Her magic is a harp, the gentle music battling against the bass of my deep cruelty. It swirls together, tantalizing until our very souls are on fire together. I open my eyes, drinking her in. She glows from the inside out, the thin beams of light streaming from her lashes and every pore. She can’t see it. She doesn’t even know it yet. But she will be my savior, in more ways than one.
Chapter 16
Briar
Kane's lips are on mine, and my soul is on fire. It's him, and I, and magic, and nothing else could possibly exist in this moment. My fingers go slack, and my dagger clatters to the ground, but the sound hardly registers. There's harp music in my ears, and despite Kane's cold body, my skin is impossibly warm. I clutch at him, wrapping my arms around his chiseled waist and gripping the back of his thin jacket. He leans into me, and I sigh at the comfortable weight of his body on mine. We meld together, him and I, like two pieces of the same puzzle.
Stop, a warning voice in my mind whispers. Stop before you get hurt. Kill him. But then Kane's tongue pries my lips apart, and an explosive ache grows inside of me. The voice is obliterated by his kisses, and I suck on his bottom lip greedily. He groans and I feel a flash of another ache, equal to my own but not quite the same. But it's desire, as hungry and desperate as mine. His hands are propped on the brick wall beside my head, and he bends low over me. I reach up on my tiptoes, clinging tightly to him for balance.
My blood thrums, humming with energy and something I’ve never quite felt before. Power. Power beyond measure. I gasp sharply as his lips brush over my earlobe, and pleasure erupts inside me. His magic must be affecting me, I think vaguely, slipping back into the heat of his kisses. He kisses me like I’m the one he wants – the one he’s always wanted. I know it isn’t true, but not even that knowledge can stop me from falling into his endless gravity. Him, him, him.
Kane pushes me back against the wall and hoists me into his arms. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist and blush as I feel his hardness. He laps at my neck, and my thoughts flash to the blood he suckled off his finger earlier. A thrill of danger sweeps through me, and I search blindly for his lips. He breathes me in like a drowning man when he takes his first gulp of air. The pleasure and desire are a rush. His body is hard and muscular, lean where mine is soft. I think of the night of the ball when his tunic was unbuttoned to expose his chest and wish I could see it again.
“Patience,” Kane whispers, teeth grazing my bottom lip.
I shudder as goosebumps pock all over my body and my core throbs. Gods, he sounds like he might eat me alive. And I like it. “Kane,” I mewl, fingers tangling through his soft, black hair.
“It was always you, Briar,” Kane growls, his voice vibrating through my body. I hold him tighter, not daring to open my eyes. “It was never about Rose, it was about you.”
My sister's name shatters the cocoon around us, and I suddenly feel the night breeze and smell the stink of the streets again. My eyes flutter open, and I find Kane staring evenly at me. I run my tongue over my swollen lips, tasting him. "Are you a liar, Death?"
Kane grins devilishly, his teeth glinting in the low light. “Only when I must.”
My body burns with heat, and I feel his fingers playing against the waistband of my trousers. "Must you lie now?" I ask. My voice is barely a whisper.
"Not to you," Kane murmurs, bending closer. He presses his lips to the nape of my neck, and I feel his fangs prick my skin. I shudder, enjoying the tingle of pain and pleasure. "Not to you."
“I could be the death of you,” I breathe, eyes wide as I fall prey to my own guilt.
Kane merely chuckles and hoists me a little higher. "Oh, really?" He grins, and I see a flash of the sadistic God mortals imagine him to be. It makes my heart race. "From you, I would welcome it."
I smile weakly as Kane sets me back down on the ground gently. His hands linger at my waist and I feel another spark of longing. I see a glint of light refract from my blade as one of Kane’s shadows offers it to me. I freeze as the shadow points the blade towards my heart at a flick of Kane’s gaze. He grins wickedly before the dark power he commands rests it gently in my palm.
“We found it.” Willem’s sharp voice rings out from the darkness.
I whirl towards him, heart pounding guiltily. The Reaper melts out of the shadows, an arm around Aiden. I gasp when I spot blood staining Aiden's shirt. Kane's nostrils flare, and he narrows his eyes. "What happened?"
“He’s strong,” Willem says, stopping beside us. “Stronger than we thought.”
“Sliced me up like a ham.” Aiden grins weakly.
“Can you heal him?” Willem asks, crouching to help Aiden onto the ground. “It’s too far to get him to the Diamond, and any magical travel may make it worse.”
Kane presses his lips together tightly and exhales. “It may be too much for my skills. I would cause him more pain.”
"It's alright," Aiden sighs, wincing. "Just bandage me up, and I'll heal in a couple of days."
“Here.” Kane shirks his jacket and then strips off his shirt. I stare dumbly at his chiseled chest and abdomen. In the darkness, the shadows cut even deeper. Kane pulls me from
