“I’ve been imagining hitting you in my spare time,” she quipped, tossing her braid over her shoulder.

“I expect nothing less,” I told her, this time allowing the corners of my lips to twitch up. The sparkle of amusement that appeared in her eyes nearly stole my breath. They were as rich as the roses she loved so much, and her lips were as soft as the petals. And her body? Between the muscles stretched taught over her frame and those damn curves like a juicy fruit, it was ripe for me to sink my teeth into.

She struck me again, and this time, it caught me off guard. I stumbled to the side, and she pressed her advantage, hitting me again and again. I covered up as she continued to work, waiting for her to make a mistake. After stepping a little too far forward, I snatched her, pulling her back to my front and caging her against my body.

Then, I leaned down and growled in her ear, “Keep your feet no further than shoulder distance apart, otherwise you are easy to knock off balance.”

Her heart thundered against my bicep, and my erection grew at her back. The barest wiggle of her ass had me groaning, my arms tightening with the slightest twitch around her. Unable to help myself any longer, I spun her to face me, capturing her waist with one hand and using the other to tip her chin up so those devious burgundy eyes could consume me.

“You are beautiful, Assyria. The Weaver must have spent centuries creating you for how perfect you are for me.”

Her lower lip trembled. “Halálhívó, you don’t–”

I shook my head. “Please, let me finish.”

Her throat bobbed against my hand, and I circled it around to cup the back of her neck. Curving down, I pressed my lips to hers with a tenderness that I hoped spoke to how serious this moment was. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as I pulled away.

“Little imposter, you are so fierce. So brilliant. Even with that sharp tongue of yours, I can’t get enough of your words, your fire, you. I shouldn’t want you as much as I do, but I can’t help myself. You have me in a chokehold.”

Assyria’s eyes popped open along with her mouth. “Rokath, stop.”

The force with which she said my name, my real name, had me furrowing my brows. She hadn’t uttered it anywhere it could be overheard since I spanked her. This time felt entirely intentional. “Why? I’m trying to give you what you need, Assyria. I just want to tell you that after all this time I’ve fallen–”

She twisted out of my hold and backed away, raising her hands like she would hold me off should I approach again. Shock froze me in place as my mate continued to put space between us. “You can’t. Don’t say it, please.”

My heart twisted as heat crept across my chest and up my neck, taking residence in my jaw. “Why not, little imposter?” I growled. I stomped forward, easily closing the distance and towering over her.

Those burgundy eyes filled with tears, and not the kind I liked. A profound sorrow mixed with a hint of panic flooded our bond from her side, while I tried my best to smash the hurt swirling in my chest to a million shards.

I’m professing my love, and she’s rejecting me. Has she been playing along all this time, trying to earn my favor so she can run away again? Is this all a game to her?

I cursed myself for letting myself feel. For letting myself fall. This was why I never showed anyone I cared. It was dangerous to let myself love.

“Because,” she whimpered, shrinking back.

“Because why?” I snarled, snatching her waist with both hands. My fingers dug in hard enough to bruise. I didn’t care, though. She wasn’t walking away without an explanation.

“Please, Rokath, just don’t,” she repeated, shoving her palms against my arms.

There was my name again.

“Tell me,” I commanded, the voice of the Halálhívó breaking free.

Two tears spilled over and tracked down her cheeks. Fuck, I wanted to wipe them away, to crush her against me and comfort her. A riotous mix of anger, frustration, and sadness clamped down on my heart.

“Everyone who loves me dies. Everyone I love dies. My parents, my sister, Izgath, Olrus,” she whispered, voice shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself like she was trying to hold herself together.

“I’m not going to–”

“You don’t know that!” she shrieked, pounding her fists into my chest. “We’re at war. You are out on the battlefield every single day, surrounded by thousands of Angels who want to kill you. Whose only goal is to kill you, and then kill the rest of us. I can’t have that on my conscience.” A sob wracked her chest, and she swiped at her cheeks before curling in on herself again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some of the soldiers pause and peer down the alleys of the tents toward us. Assyria panted sharp, tight breaths as she tried to regain control.

We’re attracting too much attention.

This profession wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. I’d spent hours agonizing over what to say, and she wasn’t reacting the way I thought she would at all. I released her waist and tried to bring her into my embrace. But she landed a solid punch in my liver, sending me stumbling sideways. That was enough space for her to sprint away, nearly knocking over several soldiers on her way.

An array of emotion speared through me as I watched her go.

Fury.

Grief.

Hatred.

Hurt.

I’d tried to move us forward in our relationship, and Assyria rejected it. Rejected me. Over her own fears that she was cursed by the Reaper, and that I would die if we loved each other. I’d opened my heart to her, only for her to rip it to pieces. This was why it was better not to feel anything at all.

Why had I allowed her to thaw the ice around my heart?

I clutched my side, fingers digging into the skin there as my temper flared, white-hot and protective of my emotions. For the first time since Thast, my eyes watered. I stomped through the camp toward the command center, keeping my head down like a charging bull. No one could see the agony burning me alive.

She didn’t want me to love her? Fine. I’d go back to hating her for what she was to me—a weakness.

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55

Abreeze whipped my long hair back as I opened the spyglass and pointed it across the salt flat. I’d never seen landscapes like it, and it felt like I was in an entirely different world. From the burnt red rocks rimming the side to mounds of white that glittered in the sun, it was breathtaking. A thin sheet of water covered a massive expanse, spreading into the distance, and from my vantage point atop a small ridgeline, I scanned the area for any sign of movement.

Starting on the left, I worked my way over rocks and salt. A flash drew me back to an outcropping, and I held my breath to steady myself. The barest hint of white feathers filled my field of vision, and then two Angels landed on the rocky hillside and skidded their way down to the flat below.

As Rokath predicted, the Angels waited on the opposite side for our battalions. I swept over the rest of the area, trying to uncover any more positions they might have taken. Unfortunately, with the whiteness of the earth along the rocky plain, the Angels were difficult to spot. Despite extensive time in the desert, most of their equipment remained a pristine color, while the Demons’ red and gray hues were slowly turning brown.

Their purity has to be shown at all times, since they are so superior.

I rolled my eyes at my own internal sarcasm. Then, snapping the scope shut, I shimmied my way back down to the ground where Rokath and a handful of Parancsok waited. Another scout had already returned and was relaying information. Despite the argument Rokath and I had had the previous day, I still wanted to help.