I frowned. “And what am I supposed to wear?”
She cocked a hip. “I’ll have the servants bring her some of mine.”
“I could just wash my clothes,” I suggested. “Clothes are meant to be cleaned and reused indefinitely.”
“They what?” She widened her eyes, her expression pure frustration. “We’re going to burn your things. I’ll give you new ones. Just be happy I’m not suggesting running you through the flames.”
Adonis’s eyes narrowed. “Simmer down, Tanit. She’s on our side.” He raised his eyebrows. “Ruby, Tanit doesn’t often offer to give people things. This is her version of being a welcoming host.” Smooth as silk, he prowled closer to me, his hands in his pockets. “And now we get to the part where you tell us what you’re doing in here.”
“I can’t sleep without reading before bed.”
“I see. And you like to read cuneiform?”
Casually, I sauntered back to the English poetry section and pulled a copy of Don Juan off the shelf. “I must have gotten mixed up. My mistake.” I smiled at Tanit. “My name is Ruby. Pleased to meet you.”
Her eyes flashed with silver. “Okay.”
Through the window, the first honeyed light of morning began to warm the sky, tingeing it with pink.
Was it really that late?
“You were searching for information,” said Adonis.
“That’s what happens when you withhold it. People search for it on their own. So you could tell me exactly what we’re hunting for, and why you’ve brought me here. Or I can use my own methods.”
“Sophisticated methods like failing to read ancient languages.”
“What are the blue gemstones?” I asked.
A sigh slid from him. “Tomorrow, when you wake, I’ll explain what you need to know. Go to sleep now, and dream of all your beautiful love stories.” He spoke with a soothing, lover’s purr, and nothing had ever sounded more convincing than his suggestion. He was out of the room so swiftly, I hardly noticed him leave.
Morning sunlight began warming the room with coral, washing over the towering stacks of books. I’d never felt so tired in my life, and the stare Tanit was giving me urged me to move quickly.
As I crossed back to my room, I couldn’t get the image of the gleaming blue stones out of my mind. Adonis said his destiny was to kill. Were the stones my destiny?
Just as I opened my door, Tanit pushed past me, glaring. She snatched my bag from the floor, yanking out my damp clothes. “This is all going in the fire.”
She pulled out my sheathed knife and holster, examining it before letting it fall to the floor with a clang.
Then, she glared at me expectantly. “The rest. Take off the rest.”
I was too tired to argue, and I wasn’t particularly self-conscious—as long as Adonis wasn’t around. I stripped off in front of her.
“All of it,” she barked. “I’ll leave new clothes outside your door.”
“When?”
No answer.
She left with everything but my knife, leaving me damp and naked in the room. Good thing I wasn’t attached to any of the clothes.
Miserable as she was, when she left my room, a deep sense of loss bloomed in my chest—complete isolation. I crawled nude under the warm covers, loneliness eating at me.
Somehow, traveling with Adonis, he’d masked my loneliness. Now, as I lay naked and alone, isolation slid through my blood like a poison.
I pulled the covers tight around me. When I closed my eyes, I dreamt of a thorny throne on a craggy cliffside, and the desolation of that image pierced me to the bone.
Chapter 14
Naked, I stumbled out of the bathroom, still completely disoriented from a heavy sleep. In fact, I’d managed to sleep through the whole day.
A fire still burned in the marble fireplace, warming the bedroom. Its orange light wavered over the walls, overgrown with flowering vines. I closed my eyes, and for just a moment, my mind wandered back to a happier time, when I’d gone with Hazel and Marcus to the Museum of Natural History in New York. Then, further back, to my mother and father curled up next to each other on a sofa, reading books. I’d always crawl in between them, splitting them up so their attention could be on me.
When I opened my eyes again, the loneliness of my current situation hit me like a fist.
Not to mention the fact that I’d ended up in a creepy death angel castle completely naked. I shuddered, rubbing my arms.
At least I’d have fresh clothes waiting for me outside the door, just as Tanit had promised.
I rose from the bed, crossing over the cold stone floor. Goose bumps rose over my bare skin, and the chilly air peaked my breasts. Slowly, I pried the door open, looking down expectantly for a fresh stash of clothes.
A cold stone floor greeted me.
Of course she hadn’t brought any new clothes back. Why had I trusted the crazy-eyed demoness in the first place?
I slammed the door closed again, and a draft whispered over my skin. Should have hung on to a few items there, Ruby.
I opened the door, then poked my head out, looking for signs of movement in the hallway. Nothing except the shadows dancing over the stone walls, the flagstone floor. I couldn’t hear anything moving in the castle either.
Well, I wasn’t about to just strut around the death castle bare-ass naked. I crossed back to the bed, pulled off a soft crimson blanket, and wrapped it around my naked skin.
Here, naked in the quiet castle, with only a blanket covering my body, I felt completely vulnerable. A desperation for human contact speared me, sharp as talons piercing my ribs. Inexplicably, I wanted to see Adonis. After our journey together, maybe he was the closest thing I had to a friend in this place. Or maybe he was just the most likely to find me some clothes.
I scanned both directions in the hallway. Barefoot, I crept over to the first door and pressed my ear against the wood.
As I did, the sounds coming from inside raised the hair on the back of my neck. I let my keen fae hearing sharpen, listening closely to the sound of a stifled moan. Then, a grunt.
Was Adonis torturing someone, or screwing someone? Or a little of both—a mixture of pain and pleasure? Was it Tanit?
Not that I cared. Whether or not he and Tanit were screwing had nothing to do with me. Clearly, I should turn around and leave this situation alone, and yet…
I needed to know. What if those weren’t noises of pleasure I was hearing? What if he was peeling someone’s skin off? I needed to know what kind of death god I was dealing with here.
Pulling my blanket tight around me, I knelt on the cold ground. Then, I leaned forward, peering through Adonis’s keyhole. My pulse raced as I caught a glimpse of him. He stood, shirtless, his back to me. His midnight wings spread out behind him, their feathers flecked with silver. My eyes roamed over his smooth skin, his thickly corded arms.
This is intrusive, and I shouldn’t be here.
And yet, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away.