Witch Infernal (Infernal Hunt Book 3) (14 page)

"That went very well for you
,
didn't it?” I said.

He glanced down at his arm and back up at Lysander. He went so pale milk looked tan in comparison.
 

I stood over the man and said, "Where is Kastien and what are his plans?"

He trembled. "We don't know. He told us that the lycans needed to be killed, they were a filth. Nothing more than mangy mutts."

I pursed my lips and said, "You're not giving us any reasons to keep you alive."

Tears formed in his eyes. He looked to Elise.
 

"Please. You're a priestess."

She sniffed. "Yes. I am."

"Please. I don't know anything else. He only graced us with his presence twice."

Elise sighed melodramatically and stood slowly. "It's such a shame when we find people like this. Talking of lycans, celestials, and other such things." She shook her head sadly. "When people have lost touch with the reality around them. I'll call the doctors, it's for the best. They'll help him."

The man made a strangled yelp sound. Elise flashed him a wicked grin before she made a phonecall in rapid Czech.
 

The ambulance showed up rather quickly, complete with two tired-looking medics. Elise began to relax a little as she watched it drive off.
 

"Good riddance. The nerve to call themselves priests."

I finally remembered the gauntlet I'd tucked away. I handed it to her, still half-expecting it bite me somehow. Her face lit up and she ran her hands over it with reverence.
 

"We thought we'd lost this over a century ago. Where did you get it?"

"Lysander cut it off the man."

"The one armed-wonder had this?" she said incredulously.

Lysander and I shared a look of confusion between us. She stroked it tenderly.
 

"This is a very old relic, one we thought had been destroyed. It allows the user to manipulate energy and air. It can be a very powerful weapon in the right hands. I must thank my lady for such a gift."

She hugged Lysander tightly before she rushed to her altar.
 

I shrugged. "At least one good thing came from that little debacle."

Kadrix and Quin arrived just as Elise finished her talk with her lady. Kadrix looked between Lysander and me
.
 

"Have you two not completed your mating rituals yet? Why is that?"

"Kadrix!" I replied.

He pursed his lips and stood a little taller. "It's a perfectly reasonable question."

Quin was trying desperately to stifle a laugh.
 

Elise said, "I was actually wondering the same thing myself. He shares your bed every night and yet you still manage to resist enjoying that delightful body of his. If you keep it up much longer
,
I'll have to borrow him for myself."

Heat flushed my cheeks. Lysander smirked. I was surrounded.
 

Kadrix pulled out a notebook and pen
.
"Evelyn, what is the reason? Lysander, is this normal for these things?"

I clenched my fist and ground my teeth.
 

"You're clearly attracted to each other..." Quin added
,
unhelpfully.
 

They all looked at me expectantly.
 

Lysander smiled and said
,
"No
,
Kadrix
,
this isn't at all normal. Our masters or mistresses usually take great pleasure in claiming us fully within hours of the bond being established."

I glared at him. He gave me his most infuriatingly sexy smirk. I swore there was steam coming off the top of my head. Everyone was watching me with a mix of expectation and amusement.
 

“Fine,” I huffed.
 

I sank my fingers into Lysander's thick hair and pulled his head down to mine. If they were going to insist on pushing. The scent of hot metal and petrichor engulfed me, everything faded away. His warm breath tickled my lips. I wanted it much more than I wanted to admit. My heart pounded in my chest; I stroked my fingers down the nape of his neck and grazed his bottom lip with my teeth. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me tight against his firm body. We fit perfectly. He brushed his soft lips over mine. I needed more. I kissed him hard. The passion bubbled up from nowhere. His tongue pressed into my mouth
,
exploring mine as I pulled him tighter to me. I needed him. My entire body tingled. There was nothing but the burning desire for more. He was intoxicating
.
It was both terrifying and exhilarating.

We pulled back slowly. That smirk sat on his lips, but his eyes danced.
 

"Can you do that again? I think I missed something in my notes,” Kadrix said.
 

I glared at him and debated whether I could get away with punching my brother's lover. The pungent smell of singed hair began to tickle my nose. I sniffed
,
trying to figure out where it was coming from. Kadrix frowned before I noticed the faint orange shade at the end of his hair that was curling upwards. He frantically patted it down.
 

"Evelyn, that was uncalled for. You must tell me how you did it."

I shrugged and smiled sweetly. "I have no idea."

I really didn't, and it terrified me, but I wasn't going to give the cursed elf the satisfaction of knowing that.
 

"There is a spare room upstairs, should you wish to complete the... mating rituals
,
" Elise said teasingly.

I gave her a dark look; she grinned at me.
 

"Oh
,
Evie, you need it. There's more tension between you two than the Golden Gate bridge. I don't see why you must be so stubborn about it all,” she said.

I was done. It was bad enough from Kadrix
,
but I had my limits. I pushed past Quin
,
who was laughing quietly
,
and exited the church. They had no right to push and interfere like that. I didn't care how good their intentions were.
 

Twenty-Nine

I'd ignored their calls for the rest of the day. Invisible fire danced along my arms and down my legs as I ran through the rain. The cold drops trickled down my back and sat on my eyelashes. I focused on keeping my breathing even as I pushed harder, driving out the images and the emotions. There was nothing but the pleasant burn of my muscles and the infuriating fire that I couldn't escape. My footsteps echoed off the buildings around me. A steady rhythm of my feet hitting the tarmac. I hadn't even realised that I'd turned down onto my road. The sun had already set; the orange lights chased away the darkness and encouraged the shadows to hide in the crevices. I leaned against the ivy-covered wall and stretched, taking my time to settle my mind and prepare myself to step into my own home. It wouldn't be my home for much longer
,
I reminded myself; if Felix knew where to find us
,
so would others. The memory of the witch assassin flashed to mind. We should already have moved; we'd just been wrapped up in other things. Love was a dangerous thing.
 

Lysander appeared in the doorway to the building when the gate creaked. He'd done nothing wrong. He eyes drank in every detail of me; his tongue flicked over his lips. I must have looked like a drowned rat. My skin was quickly becoming icy cold, goosebumps formed under my jacket. My hair clung to my face
.
It was hardly the sexy homecoming I was sure he'd been picturing. The fire finally extinguished when he pulled me into his arms. The tension melted away
.
I was safe. He stroked my hair tenderly and rested his cheek against mine, his warm breath tickling my ear and dancing down my neck.
 

"You need a hot shower and warm food."

His arm wrapped around my waist and gave me no room for arguments. I found that I didn't want to argue. I was ready to slip into bed and give up on the day.
 

"We don't do well with the cold or wet,” he said while he stroked my hair.
 

The lift was taking its sweet time. The light remained stubbornly on the sixth floor, carefully contemplating the pros and cons of coming down to the ground flood. It finally relented and the doors opened; by that time
,
I was shivering
,
and the cold was settling into my joints. It had felt good at the time, running through the pouring rain, the puddles splashing over my boots. In that moment
,
all I wanted was to be warm and asleep.
 

He kissed my temple. "They didn't mean any harm."
 

I simply nodded and watched the numbers go up. I knew they hadn't meant it maliciously
,
but I was tired of it. They had no right to continually interfere like that. To push. To act as though my decision, my caution, was foolish. Anger welled up within me. I made the choices I did to protect Quin and them. Did they think I enjoyed being lonely? That I hadn't pined after the company of hot men? Of course I had
,
but I couldn't afford to make the wrong decision. I couldn't risk screwing the wrong man and getting into trouble. I wasn't willing to risk Quin and everything we did for the city for sex. If I fell in love
,
then that was one more person to protect. It was one more potential risk.
 

Lysander held me close
,
despite my trying to pull away.
 

"I'll protect you
,
Evelyn."
 

His voice held a slight growl. I narrowed my eyes had him. Had he been reading my thoughts again? He stroked my hip as he escorted me home. Quin was curled up on the sofa. He jumped up when I walked in; I almost felt bad at the puddle that formed around my boots while I removed them and my jacket.
 

"I'm sorry, we all are, Evie. We really didn't mean to gang up on you."

I waved him off and headed to the bathroom where I peeled off the icy cold jeans and climbed under the scalding hot water. It took a minute or two for me to feel the heat of the water. I hadn't realised just how cold I'd become. I wrinkled my nose
.
Perhaps the hound had been right, and I was becoming more like him. Of course he was right; I'd felt the fire, the predatory distance while I was fighting the witch. There was no fighting it; I was becoming a beast. I slumped down in the shower and allowed the water to wash over me while the thoughts flitted around my mind. I allowed it to consume me, to overwhelm me and burn itself out. Once the tears had stopped flowing and the water had begun to run cold
,
I felt better. I'd purged the foolishness and was ready to face the world refreshed and renewed.
 

I wrapped a warm towel around myself, very pleased that we had a heated towel rail in the bathroom, and headed to the bedroom for some dry clothes. I was accosted with hot food and a steaming hot chocolate. Lysander and Quin both had eager grins on their faces
.
I offered them a small smile
.
They were trying.
 

"I am not eating in just a towel."
 

Lysander's gaze traveled up and down me, his bottom lip jutted out a little in a pout. The temptation to bite his lip and abandon the towel grew. Warm clothes were the more sensible solution, and I was nothing if not sensible.
 

They plied me with delicious food and more hot chocolate. Quin spoke with enthusiasm about how well his alchemy was going; Kadrix was apparently very impressed with his progress. They'd even invented a couple of new things and were working on some old formula. Unfortunately
,
the celestial was proving difficult, something to do with how its energies hadn't settled into their final matrix due to the point in training it was at. It made absolutely no sense to me
,
so I nodded and smiled. Once the food was gone and I'd drunk my third hot chocolate
,
it was becoming difficult to keep my eyes open. I tried to give Quin a suspicious look
,
wondering if he'd slipped some sleeping powder in there, but I couldn't quite manage it. Lysander scooped me up in his arms and carried me to bed. There was no fighting it. I stripped down to my underwear and wriggled under the warm blankets; he was soon wrapped around me. His firm body pressed against mine, his strong arms holding me close while that intoxicating scent surrounded me. Maybe a goodnight kiss wouldn't be so bad. His lips brushed over my neck
,
but I fell asleep before I could do anything about it.
 

Thirty

Kadrix had been quite excited to get me involved in laying the protections around the lycan territories. "Hellfire is different to fire of this plane, it has different properties. It's fascinating, you see."
 

"Kadrix,” I said pointedly.

He huffed and pouted. "Lysander will help you
,
I'm sure. Push your fire into the sigils, Quin and I have already done the rest.” He shuffled his feet. "I could follow you, to make sure that you don't have any problems..."

"Kadrix, I am not an experiment. You are not going to stalk me."

He pouted once more. "Fine, fine. I have other things to do anyway."

He stalked off back in the direction of his workshop.
 

Lysander laughed quietly
.
"He's infuriating
,
but he means well."

I grumbled under my breath. We started with the bar
,
as it was something of a focal point for the pack. The sigil had been painted on the exterior wall of the bar; it flared to life when Lysander brought some of his fire to his fingertips. I wondered what it would feel like to have that fire trail down my body, to feel his fingertips... I cleared my mind and focused on the job at hand. Lysander flashed me that grin of his. The knowing one. I scowled at him and looked at the intricate sigil that now flared a pastel pink.