The heat in my blood immediately cooled. “Were you expecting one to visit?”
“Not at all.” Without warning, Nyktos hauled me across his desk and onto his lap. His strength and the feel of his body against and beneath mine was a shock to the senses. “There’s not enough time for you to leave, so there’s no avoiding this. No matter what I say or do, you’ll stay right where I have you. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
Nyktos brushed my hair over my shoulder. “I’m being serious, Sera.”
“I know.” I turned my head to him. “I know when to be reserved and not reckless.”
“Good. Just don’t forget how to be so exquisitely reckless later.” His gaze flicked to the closed doors. “I apologize ahead of time for how I’m about to behave. I have a feeling you will not appreciate it, considering what we just discussed.”
Before I could respond to any of what he’d said, a charge of energy swept through the chamber, dancing over my skin before I could even formulate a response. Tiny bumps broke out across my skin. The breath I exhaled formed a faint, misty cloud. Gripping the arm across my waist, I stiffened as every part of my being reacted to the power pouring into the air.
“Relax,” Nyktos murmured in my ear as his hand settled against my hip, squeezing gently. “What you’re feeling is me. I’m basically showing off.”
I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make me feel better, but I forced the air out of my lungs and my fingers to relax.
The doors to his office swung open, and a tall figure filledthe entryway. The sword at the hip was a wicked, curved one, the kind crafted for beheading. Light, blondish-brown hair framed high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw as hard as the thin layer of shadowstone armor worn over a broad chest and shoulders. A shallow scar ran from his hairline and across the bridge of his straight nose, then down his left cheek, the healed wound a shade of pale pink.
What in the world could leave that kind of scar on a Primal?
My fingers pressed into Nyktos’s arm as the Primal came to an abrupt stop, armored boots in line with the breadth of his shoulders. The way he stood there—the frenetic, violent energy brimming just beneath his flesh and the glow of essence pulsing behind his pupils said one thing.
He was awarrior.
The Primal’s silver gaze slowly drifted over us as the corners of his lips tipped up. A deep divot in his right cheek appeared first, and then an identical one in his left. “Am I interrupting?”
Nyktos’s chin grazed the top of my head, startling me enough that I jumped a little. “What does it look like, Attes?”
Every muscle in my body locked as I realized who stood before us. I’d been right on the mark, but he wasn’t just a warrior. He wasthewarrior—the Primal of Accord and War. The one people prayed to on the eve of any battle to not only grant armies his deadly skill but also the cleverness to outwit all who tried to outmaneuver them. A Primal who could incite agreement between warring kingdoms or all-out, bloody violence with his mere presence.
Nyktos’s fingers suddenly moved along my hip, sliding out and into his palm, pulling me from the downward spiral of my thoughts.
“It sure looks like I am.” Attes’s gaze came back to me. His unblinking stare was nearly as intense as Nyktos’s could be, drilling into me until I was sure he could rattle all my secrets out into the open.
It took everything in me to hold still and not squirm or react. Instinct told me that if I showed discomfort or fear, he would do what any predator would when they scented blood—attack.
“And yet you still stand here,” Nyktos said. “Withoutinvitation, I might add.”
A faint curve of the lips appeared as Attes’s gaze remained fixed on me. He glanced at my arms, sensing the charm. “So, this is her? The mortal who has so many of the Courts abuzz with gossip.”
“I didn’t realize you were the type to entertain gossip,” Nyktos replied, his tone one of chilly indifference as he slowly slid his hand over my lower stomach. I tensed. His hand made its way to my thigh, leaving a path of tiny shivers in its wake. “But, yes, this is my Consort.”
Nyktos’s touch had thrown me. I had no idea what had gotten into him, and, for a moment, I wasn’t sure what he expected of me. Was I to be quiet and meek? Or do the normal thing when introduced to someone? I decided on the latter and managed a steady, “Hello, Your—” My breath snagged as Nyktos’s hand slipped under the panel of the skirt, his fingers spreading wide across thebareflesh of my upper thigh. There was no way Attes missed the possessive placement of Nyktos’s hand. I cleared my throat. “Your Highness.”
Attes inclined his head in greeting as he continued studying me, his smile returning. “Soon-to-beConsort,” he corrected Nyktos softly.
“I also haven’t missed that she’s no mere mortal.” His gaze dropped to the swell of my breasts above the too-tight bodice. “She carries a…mark. An aura.”
My eyes narrowed slightly. I had no idea exactly what type of mark he thought he saw in the general vicinity of my breasts. I twitched as Nyktos’s finger began moving along the skin of my leg, back and forth in a straight, slow line. And I didn’t know what to think of his sudden affection—suddensensualaffection. I wasn’t used to being touched so casually or so openly.
“She’s a godling on the cusp of her Culling,” Nyktos stated so smoothly that I was impressed. His finger stilled on my skin. “And if you keep looking at her like that, I’ll cut your eyes from their sockets and feed them to Setti.”
My eyes went wide.
Attes laughed deeply, and the sound was nice—not as nice as Nyktos’s, but deep and throaty. “My steed prefers alfalfa and sugar cubes over eyes.” He brushed his fingers across the silver band on his biceps. “But he appreciates the offer.”
“I’m sure he does.” Nyktos’s finger returned to tracing that line.