Tempted

“Boring? Little A-ya, my lost love, for centuries mortals have been calling me many things, but boring is not one of them.”

Kalona towered over me. There was just so much of him! And there was all that naked skin… I wrenched my gaze from his chest and looked up into his eyes. He was smiling down at me, perfectly relaxed and completely in control. He was so darn hot I could hardly breathe. Sure, Stark and Heath and, yes, Erik, were cute guys— exceptionally cute guys, actually. But they were nothing compared to Kalona’s immortal beauty. He was a masterpiece, the statue of a god that personified physical perfection, only he was even more attractive because he was alive—he was here—he was here for me.

“I–I want you to step back.” I tried unsuccessfully to keep my voice from shaking.

“Is that truly what you want, Zoey?”

His use of my name jolted through me, affecting me much more than when he called me A-ya. My fingers pressed hard into the stone of the castle as I tried to ground myself and not fall under his spell. I drew a deep breath and got ready to lie and tell him yes, I sure as hell did want him to step away from me.

Use the power of truth. The words whispered through my mind.

What was the truth? That I had to fight myself not to leap into his arms? That I couldn’t stop thinking about A-ya’s surrender to him? Or that other truth—that I wished I was just a normal kid whose most stressful problems were homework and mean girls?

Tell the truth.

I blinked. I could tell the truth.

“Right now what I really want is sleep. I want to be normal. I want to worry about school and paying my car insurance and how stupidly expensive gas is right now. And I’d seriously appreciate it if you could do anything about those things.” I held his gaze with my own, letting that one sliver of truth lend me strength.

His smile was young and mischievous. “Why don’t you come to me, Zoey?”

“Well, see, that wouldn’t actually give me any of those things I just mentioned.”

“I could give you so much more than those mundane things.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you could, but none of it would be normal, and right now what I’d truly like more than anything is a very big dose of normal.”

He met my gaze, and I could tell that he was waiting for me to falter, for me to get all nervous and stuttery, or worse, to panic. But I had told him the truth, and that was a small, shining victory for me, one that lent me power. It was Kalona who finally looked away, Kalona whose voice was suddenly halting and unsure. “I don’t have to be like this. For you, I could be more.” His eyes met mine again. “I could choose a different path were you by my side.”

I tried not to show the flood of emotions his words had caused within me as he touched the part of me that A-ya had awakened.

Find the truth, my mind insisted; and, again, I found it and spoke it. “I wish I could believe you, but I don’t. You’re gorgeous and magical, but you’re also a liar. I don’t trust you.”

“But you could,” he said.

“No,” I said honestly. “I don’t think I could.”

“Try. Give me a chance. Come to me and let me prove myself to you. Truly, my love, say one small word, yes.” He bent and, in a movement that was graceful and strong and seductive, the fallen immortal whispered into my ear, allowing his lips to only brush my skin enough to send chills skittering through my body. “Give yourself to me and I promise that I will fulfill your deepest dreams.”

My breath was coming fast and I pressed my palms harder against the stone at my back. At that instant, I only wanted to say one word, yes. I knew what would happen if I did. I’d already experienced that kind of surrender through A-ya.

He chuckled, a sound that was deep and confident. “Go on, my lost love. One word, yes, and your life will forever be changed.”

His lips weren’t by my ear anymore. Instead his gaze had captured mine again. He was smiling into my eyes. He was young and perfect, powerful and kind.

And I wanted to say yes so badly I was afraid to speak.

“Love me,” he murmured. “Love only me.”

Through my desire for him my mind processed what he was saying, and I finally found a word other than yes. “Neferet,” I said.

He frowned. “What of her?”

“You say I’m supposed to love only you, but you’re not even free. You’re with Neferet.”

Some of his easy confidence disappeared. “Neferet is not your concern.”

His words made my heart squeeze and I realized that a big part of me had wanted him to deny that he was with her—to tell me that was over. Disappointment lent me strength, and I said, “I think she is my concern. Last time I saw her she tried to kill me, and that was when I was rejecting you. I say yes to you and she’s going to lose her mind—what’s left of it. On me. Again.”

“Why are we discussing Neferet? She is not here. Look at the beauty that surrounds us. Consider what it would be to rule this place at my side—to help me bring back the ancient ways to this world that has become far too modern.” One of his hands slipped down to caress my arm. I ignored the sensations that were shivering across my skin and the alarm bells that were blaring in my head at his comment about bringing back the ancient ways, and put on my best whiny teenage tone.

“Seriously, Kalona, I really don’t want any more drama with Neferet. I don’t think I could handle it.”

He threw his hands up in frustration. “Why are you still speaking of the Tsi Sgili? I command you to forget her! She is nothing to us.”

The instant his arms no longer imprisoned me against the stone, I scrambled sideways, determined to put some space between us. I needed to think, and I couldn’t do that with his arms around me.

Kalona followed, this time backing me against one of the low parts of the rooft op wall—a gap in the stone teeth. There was only support as high as the back of my knees. From there up I could feel the cool wind brushing against my back and moving my hair. I didn’t need to look behind me. I knew the drop-off was dizzying and that the blue of the sea waited far, far below.

“You cannot escape me.” Kalona’s amber eyes narrowed. I saw anger beginning to simmer beneath his seductive exterior. “And you must realize that I am going to rule this world very soon. I will bring the ancient ways back, and in doing so I will divide these modern people, separating the wheat from the chaff. The wheat shall stay by my side, growing and thriving as they feed me. The chaff shall be burnt into nothingness.”

I felt a terrible sinking inside me. He was using old, poetic words, but I had absolutely no doubt he was describing the end of the world as I knew it, and the destruction of countless people—vampyres, fledglings, and humans. Feeling sick, I tilted back my head and gave him a totally clueless look. “Wheat? Chaff? Sorry, you lost me. You’ll have to translate that into something I get.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment. He only studied me silently. Then, with a slight smile curling his full lips, he reached out and caressed the side of my face with his hand. “You play a dangerous game, my little lost love.”

My body froze.

His hand slid slowly from my cheek down the side of my neck, searing a path of cold heat across my skin.

“You toy with me. You think you can act the schoolgirl who understands nothing more than the next dress she will wear or the next boy she will kiss. You have underestimated me. I know you, A-ya. I know you too well.”

Kalona’s hand continued down and I sucked in a shocked gasp when he cupped my breast. He rubbed his thumb across the most sensitive spot there and a frigid stab of desire shook me. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t keep myself from trembling at his caress. There on the rooft op of my dream, with the sea behind me and Kalona before me, I was trapped by his hypnotizing touch and I knew then with a terrible certainty that it wasn’t just A-ya’s memories that drew me to him. It was me—my heart— my soul—my desires.

“No, please stop.” I meant for the words to come out loud and strong, a command he couldn’t ignore, but instead I sounded breathy and weak.