“I’d rather die than have you help me again,” Tenn gasped. “A Howl that thinks he’s a king is still a Howl.”
Tomás blazed heat. It burned and seared and froze Tenn’s skin as Tomás screamed in his ear. “How dare you call me that!”
He dug his fingers into Tenn’s leg. Fire seared up Tenn’s thigh, but that was nothing compared to his fear of the incubus himself. Tomás seemed unhinged. The air around him quivered and glowed red like a hellish mirage. His lips pulled back in a sneer, his canines bared and more pronounced than normal. His clothes and hair seemed to billow in the storm of his rage.
“You’re still a monster,” Tenn said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “Look at yourself.”
And then, just like that, the aura around Tomás disappeared, the flame in his eyes winked out.
“He thinks I’m a monster,” Tomás whispered. “A monster. I’m a monster.” He looked at Tenn, then at the blood dripping down Tenn’s thigh. “I hurt you.” He shook his head, backed away and stared at the wall. “No, he deserved to be hurt. He dared insult me.” Another shake of the head, a flicker of red aura. “He deserved pain.” His entire body shuddered this time, like something was trying to escape. When he looked back to Tenn, his face was carefully composed, perfectly arranged.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He clutched one hand to the side of his face. “Sometimes. Sometimes it’s hard to...” He shook his head. “We can’t fight what we are, Tenn. Not forever. Not even you. We’re a lot alike, you know. You burn. You burn even brighter than me.” He reached out and touched Tenn’s heart. The Sphere of Fire flared under Tomás’s fingertip, making Tenn’s breath catch. Tenn had never been attuned to the Sphere, and feeling it burn in his chest was both foreign and familiar. “You’ll burn the whole world, given half the chance.” He removed his finger and sat back, staring at Tenn like a sad specimen. Tenn’s whole body ached for that touch, for the hate and passion that seemed to ooze from Tomás’s skin. It filled the void Jarrett had left, brought sensation to the parts of him he had written off as numb.
“Why. Are. You. Here?” Tenn asked, biting hard on each word to keep his body in control. Even in a dream, he wouldn’t let the Howl overtake him. He wouldn’t give Tomás that satisfaction.
A confused look passed over Tomás’s face, as though he wasn’t so certain of that himself. It passed in a heartbeat as the perfect mold of composure slipped back into place.
“I am here...” he said, his words their usual purr. He leaned a bit closer, putting his weight on one hand like a prowling cat. “Because I know what you want. You want revenge.”
“I want Jarrett back,” Tenn said.
“We can’t always get what we want!” Tomás snapped, another flare of energy whirling and settling around him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Tenn waited, tense, vaguely wondering what would happen if Tomás killed him in the dream.
“I am here,” he said again, his eyes still closed, “because I can help you fight back. I know how to reach Leanna. I know her weaknesses. You can’t get your lover back. I know how that feels, Tenn, to lose the man of your dreams. I would rip off the head of whoever did that to me.” He smirked, the tone of condolence fading. “I did actually. It felt amazing.”
“Why would you help me?” Tenn asked.
“I have my reasons,” Tomás said quietly, as though those reasons were of the utmost secrecy. “Jarrett would have wanted this, you know. He would have wanted you to avenge him. Do you think, if roles were reversed, he would have let your killer live?”
Anger roiled through Tenn’s veins. A hundred curses whipped across his tongue—you didn’t know him, don’t ever mention him, he was too good—but if the roles had been reversed, Jarrett would never have stopped looking for Matthias. Not until every Howl and necromancer had paid for what they’d done. At least, if Jarrett cared about him as much as he said he did...
Tomás seemed to read his thoughts. His sneer widened, and he crept a few inches closer. Heat coursed through Tenn’s body as images floated through his mind—tearing Matthias limb from limb, stabbing the unknown Leanna through the chest, letting all the rage and hatred burn over, destroy the world. Tomás’s visage seemed to echo over all of it, like some heathen god of destruction.
“Yes,” Tomás hissed. “That’s the fire. Jarrett deserves your anger. Your retribution. Fight for him.”
Tenn shook his head against the visions of blood. It was harder, in the grasp of a dream. Like swimming through quicksand.
“What do you want from me? From this?”
Tomás was on top of him now, his hands on the chair’s arms and his face only inches away. His copper-flecked eyes glinted in the candlelight.
“Let’s just say Leanna and I have a score to settle. You help me kill her, and I’ll help you get your revenge. We both get what we want.” Tomás leaned in, gently brushed Tenn’s cheek with his own. Goose bumps tingled under that touch. Tenn moaned and tried not to lean in. “And, if you’re like me, you want a lot. It’s about time we got what we wanted, wouldn’t you agree?”
His eyes burned into Tenn’s when he leaned back. In that moment, Tenn couldn’t decide if he wanted to rip the man apart, rip off his clothes or both.
Tenn nodded. He couldn’t be certain what would come out if he opened his mouth.
“I thought you would see things my way.”
Tenn didn’t ask why Tomás wanted to kill his own sister. He didn’t ask why Tomás didn’t just do it himself. He didn’t care, so long as Leanna ended up dead. So long as she died at Tenn’s hand.
“What do you want me to do?” Tenn asked, his words breathy with anticipation. Excitement over the prospect of killing Leanna. Excitement over the nearness of the incubus.
Tomás’s grin spoke volumes. “So many things,” he replied. “But for now, just keep moving forward. I cannot play with you if you are dead.”
Tenn nodded. Tomás leaned in.
“I know you mourn his loss, but soon you will rule at my side as king.”
Tomás kissed Tenn’s neck. Desire curled in the back of Tenn’s throat, heady and hot.
“I will show you all the pleasures of the world,” Tomás cooed. “Just as soon as you have proven yourself worthy.”
He bit Tenn’s earlobe, a shot of adrenaline to Tenn’s heart and, the moment the sensation faded, Tomás was gone.
*
“We will be safe here.”
Dreya’s voice cut through the fog of his dream.
“What?” he mumbled. He forced himself up. His throat was dry—had he been screaming in his sleep?
“We must stop soon. We are nearly out of gas, and we must regroup.”
He glanced around. It was impossible to tell where they were, surrounded by endless trees and snow-covered signs. But something in the way Dreya spoke had his nerves on edge. It was like she was scared of admitting more.