“And how do you know so much?” I batted my lashes at him teasingly, but it was only to cover up any urgency that might have slipped into my voice. I’d been wondering about all of this—kind of desperately, truth be told. I didn’t dare reveal that to Apex, though. I was afraid if I let on how badly I wanted to know where he got his information and what direction his plans would push me in, he’d clam up again and refuse.
And I couldn’t risk that. Not now, when it felt like the truth was just on the tip of his tongue.
“Specters know many things. Things we shouldn’t, often.” His lips moved a little closer to mine. “The same way I know the deep pink of your sex, the way your eyes roll back when you orgasm against my tongue…”
I could feel his breath against my skin. His eyes were locked on mine. When our mouths crushed together, it was like we were two stars locked in each other’s orbits, destined to collide. His tongue flicked against my lips, willing them to part. The fork in it settled against the edge of my tongue, tracing its shape.
Specters know many things, he’d said, but could he know how soaked he made me, when he kissed me like that?
“There is so much I must tell you.” Apex rested his forehead against mine as he broke the kiss. “So much, I fear you will not understand about what is yet to come…”
“Tell me then,” I whispered. “Tell me, and I’ll do my best.”
“Do you trust me, Atlanta?”
I blinked, then nodded. “Yes. Of course.”
“No. Do you trust me? Think about it. Think hard. Not just words.” He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. I could feel his heart beating against my fingertips. “If you do not trust me, then this is all for naught.”
I bit my lip and drew back. Did I trust him? Yes, I thought in an instant, but at the same time, a little voice in the back of my head whispered, No. How could I? I barely know you. I want to, but…
“Tell me, so I can,” I pleaded softly. “Let me in on your plans. I can’t trust you if I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if you tell me, then—”
“What do we have here? A little love session in the making, perhaps?”
Something rustled in the bushes. They parted, and a gray-skinned figure stepped out from them. Votan—and Razael was not far behind, with a smug, satisfied smile on his lips.
Apex shifted in front of me immediately. He placed his body between the two of them and my own.
Now, my heart was racing for entirely new reasons. How much had they seen? How much had they heard?
“Lieja would be most displeased to find that you are warming this little human’s lips instead of the royal bed,” Votan said with a dark chuckle. “It would be a shame if she were to hear about your little tryst.”
“Such a shame.” Razael’s fingers brushed the fastenings on his pants as he stepped forward. Apex might’ve been between us, but Razael’s eyes were focused on me. “But now that we know our favorite dancer is amicable to such things…well, perhaps we will not make mention to this of the queen.”
“You would do well not to,” Apex growled. “For your own sake.”
“It is our sake we are concerned with now, actually.” Votan’s smile made my stomach turn. “Since we all share in this secret now…we may as well share in the spoils of your little conquest as well, Apex. I am sure you will agree.”
I don’t know why I expected Apex to give them warning. He moved so quickly that I wasn’t sure he even gave them a chance to draw a final breath. Like a blur, he was on his feet and at their necks in an instant. By the time he placed his dagger back in its sheath, their bodies were already on the ground. Throats slit, blood soaking into the grass where they lay.
“She is not a conquest.” Apex glared down at their bodies as they coughed and choked on their blood. “And I do not share.”
I blinked, then scrambled to my feet. He’d killed them. He’d done it like it was nothing. I knew that Apex was a killer, but knowing something and seeing it happen right before my eyes…
For the first time since I’d known Apex, I found myself looking up at him with nothing but fear.
He caught it in my eyes as soon as he turned back to me. His lips fell open, like he was surprised that I was reacting like this—but how else was I supposed to react? Did he really think I was going to thank him for killing two unarmed people right in front of me? Did he think I wouldn’t care?
“Atlanta…”
“No.” I took a step back from him. My heart was pounding in my ears, so loudly that the sound of his voice almost didn’t seem real. “Stay away from me.”
“Because I killed for you? You are so quick to judge, Atlanta.” Apex’s voice was as sharp as the blade of his knife. “I saw the way you attacked Lieja. I thought you understood.”
“That was different,” I insisted. My ears were ringing, and suddenly I felt dizzier than I’d ever been.
“Was it?” Apex gestured to the bodies on the ground. “Had you been successful, your intended result would have been the same.”
I glanced down at the blood pooling beneath Razael’s and Votan’s bodies. Razael’s, just as pearly and iridescent as his skin. Votan’s, black like oil. The color didn’t seem to matter, though. When I gasped for breath, the scent of it filled my nose.
Blood always smelled like blood.
I backed away, shaking. I needed to get out of here. Fast. Now.
“No,” Apex said. “Stay. I will take care of this.”
“Apex, I can’t—”
“Stay.” His eyes met mine, then shifted
