“Should we?” Anela asked. “Selene, what do you think of what I said?”

In truth, remaining beside him like this put my self-control through a grueling trial. The desire to devour him made my mouth water, and I fought with every fiber of my being to resist it.

Anela, however, did not seem willing to let me leave. He wanted an honest answer.

“I believe that if Od and the monarchs had wished to kill you, they would not have hesitated. They would never have allowed you a peaceful moment such as this, even with the consanguines surrounding us.”

He encouraged me to continue by gently inclining his head toward me. I straightened, trying to escape the natural fragrance of his skin, which not even the scent of the flowers could conceal from me.

“So I believe they truly are waiting for you, and that they will not take your life. At least, not before they have seen you. As for the others… I cannot tell you anything.”

He nodded, and a faint sigh escaped his lips.

“We cannot turn back. The people are counting on us, but I have never felt so close to… I do not know. Not death, because I feel that I will not die. But I feel as though something is slipping away from me. For the first time, I am afraid of missing things.”

One of his locks fell before his eyes. He swept it back, pushing his scarlet hair away from his face and revealing his blood-red gaze.

“This expedition is unlike any I have ever undertaken. I feel myself losing my composure and my lightheartedness. I must worry more about my companions. And I do not know what to think of you or of your attraction to me. I dislike it. You give me the unpleasant feeling that I am losing something truly important—that I am failing to seize an opportunity.”

I understood.

He made me feel the same way. As though every day I had lived until now had been missing something terribly important, and now that he stood before me, I knew it had been him.

It was frustrating. Catastrophic, even.

In a world like ours, I could not afford to feel something like this, least of all for him. Yet all it took was one glimpse of his face for my reason to unravel.

“We should join the others,” I insisted.

I tried to pull myself out of the pool, but Anela stopped me. His hand closed around my arm, and he turned to face me with the most vulnerable expression I had ever seen him wear.

My heart pounded at the enticing sight.

“I cannot offer you anything, Selene. It would be too cruel to give you what you desire if I am destined to disappear one day. But I wish to know what I am missing, if only a little. I am curious.”

His hand settled against my cheek. The way his gaze dropped to my lips made it clear what he expected.

And yet… that was not what I wanted.

Not exactly.

I caught his wrist and pulled his hand away from my face, then looked around us, alert for anything that might surprise us—or be watching.

“We should not do this.”

“It would not bind us to anything,” Anela reassured me. “One kiss. Show me what it feels like. Give me a glimpse of what we might have shared in a world other than this one.”

I stood my ground, warning him with a look not to attempt anything. He admitted defeat.

He lowered his head for a moment, then raised it again and offered me a gentle smile. His cheeks turned red, as did his ears, and he ducked his head, visibly ashamed of what he had just “proposed.”

He apologized awkwardly and suggested that we join the others after all.

Something stirred within me.

It was far more than an impulse. I could not have defined it, but seeing him offer himself to me—him, the Bloody Vicar, who appeared so cold before the people—flattered me.

No.

I was honored.

This time, I caught hold of him. I turned him back toward me and pressed my mouth to his.

His lips crushed against mine, deliciously soft, and the desire to bite them twisted my stomach. Anela recovered quickly and framed my face with his slender hands, so delicate compared to mine, yet strong enough to wield a sword.

Of his own accord, he pressed himself against me and moved his lips, capturing mine.

I had never felt the need to close my eyes during a kiss. I had always thought it ridiculous.

With him, however, I needed to.

There was a gentleness in his kiss that no other living creature could have possessed, and a tenderness in the touch of his fingers against my cheeks that made me shiver.

That night at the inn, several days ago, I had wondered what Anela might be like with his lovers. Now, I found myself deeply envious of those lovers—or at least of the few he might have had.

Guided by my desire and my hunger, I licked his lips and slipped my tongue into his mouth.

The taste of his saliva flooded my senses, and I could no longer resist the urge to bite him. I sucked on his tongue and allowed my teeth to sink into it. The taste of his blood burst across my mouth, and I moaned.

Anela drew back with a startled gasp, but I barely allowed him to retreat. I quickly reclaimed his mouth, driving him toward the edge of the pool until he was trapped against it.

Far from offended, he allowed me to continue, and I granted myself a little more freedom. My kisses strayed down to his neck, where I breathed in his scent deeply.

I bit him there as well, and his fingers dug into my flesh.

The sight of him making no attempt to escape or complain excited me so much that I wanted to take things further. But a sound from the foliage of a saune tree dragged me back to reality.

I froze, then straightened, my clarity returning.

“I am sorry, Anela. I… I should not have behaved that way. I have a tendency to…”

Anela burst into a small, crystalline laugh—restrained, unlike Beret’s—and I watched his amusement in stunned silence.

“I asked you to, Selene. Truthfully, that kiss was just as I had imagined it. Your passion suits you beautifully.”

Against all expectations, a wave of heat swept through me. I felt myself blush, and the reaction was so… unfamiliar that I struggled to recover from it.

Was I… embarrassed?

“Although my tongue does hurt,” he added mischievously.

I searched my mind for something that might make him as red as I was, and the answer came to me as though it were obvious.

“You said ‘just as I had imagined it.’ Anela, is your mind truly so depraved?”

He looked startled. Then his ears turned an adorable shade of red, and we laughed together, both embarrassed.

As I listened to his laughter and watched his doe-like eyes seek mine, I understood that something within me had changed.

I was hungry, yes. I dreamed of devouring him.

But something else was beginning to grow for him.

Something gentler.

Something purer.

Was God toying with me?