Lost Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 4)

“Lokie. The name was derived from the supposed Norse god Loki. The myth came before the invasion of the Lokies, so the name was passed down and the spelling was altered just enough to separate the reality from the myth,” I whisper, watching as his eyes narrow. “I saw one in the rings.”

His lips purse, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he just watches me, as though he’s waiting for me to elaborate.

I rub at one of the slave ring marks on my arm, the tattoo slithering up from my wrist to my elbow.

“I’m not worried about how the damn name is spelled, nor one version of the controversial origins of it,” he goes on when I lose the words I need to speak. “What about the Lokie scared you so much?”

Besides the fact the Lokies are the reason we exist and it was their nature to create and destroy?

I’ve seen so much through Slade’s eyes that it’s hard to un-see the possible destruction something like Chaz could cause.

“The Lokie in the rings was used to torture some of us. He was heartless.”

He nods slowly.

“I’m not heartless, Kya. Demons are heartless too. Some might believe the same of you.”

That’s a jab, but also a valid point. “I’m half human,” I point out.

“And half not,” he retorts.

Bristling, I sit a little straighter. Surely he has to see there’s nothing comparable between us. Before I can start spewing how different we are, he continues.

“How do you know about the other part,” he states, remaining cryptic, as if he’s fishing for me to say the word aloud and be sure I truly know.

Taking a deep breath, I decide to answer, hoping he’ll really release me. His shirtless body is distracting me now that I’m trying not to concentrate on his intense eyes. The more beautiful, the deadlier in most cases. He’s definitely deadly, but my body seems to suddenly remember it’s a woman at the most untimely moment. I really don’t like the heat I feel in places I shouldn’t be feeling heat.

It’s him. He’s doing something to me, but I don’t know what.

“Stop that,” I hiss when I have to clench my thighs together to relieve a familiar ache... An ache I really don’t want to be feeling, especially not now of all times.

His eyebrows go up. “What? Asking questions? No.”

“Not that,” I growl, unable to keep my eyes from dropping back down to his chest like it’s mesmerizing.

“I’m not doing anything,” he tells me, sound

ing genuinely confused.

I almost want to accuse him of being part incubus, but I’d see it if he was. Trying to ignore those primal, nonsensical, base desires that are annoying me with their intensity, I answer him, desperate to get away from him.

“Slade showed me the past. The life he lived. I saw everything. The Lokies and the beasts.”

When I manage to tear my eyes off his chest and meet his gaze, he looks stunned, maybe even speechless.

“You saw them? How? How would he show you the past?”

“It’s something he can do, but he doesn’t like doing it. He’s private—very private. Showing me all of that was a major invasion of his privacy, but it had to be done. After learning Leah was an Aquarius that I walked into our group without realizing what she was, Slade decided not to take any more risks. He can’t see things the way I do. I can see to the core of someone’s being. His gift of seeing someone for who they are is completely different and not as strong. So... he showed me the past the only way he could. He showed me his past.”

The most painful thing I’ve ever had to endure was living through the hell that has been Slade’s sad and lonely excuse for a life. It was over in five minutes, but it felt like I had walked through every long century with him from start to finish.

I hated him for what he did to Leah, but after walking a thousand miles in his shoes, I wanted to kill her too. I wanted justice for the ones slaughtered at the hands of the Aquarius. I hurt like it was my own pain I had suffered through.

It was Slade who calmed me after the initial madness of the memories ebbed. Thankfully, my will to kill Leah is gone. She was so close to being my friend before the Scooby gang stole her away. But it’s for the best.

Friends are liabilities.

“His past? He’s that old?” Chaz asks in surprise.