Chapter 32

"You snore."

Orin's growly voice woke me from an afternoon nap. Leaning against the door to my room in a white, long-sleeve shirt and black pants, arms folded across his chest, he pinned me with a heated look. I'd never seen him dressed so casually.

"Why do you enjoy being such a hateful dick?"

He smirked. "Because I know deep down you enjoy it. Why so tired?"

The back of my eyelids felt like sandpaper. The pure exhaustion from magic still vibrated through my aching bones. I could have slept for days, and that thought scared me. I would have. In this home with these people. The Syndicate house was safe for me, even if I was loath to admit it.

"I was out late. I had something I had to take care of."

"I know what you were doing. You don't have to dance around the truth."

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I sat up, tossing the blanket from my feet. "You hate me for it, and there's nothing to be done about it, so I'd prefer to avoid the topic."

"Man or woman?"

I didn't want to answer, but I understood why he asked. Why those amber eyes beseeched me. "Woman. Caroleena Befrene. Know her?"

He looked at the floor, likely racing through his memories, but eventually shook his head. "Silbath or Perth?"

"Perth."

He raised a brow. "You okay? Any trouble from the king?"

"Oh, yes. I forgot to mention I was kidnapped and beaten and barely made it out with my virginity intact." I walked to the door.

"Virgin, huh?" He smirked. "Your sarcasm knows no bounds, Maiden."

"Neither do your questions."

I meant to walk past him, but he snatched my arm, spinning me before drawing me so near that I could smell the soap on his skin and see the gold flecks in his eyes again. Something primal raced across his features. I'd tried to discern the look, but it was gone within seconds. Still, my body thrummed, wholly aware of his hands on me.

"Do you have something to tell me?"

I drew back, wondering how he'd heard of Drexel's visit.

"Not that I can think of," I lied.

"There's… What's different about your eyes?"

"My eyes?"

"Some of them are white," he growled.

"Oh, my lashes? I don't know. Must be something that happens with Maidens sometimes. That's my guess, anyway. Nothing dangerous, I promise."

It wasn't that I was unwilling to tell him about the temple. But nothing had come from it either time I'd gone, and I didn't want questions to lead to the Maestro.

"Come outside with me, Nightmare."

"Ask nicely," I whispered, so faint, if he leaned in to hear, our lips would have touched, and that very thought heated my skin.

A dark chuckle left his lips, and I couldn't help but glance at them. Couldn"t fight the pull. "Please?"

I wanted him to touch me. Almost as much as I wanted him to hate me. Because in both ways, there was passion with Orin. His guarded feelings were always a storm.

"Lead the way, Husband," I managed.

He waited several more moments. His eyes glued to mine, the war within mimicked on his face. We were perfect enemies. We fought so beautifully. And in scattered moments, I preferred that anger, the fury he gifted to distract from every other problem in this world. Because I knew what to do with anger. I knew how to coax it, how to stroke it. But I had no idea what to do with the rest of this.

He pushed away from the wall, took my hand, and led me down the steps. There was a heartbeat between those joined fingers. Our bond, throbbing.

Hollis and Althea waited by the front step for us, both sets of eyes gleaming with delight. Paesha followed behind, her ever-present scowl a comfort through the myriad of emotions and confusion.

"I had a genius idea," Althea said, bouncing on her toes, cheeks rosy, having fully recovered from the heavy workload weeks ago. "Orin needs to practice."

He scoffed. "I don't need to practice. Just condition. Train."

"And I'm a dancer, not a fighter," Paesha added, though her words were drawn as if the admittance pained her. I'd seen her fight. She was both.

We moved into the giant opening between the house and the tree line.

"So, you want me to kick your ass until it doesn't hurt anymore? Toughen you up a bit?"

The side of my husband's beautiful mouth lifted. "Think you're pretty tough, Maiden?"

"I seem to recall the last time we fought, I left you knocked out on the floor. There's no thinking involved here. I'm tough, and I know it."

"I've got a coin on Dey," Paesha said, nudging Hollis.

The old man chuckled. "I'm not taking that bet."

"I'll take it," Althea said. "But we have to make it a fair fight. No one can use their hands or weapons."

Orin halted, turning to me with a sly smile, his eyes never leaving mine as he addressed her. "How am I to take down the mighty Death Maiden without my hands?"

"Get creative, husband," I answered.

The citrusy smell of magic, that rich, pure scent of raw power filled the air. I turned to see Althea holding cuffs out toward us.

When Orin groaned, she smiled sweetly. "We can't have anyone cheating when there"s money on the table."

"I would never cheat," he said, holding out his wrists.

"Oh, yes, the honorable Orin Faber, who tricked his wife into marrying him," I countered.

His smile faded as he waited for Althea to latch the metal rings around his wrist.

"You don't have to put your hands behind your back," she said, studying my stance.

"The cuffs themselves are weapons. Hands, elbows, forearms, and shoulders can still be used. I'll play fair. But I'm not sure this is the best idea you've had."

"Two coins on Dey," Paesha said.

"Deal." Althea grinned before looking at me apologetically. "Sorry, Dey."

"Don't be. You'll be the one buying drinks tonight."

She laughed, the soft sound filling the space around us as the links clicked in place, and she skipped away to stand next to Hollis. I'd never in my life understand that level of happiness in a world so terrible, even though, somewhere over our time together, I'd begun to feel the gentle roots of friendship digging into my heart. I didn't trust myself enough to truly call any of them that.

"I'll be nice." Orin moved to stand feet shoulder-width apart, his eyes practically burning a trail along my skin.

"I really hope not," I purred. "Because I refuse to make the same promise. You want to learn? I'll teach you. But it's never going to be because I'm nice."

"Go!" Althea shouted, clapping her hands.

Orin raced forward. I easily stepped to the side, and he stumbled, losing his balance. It was nothing to stick a foot out and watch him fall to the ground without using his hands to brace himself.

"Do we help him up?" Althea's sweet whisper made everyone but Orin laugh.

"I can still hear you."

"Right. Sorry."

He rolled to his back, and she grabbed his hands, grunting as she yanked him to his feet.

"Don't lead with your head, Husband. Dead giveaway."

"Pun intended?"

"Always."

He planted his feet again, trying to shake his arms out. "I don't want the advantage."

"Take the advantage. You need it," Hollis shouted from the side.

"Thea," Orin growled, "switch my arms to the back. Make it fair."

She ran forward, gripping the cuffs until they fell free. Once ready to start again, he nodded to me.

"Go!"

He wised up and didn't approach at all this time. I moved in close, light on my feet as I bounced back and forth. Orin watched for several seconds before lunging again. His intention was to plant a shoulder into my gut, but rather than let him, I spun and landed a kick right to the side of his face. To his credit, he didn't fall a second time. But the cheerful redhead behind us gasped, and I didn't miss the way she reached for Paesha's hand.

I could scare them all right now. I didn't want to do that. I'd found a semblance of a home here, and beyond that, I'd never had to wonder from one night to the next if Regulas would be standing at my door, waiting for me.

When he came again, I let the hard sole of his boot land on my stomach. But when he straightened, he scowled before lifting a brow.

"Good job," I said, forcing a breathless tone.

The next time, he tucked a shoulder, and I pretended to move too slowly. He made contact, and I stumbled.

"Change your mind?"

"No," I said, keeping my voice level.

"It's not exciting if you don't have a blade in your hand, Maiden?"

I hated when he called me Maiden, and he damn well knew it.

"Take the handcuffs off, Althea," he said, standing upright.

"But—"

"Take them off," he demanded, and I didn't have to look at his eyes to know there would be darkness there. A darkness that was so, so familiar to me.

Thea did nothing at all, made no movements, spoke no words, but the cuffs fell with a clink to the ground. I locked my fingers together, refusing to take the bait. He stepped to me and swung; I dodged with ease. He threw a knee; I took it in the gut. Another swing; I stood and let it shake me to my core.

"Stop it," he growled.

"Stop what?"

He pulled a blade from his boot and held it in his hand. "You know what."

When he swung, I blocked but did not strike.

"Paesha's going to be pissed if she loses money because you're scared of a fair fight." His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear him.

"I'm not scared of a fair fight," I whispered. "There could never be a truly fair fight between us. The first fight we had, I was poisoned. You know this is a bad idea. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to scare them. There's a difference."

"You might be good, Deyanira, but you're not that good. You got lucky before. I know what I'm doing. And I trust you."

Those final words were such a shock to my reality. Trusting me was foolish. Because, just like him and the rest of this band of misfits, I was not my own person. Still, something in the way he'd said those words empowered me.

I flashed my eyes to his fingers. "Loosen your grip."

"What?"

"Loosen your grip on the blade."

"No." He jabbed the knife forward, and I twisted, grabbing his wrist, snapping it backward, and stealing the weapon.

"If you hold the blade too tightly, you cannot manipulate the way you thrust. It is meant to be an extension of your arm, but your fingers can bend. Loosen enough that you can rotate your wrist at the last second." I held it out for him. "Try it again."

He stubbornly gripped it the same way he had before. A challenge. When he moved, assuming I would do the same thing, I trapped his thrust-out hand, snatched the knife, and flipped him onto his back, planting the blade just above his Adam's apple.

Paesha slowly clapped her hands, but I couldn't look at Althea and see the fear that would surely be there. Instead, I watched the face of the man who never feared me, even when he hated me.

"Good girl," he said smoothly, pushing away the blade. "Do it again."

The next time he came for me, I tried something different, meaning to strike him in the kidney on his initial step, but he'd been ready and blocked, his face nothing but concentration. Spinning to move with the momentum of his forceful counter, I dropped and swept a leg out, once again knocking him down.

"This is honestly sad," Paesha said, clearly bored. "No wonder you're getting your ass handed to you every night, Orin."

"I'd like to see you try," he said, peeling himself from the ground.

"Okay."

My breath caught in my throat as they traded spots, but I held my composure, masking the surprise by finally looking at the others. Hollis dipped his chin to me, and Thea hadn't lost her smile. Maybe they weren't afraid.

"This is a really bad idea," I said when the Huntress took her mark across from me.

"Thea," she answered with a grin, tossing one of the discarded cuffs to her friend. "I need a sword."

Within moments, I faced off with the Huntress. She'd taken a traditional stance, elbow near her ear, point facing right at me. But her posture was immaculate, her sun-kissed skin gleaming beneath the rays that poured out from the clouds as if they were eager to watch such a beauty perform.

She'd overextended her muscles, though, far more focused on her initial pose than what she might actually do from that point. Had she been on stage, it would have been a marvel to see, but in a real fight, in the bloody hallways of a king's castle, she'd be so easy to tip over, I might have laughed, if not for the severity on her face.

"You sure?" I asked.

"Ask me if I'm scared, Maiden."

I rolled my eyes. "You should be."

"Two coins on Dey," Hollis shouted, shoving his hand into his pocket, though I could only see him out of the corner of my eye.

No one took the bet, though.

"Go," Orin barked.

I held my hands behind my back again, holding my feet planted as she lunged. "If I had a blade, I'd strike from the right and throw you sideways." Stepping away from the tip of her sword, I spun to face her. "You can think like a dancer in sword fighting, except for one thing. You have to bend, Huntress. If you keep the legs straight…" She lunged again, but I was way ahead of her. "Your lead-off is too big, and I can predict what you're doing from a mile away."

She smiled, something wicked and stunning and maybe even terrifying. "Noted."

"Are you paying attention, Orin?" Thea asked.

I could feel his eyes on me, but when I turned and heat raced down my body at his assessing gaze, I couldn't hide the blush. Nor the pause in focus. Paesha came at me again, and while I was distracted, she nicked my arm, slicing into the loose sleeve of my shirt.

Thea gasped. But it wasn't nearly enough to stall me as I jumped right back into motion, letting the thought of that beautiful man's attention fuel every muscle in my body as I waited for her to turn and strike. When the blade came down, slicing through the air in a perfect arc, I simply stepped back, letting it bury into the dirt before kicking Paesha's wrist. She yelped and released the handle, I snatched it away before the hilt hit the ground, and in one smooth, terrifying motion, brought the blade through the air and stopped an inch before her head, eliciting a beautiful smirk from her and a gasp from Orin.

"Ready," Quill yelled from the front door, breaking the spell over all of us.

Althea sighed. "Oh, thank the gods. That's enough for today."

I dropped the sword to the ground, and it shriveled back into the cuffs it'd been formed from.

"I'm not sure if this was the greatest distraction I've ever witnessed or the worst," Hollis said, leading the way to the house.

"Distraction for what?" I asked, following him.

But Orin grabbed my hand, stopping me as the others walked away. "You really are a brutal little thing, Nightmare, but next time you hold back, I will find a way to coax that lethal demon from you and force her to come play with me."

"I can promise you that's one side of me you never want to see."

He pulled me to his chest, and I let him, relishing in the way our bodies felt when so close together. An ache building within my heart, my head wishing it wouldn't.

"I'm beginning to think there are no sides of you that wouldn't absolutely destroy me." He brushed a strand of hair from my face, letting his fingers linger on my flushed cheeks. "Even the rare smile is enough to weaken a man."

"I've learned to never trust your flattery," I said breathlessly.

"Deyanira—"

"Come on," Quill yelled from the door, though I hardly heard her over the racing of my heart.

"We better go inside, Deyanira Sariah Faber, Death's Maiden, wife of a lying flatterer."