready to go… except for one thing. With a sigh, she pulled on a cloak and buttoned it at her throat.
Winter had settled into many of the realms, but this place remained relatively warm. Still, she wanted the cloak and hood to keep others from seeing her.
Sahira kept telling herself she wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it felt like it as she pulled the hood over her head. The trapdoor and secret entry would keep her from being seen by anyone, but she couldn’t risk opening the door and discovering someone standing on the other side.
There were rarely any immortals in the alley behind this swath of buildings, but it wasn’t a risk she was willing to take. Even if this was her last night here, she didn’t want someone else sneaking into her room. Besides, they could return to this town, so she wasn’t about to let that secret out of the bag.
She strode across the room and to the window. Below, immortals hurried about, so jumping out and coming back in through the secret entrance wasn’t an option either.
That meant she would have to go through the pub, where Orin was. At least it had calmed down a lot over the last week, but that meant she would bemorelikely to see him.
Stop being a coward and go.
She had no other options, and it was the last time she’d have to see Orin, so that was a bonus. Sahira bowed her head, opened her door, and took in the calmer pub below.
A few immortals sat around the gaming tables, and a couple sat at the bar where Orin was filling their orders. He looked damn good, with his black hair shining and his eyes twinkling beneath the glow of the chandelier.
It only reinforced her hatred of him, and she didn’t look at him again while she descended the stairs and swept out the door.
None of the other immortals paid her any attention as she made her way to Zeth’s home, but the streets were starting to clear out. Night had descended, but the moon hadn’t risen yet, and no stars decorated the sky.
With every step she took, her heart thundered, and it wasn’t just because of the thirst clawing at her belly again. It was because of what she would do, what she was here to ask for, and how much shecravedandloathedit simultaneously.
Gliding up the stairs, she took a deep breath as she lifted her hand and held it before Zeth’s door.Do it!
Without allowing herself to think about it anymore—she’d done too much of that over the past week—she rapped on the door. Stepping back, she clasped her hands in front of her while she waited for Zeth to open it.
Approaching footsteps preceded the opening of the door. A little lantern light filtered out around him and spilled across the porch to her booted toes.
Zeth frowned as he held the screen door open and stepped aside to let her enter. “What’s wrong?”
Sahira slipped past him and, once inside, pushed back the hood on her cloak. The last time she spoke with him and Elsa, only a couple of hours ago, they were set to leave tomorrow.
As soon as the sun spread its red tentacles across the sky, they would gather their things and meet at the pit. They’d all agreed to head toward the possibly missing symbol. They had no other leads to follow.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Sahira assured him. “We’re still set for tomorrow.”
