Crimson Kiss (Onyx Assassins 5)

“Want me to wait outside?” I put the tray on the coffee table in front of her. Maybe if it was close enough, she’d eat a little more.

Avianna cocked her head and stared at me, her eyes sweeping down my frame in obvious appraisal. Then her brow furrowed and her lips pursed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Like I could expect anything other than that response, anyway. It wasn’t like the princess and I were exactly friends. She belonged with the snotty aristocrats that frequented the Domum across the courtyard, not with me.

Fuck, I was as common born as they got.

I headed for the door, running my hand through my dark hair in frustration.

“Why aren’t you feeding?” her voice was clear as a bell despite weeks of silence.

I paused mid-step, the hairs on the back of my neck rising as I turned slowly to face her. My mouth opened. Then I shut it. It opened again. I clamped down on my jaw.

“Why aren’t you feeding?” she asked like I hadn’t heard her the fucking first time.

“I’m sorry?” I gripped the back of the loveseat, using it as a barrier between us. Of all the things I’d begged her to talk about, my eating habits weren’t even close to making the list.

“You heard me,” she said, lifting her dark brows. “I’ve seen you wasting away. Why aren’t you feeding?”

Any control I foolishly thought I’d had on my emotions evaporated in an instant.

“That is the first thing you say after weeks of dead silence?” My fists dug into the lush upholstery, my mind somewhere between bewilderment at the subject and shock that she’d even spoken at all.

“It’s like you’re on a hunger strike!” She leaned forward, putting her feet on the floor without flashing so much as an inch of ankle. She was as old-fashioned as females came, classy and elegant, but I knew why she really wore those white elbow-length gloves.

She hid every inch of her skin to avoid any male touching her, any male branding her with his mating mark.

“It’s none of your damned business when I do or do not feed,” I growled. “You’re the one who's been held captive!”

“Like I need to be reminded of that?” She pushed off the couch, standing with the kind of grace that only royalty could muster, that effortless movement that had always left me gawking like some spellbound youngling.

Fuck, everything about her bewitched me. If she was in a room, my eyes were on her. If she walked by, her scent lingered in my lungs all day. If someone dared to harm her...well, I was just waiting to find the bastards before I burned them into the ground. She was the very pinnacle of our species, the most beautiful female of our kind—she was supposed to bewitch me.

She was also supposed to ignore the fuck out of me, which wasn’t happening right now.

“Tell me where they held you,” I snapped. “Tell me where to find those assholes. Tell me how you escaped. Tell me what agreement you had to make with them to earn your freedom. Tell me anything, Princess.”

“If I tell you to go feed?” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Why the hell does it matter to you?” My voice rose. Good. Maybe one of my brothers would hear and come running. Maybe someone else would witness the miracle of Avianna finally speaking.

“You’re deteriorating!” she accused, coming around the loveseat to glare at me. “I can tell you’re either not feeding or not feeding enough, and you know how dangerous that can be! Bloodmadness—”

“Does Saint have it?” I countered, facing her fully, my fingers twitching for the feel of my daggers. “Is that why he took you? Has he finally succumbed to bloodmadness?”

“This isn’t about Saint!” She took a step forward. “It’s about you!”

I took a step back. “I’m not one of your concerns, Princess.”

She snorted...actually snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

My brow puckered. “You know what? Fine. How about I agree to go feed when you tell me how you escaped!”

She flushed, her eyes bright with anger. “How about you just go feed before you go into stasis!”

“I’m not going into stasis!” My fangs descended, both from the mention of hunger and how fucking close she was. Shit, I could see the beats of her pulse under the delicate skin of her throat from here.

“Are you sure? Because if you lose any more weight, they’re going to have to measure you for new fighting clothes! What are you doing to yourself?” Concern filled her eyes, and the sight of it knocked down my temper like nothing else could have.

“I’m fine,” I promised. “But you have to tell me what happened to you, Avianna. You just have to.” I swallowed hard. “That’s what’s driving me mad.”

Her lips parted and her shoulders sagged as those beautiful eyes of hers slid shut.