The absurdity of it had me bursting out laughing. “If you don’t know, Malachi, then I can’t help you.” It amused me to no end that he was actually jealous. I didn’t think it was possible. I leaned back on the balls of my sneakers. “So this is your room, huh?”
He scowled at me. “Don’t change the subject. What were you doing in Nightblood?”
I walked over to where Max had nailed a calendar to the wall between their beds. “Settling a score,” I said absently. “Why is this date circled in red?” It was just under three weeks’ time. Max had drawn stars in red marker around the date.
“It’s nothing,” Kai said. “What do you mean settle a score?”
He reached out and turned me so that I couldn’t get distracted. “If I answer, you tell me what that date is?” I asked.
“You’ll answer me regardless,” he said. I pressed my lips together to stop from laughing. He wasn’t amused.
“Sorry,” I said. “Am I supposed to be quaking in my boots? Was that an official Pendragon mandate?” I gave him a salute.
He grabbed me and deposited me on his bed. I backed up as he sprang onto it, his arm whipping out to lock me in the corner against the wall. My butt was on his pillow. A waft of his scent drifted up between us. As much as I tried not to be affected, my limbs turned to jelly. “What did you do?” he bit out.
“You’re dreaming if you think intimidating me is how you’re going to get your answer.”
“Blue!” he roared.
“Shhh!”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. I knew he was imaging killing something again because his aura flared with green. His muscles corded. When he opened his eyes, they were so saturated with colour I gasped. Holy shit. I was trapped in a corner by a Nephilim. And if he didn’t move soon, I might jump him.
“I’m going to ask you the question again,” he said, his voice calm despite his nostrils flaring. “Please tell me why you were just on Nightblood soil.”
I kicked out at his shin. Mostly for something to do because there was no way it was going to hurt him. “I don’t want to.”
“Why?”
“Because I wasn’t supposed to do it, but I can’t help it.”
The edge of rage was back with a vengeance. “Do you understand how that sounds?” he said. “If something happened, how am I supposed to protect you if you won’t tell me what the problem is?”
I snagged a corner of his pillow and clutched it to my chest like a shield. The only reason I said something was because I knew how chaotic he felt when he wasn’t in control.
“Might I remind you that I don’t need your protection? Having said that, I’ve been trying really hard to be less confrontational. I thought maybe if I showed them I’m not crazy, your Council might accept me. But Andrei did something to piss me off and I might have threatened him a little.”
Kai crouched there stock still for a beat. My magic began to vibrate inside me in response to the sudden spike in the level of his aggression.
“Is that why you’ve been so placid when all these assholes have been treating you like shit?” he snapped.
I looked up at him. We didn’t have any classes together this semester. He was so busy with his guard shifts and his Council duties that I was surprised he noticed. I swallowed. “I thought…if I don’t win the games, maybe they might choose me anyway.”
I was prepared for the kiss but not for the drunk intensity of it. There weren’t enough stars in the Ley dimension to compare to the bright burst that saturated my skin in warmth. Kai cupped the back of my neck. It was a boldly possessive gesture that had me pressing my palms to his chest. When he pulled away, I wanted to move with him. But I was blindly aware of my surroundings and where this might lead if I didn’t put a leash on it.
He tilted my chin up. He splayed his palm over the hands I still couldn’t detach from his skin. “I don’t give a damn what the Council thinks. I choose you. That’s all that matters to me. If some asshole hurts you and you want to punch them in the face, be my guest.”
I grinned. “You might not like what you’re in for.”
“Probably not,” he said. “But unless you put yourself in danger, you are perfect exactly as you are.”
“Even when I kick you in the nuts?”
“I’m still trying to forget that happened.”
I smiled at him. “So…I answered your question. What’s that date?”
His jaw clamped. “What? I said. “It’s obviously important. Why won’t you tell me? Is it something related to your family? You can’t keep hiding things from me!”
He growled in frustration and sat back. “You’re just going to keep badgering me, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight. And since you have me hostage in here, I’ve got all night to get it out of you.”
He raised a brow at me. “All night?” His lashes lowered and I felt heat creep over me. I threw the pillow at him.
“Kai!”
He scrubbed at his face with the palm of his hand. “It’s my birthday,” he gritted out.
I stared at him. Truthfully, I’d never thought about him aging. He always seemed so ethereal. And then I remembered what it must be like for him to have birthdays without his family. “Can we do something?” I asked.
“Why?”
“Because my last birthday was kind of a disaster.”
“Blue.”
“Please.”
His lips were turned down at the edges. There was a faraway look in his eyes that made me want to take back my words. Finally, he sighed. “Fine. If you promise not to get yourself into trouble, we can do something.”
“I’ll plan it,” I said.
He chuckled. “How’s the bank account situation?”
I gave him a dirty look.
