Page 56 of The Serpent Prince

His eyes slid shut. “I’m always thinking about you,” he said simply. Then those depthless eyes opened again, studying her face.

He went back to playing with her hair again, seemingly content to not speak anymore, his eyes glazing over with the bliss of whatever he was feeling in the aftereffects. Blood was caked in his fingernails. She’d never seen him so out of sorts.

Imani used her other hand to grab his wrist and stop his ministrations. “Kiran, what happened here?”

Pulling his hand back, he lightly traced his fingertips down her cheek and neck then shook his head. “One of my secrets.”

“Why did you cast the blood burning on just yourself?”

“I cast it on myself all the time. I need it.” He grabbed her face between both hands, holding her roughly. “I need it, all the time, you see.”

Imani’s breath was shaky at how forthcoming he was being. “No one needs a blood burning all the time, Kiran. The magic lasts for a year, and with a root binding, even longer.”

“Not for me. Not anymore.” He pulled her face closer. “So lovely,” he whispered with a smile, running his nose down hers and into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. “Such a beautiful, precious thing for me in exchange.”

“In exchange for what?” Imani’s voice stayed even as he kissed up her neck but stopped near her mouth.

“For everything,” he said cryptically. Then his lips skimmed hers.

She longed to kiss him back but forced herself to keep him talking.

“What was the blood burning for, Kiran?” she asked, teasing him with her own mouth, nipping his lip a little.

He groaned and buried his face in her neck. “Do you think my markings hid themselves for twenty years with silly illusion spells and simple flesh magic tricks?” He kissed her hair, running his hand down the back of her spine and pulling her closer. “Every month, I need it, my darling. For twenty years.”

Shock rolled through Imani. All she could do was blink.

What would it be like to drink the blood of an entire person? She had to imagine the power would be intoxicating—addicting. Kiran had been murdering someone and using a monthly blood burning for twenty years?

She didn’t know what to say or think. It was barbaric, and a line she wouldn’t need to cross with the Drasil in her hand. If she didn’t find the Drasil, though, was it a line she’d cross?

He was an addict. Looking around the room, she saw all the signs there; she just hadn’t wanted to see them before. How adept he’d been at conducting it before, how she had never seen even a hint of his brands … He might have needed blood burnings to hide his markings at first, but now he was a slave to them.

Distracting her, Kiran pressed his mouth against her neck again, then his sharp teeth—not enough to break, but enough to tell her what he wanted. Of course, the blood burning made him want to feed.

And with the way he slipped his hand up and down her bare thigh under her dress and looked up at her with that disheveled hair and beautiful eyes, she wasn’t sure she could resist.

Moving onto the bed, she hiked her dress up and straddled him. She then rested her hands on his chest, and he looked up at her, his eyes blown wide with wonder.

“You want me … more than you’ve wanted anyone else. And that scares you,” he murmured matter-of-factly.

“You want me just as much … and it scares you, too,” she hit back.

He didn’t deny it.

In this moment of pure honesty, Imani claimed his mouth. Kiran made a sound that opened a chasm in her. Her body ached.

But what was she doing? They couldn’t do this again. They had just fed. They didn’t need to … well, Imani didn’t need to.

Something was changing between them.

Kiran tried to deepen the kiss, but she resisted. Once again, she shifted to put some space between them.

In a burst of frustration, Kiran yanked open her dress, buttons flying everywhere, and sought what hid beneath. The round peaks of her breasts met his fingertips.

Imani slipped her palms into the waistband of his pants. What she wanted was just out of reach, so she determinedly shoved her hand deeper and grasped the length of him. He moaned and pressed his mouth to hers again.

“Yes, my darling,” he breathed against her mouth, kissing her again.