Page 109 of Wicked Curses
She almost reached out to comfort him but sensed that he wouldn’t welcome a woman’s touch. “I’ll go. I can ask Elsa or wait. I’m notthathungry.”
“I told you I would do this and meant it.”
“I don’t want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable or would upset your wife. I don’t need a demon on my ass…. is she a demon?”
“She is.” His eyes took on a far-off, dreamy look. “And she’s so beautiful.”
His sorrow tugged at her heart, and she fisted her fingers against touching him.
“I know what can happen to a vampire when they feed, and if it becomes an issue, we’ll stop, but Iwillbe able to stop it,” Zeth said.
Sahira knew that meant he would do whatever it took to stop it, which was fine with her.
“My wife is my life. We were almost always together and would have been the day I got stuck here if I hadn’t been running an errand for my uncle while she was busy with our son,” he continued.
“What kind of an errand?”
“I was searching for the demon who turned on us and killed my father.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was many years ago, but I found him here and took him to the pit. He no longer graces this realm.”
The one time he found himself in the pit, she realized. “Good.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He lifted his wrist toward her again. “Go on now.”
Sahira stared at the thin blue lines beneath his dark skin before grasping it. His heart beat out a steady rhythm that called to her, but unlike Orin’s pulse, his didn’t push her to the brink of madness.
It did, however, prick her appetite for more as her fangs lengthened, but she wasn’t out of control. She also hadn’t bitten him yet, so that might change.
Sahira closed her eyes and braced herself before sinking her fangs into his wrist. Zeth jerked a little but didn’t try to pull away.
When his blood filled her mouth, power flowed through the sweet, intoxicating liquid, but it didn’t unleash the same wild abandon in her that Orin’s did. She didn’t lose control or suddenly want to jump on him.
Instead, tears burned her eyes. She squeezed them closed so no tears spilled free, but a sob caught in her throat and reverberated around her chest.
She had no idea what was wrong with her or why Orin had gotten under her skin and taken such a strong hold over her, but no matter what it took, she would break that hold. Until then, she would have to get used to feeding in misery.
CHAPTEREIGHTY-ONE
Orin satin the dark with his feet propped on a chair and his hands clasped on his stomach while he rocked back in his chair. The clock ticked away the seconds as night crept toward dawn, but though he was tired, he wasn’t going anywhere.
For the past week, he’d suspected the enchantress and her two friends were plotting something. They were all working more hours, barely around, and constantly had their heads together when they walked down the road or during the one night they ate dinner here.
After the three of them left that night, he had a conversation with Belda and confirmed his suspicions. His sneaky little witch planned to leave, and she wasn’t going to tell him about it.
He suspected, after she snuck out of here with her cloak last night, she would leave soon… most likely today.
He’d pushed Sahira too far. It sometimes happened in games, but he wasn’t ready to stop playing. And he sure as shit wasn’t going to let her walk out of here, and possibly this realm, withouthim.
Instead, without his little witch’s knowledge, he’d also started hoarding supplies and working to earn extra from Belda. He’d expected Sahira to come to him to feed before she left, but she hadn’t done so.
She wasn’t stupid enough to go into the Barren Lands without being at full strength, especially not after what happened with the scarogs, but she hadn’t come to him. And he was beginning to suspect she wouldn’t.
When a door above creaked open, his suspicions were confirmed. He didn’t move while Sahira descended the stairs. Her step was as light as a feather drifting to earth, and not a single step creaked beneath her weight.
On her back, she carried a blanket she’d sewn into a backpack and filled with supplies. She’d pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. A scarf hung around her neck, but she hadn’t placed it over her mouth.
