Blood Flows Deep in the Empire (22 page)

Dyletri was nervous as fuck as he waited for Ismini. Everything around him was mocking him, he was sure of it. The damned tile in the marble courtyard had grown mouths, and they were all laughing at him. The trees surrounding him whispered about how pathetic he’d become.

Fidiot. You’re acting like a straight-up fidiot.

He was losing his mind. Someone should V8 the fuck out of his head. Maybe hit him with all of the blue trees right behind him. Maybe then he’d grow his balls back. Because he’d taken the time to pick out which jeans he was going to wear, which shirt. He’d ripped through his whole closet and hated everything in it, even though he’d personally picked out every item hanging inside it.

He’d ended up materializing a new pair dark blue of Gucci jeans after browsing for them online. If Cy ever found out he’d been using the Internet signal for that, Dyletri would never live it down. Not after all the complaining he did when it came to Cy’s use of the signals.

After getting the jeans right, Dyletri settled on a black button-down, even though he hated them. It was uncomfortable since he’d never worn one, but he wanted to look his best for Ismini. He’d left it unbuttoned at the collar and had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Could anyone say “pussy-whipped”? Hell, he could. Without a question, he’d turned into a pussy. But he couldn’t find it in him to care.

Especially when Ismini came into view.

She came bounding down the front steps of the compound in tight blue jeans and a black tank top. It was such a regular outfit, but on her? Destructive. His mouth watered as she came closer, and he had to swallow several times to stop himself from drooling.

The sun hit her head-on, making that fascinating aura of hers flare out in arcs around her. Her hair fell around her waves, as well, shiny and dark as coffee. She approached him with a weird look on her face. Her eyes landed at Dyletri’s feet and slid up his body.

She tried to hide her expression, but the heat that flared behind her eyes provoked his dark fantasies and brought them to the fore. His insides clenched, unfulfilled need wrapping around his cock and squeezing down tight, making him twitch.

And damn it all to hell, because he knew she could see it. She stared a second too long at his crotch. Which only made him twitch more. Oddly, at the same time he moved to slide his hands into his pockets in an effort to control himself, Ismini’s hands slid into her own pockets.

She glanced away, her gaze landing on the picnic basket. “So . . . they weren’t lying. A picnic? Are you serious?”

She glanced back at him, and Dyletri swallowed again, almost getting sucked into the glittering colors of her eyes. Then she was close enough that he saw her new powers shining behind the familiar gray and hazel irises. The small sparks of colors that made up her aura were reflected there, as well.

Damn, she was too beautiful. Without the shield his denial had provided him, he was speechless before her. All he could focus on was how fucking gorgeous she was. The way her hair slid sinuously over her shoulder. The way that—

“Dyletri?”

Ismini tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response.

“I . . .” He coughed, almost choked. He had to clear his throat and try again. “Just humor me, okay? I want to show you something.”

Ismini bit her bottom lip, her expression pensive. “Okay. I’ll play. Where are we going?”

He couldn’t help but notice that he couldn’t read even a whisper of her thoughts when he met her eyes. Even without the
Etaeryb,
he’d always been able to get a glimpse of what she was thinking, but not anymore.

It fucking bothered him, to put it mildly, but he bent and picked up the picnic basket. For a second, he pondered how surreal the moment was. He even raised his hand for her to take before realizing it was presumptuous. He lowered his hand back to his side and motioned with his head.

“Just follow me. It’ll be a bit of a walk . . . unless you’ll let me dematerialize with you? I know you can do it on your own now, but it takes practice and I don’t want to lose you while we travel.” By the Gods, he sounded like a nervous teenager. Damn fitting since he felt like one.

Ismini faltered mid-step, and he realized why. Dematerializing together would involve him holding on to her. For the first time since they’d met, she was uncomfortable near him. It was obvious in the hard set of her jaw, and in her hesitation to let him touch her.

He was about to tell her that they should just walk when she nodded. She didn’t say anything, just stepped closer to him with her face downcast. That she wouldn’t even look at him massacred his emotions. Dyletri deserved it, but that didn’t mean he liked it. In fact, he downright hated it.

He licked his lips and moved as slowly as he was able. He wrapped his arm around Ismini’s waist and gave her enough time to pull back.

Well, he tried to. The moment he felt her heat, he lost control of his body and pulled her to him. It took everything in him not to groan when her breasts slammed against his upper abs.

Beneath her breasts, her heartbeat pounded for him, igniting his own. Even through her obvious misgivings, she still reacted to him. It was that kind of knowledge that could push a male into doing something ridiculous. Like popping straight into his room and slamming her onto his bed.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to—” Dyletri began, voice rough, arm still tight around her.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. Despite refusing to meet his eyes, her pulse raced faster.

The sound of her blood rushing through her veins was catastrophic to his self-control. Flames licked at the wall of his restraint, and he realized he needed to fucking move before he had any more time to react.

Dyletri willed them across Enzyria, reappearing on the far side—where the mountains broke apart, as did the woods. Ismini’s breath rushed out, her eyes full of wonder. He glanced down at the woman in his arms, unable to stop his smile as she gazed out into the valley below.

“Oh my God . . .” she whispered.

Dyletri slapped the asshole inside him back before he responded to that the way he really wanted to.
Again
. “You like it?” he asked, his face transforming with the tenderness he felt.

Ismini hadn’t stepped out of his hold. She took in the glowing, empty temples spread throughout the valley. Her eyes widened even more when she noticed the huge waterfall to the left of where they stood. The water here was nothing like the water on Earth. It shimmered, different colors mixing below the surface as it spilled into the river below.

A smile spread across Ismini’s face. “This place is . . . holy shit.”

Dyletri bit his lip, fighting the urge to grab and tilt her head so he could take those lips.

“Come. We can sit by the pool and eat.” He forced himself to step back, but he didn’t go far. He grabbed her hand and stiffened, waiting for her to protest. She didn’t. She just allowed him to lead her to the field below.

Dyletri felt some of the tension in Ismini ease as he led her over the glittering stones that made up the path. He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye and caught her doing the same to him.

Ismini bit her lip, her cheeks darkening, and looked away. “This place is like something out of a movie. It reminds me of the
Haklanayasas.
”

“Nylicia’s realm?” Dyletri asked, surprised. “I’ve never been there.”

“Really?” she asked, surprised herself.

He shrugged, stopping once they were by the small pool. He materialized a thick blanket and began setting up where they would sit. “It’s not a place one can visit without her permission or outside the dream world. I guess she never needed me there.”

He took out the contents of the basket, watching Ismini out of the corner of his eye. Her pace was slow as she walked toward the blanket, and he felt her stare on him. He was afraid to make any sudden moves lest he scare her away. When Ismini took a seat, it took everything in him not to exhale in relief.

“Hungry?” he asked, gesturing toward the food between them.

“Yeah. Did you prepare all this?”

“I’d love to take credit and therefore up my ‘awesomeness-factor,’ as Cy puts it. But sadly . . . no.”

Ismini burst out laughing before snapping her hand over her mouth as if embarrassed. She was so damned cute. And damn, she was blushing again.

Dyletri swallowed, so hungry he wanted to bang his head against one of the stones behind them. But it wasn’t food he needed. Hell the fuck no. He wanted her. He wanted to shove every ounce of food to the side and feast on her. He trembled as he forced himself to hand Ismini one of the finger sandwiches.

Ismini’s small fingers wrapped around the sandwich and brought it up to her mouth. “You’re not going to eat?”

She took the first bite. Dyletri fought the urge to squirm in his seat, his cock punching out to full length. Without apology. Stupid fucker.

You’re leaking.

No shit.

His pupils dilated and his powers surged forth, along with his teeth. Desperate to have something to bite into, he snatched up one of the sandwiches and shoved it in his mouth. He didn’t even taste it, too busy replaying the taste of her skin.

Ismini took another bite, not looking in his direction. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“I wanted to . . . spend time. With . . . you.” Right. Because he was Mr. Smooth.

Wrong.

And she completely ignored his quasi explanation.

“So, what are all these buildings?”

Ouch.

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide that he felt like he’d been coldcocked good and proper. “They’re temples. There’s one for each of us, but we don’t spend time in them anymore.” He shoved another sandwich into his mouth, needing something to do.

“Wow . . . that’s amazing. They literally glow. Which one is yours?”

He pointed to the silver and blue one toward the back of the valley.

Ismini looked at the temple for a long moment, and then turned back toward him.

He caught her stare and tried to keep his expression bland, but he failed. “What?”

“I’m surprised you guys can eat,” she said, reaching for another sandwich.

Dyletri shrugged one shoulder. “Our bodies burn through food before any real digestion takes place.”

“You’re serious?” Ismini asked. “So your stomach acid pretty much disintegrates all of it before it can go any further?”

His lips twitched into a smile. “Something like that.”

“And Cy told me most of you guys are millions of years old. Explain that one to me, ’cause my brain doesn’t want to process that,” she said, smiling softly now, too.

At least she wasn’t shutting him out. He could deal with answering any questions, but being shut out by her was a whole other matter. “Well, we were just sentient energy at first. We were that way for a . . . while. We were only given solid bodies about twenty thousand years ago or so.”

“By who?”

“The higher energies. They’re like the Fates but more sentient. And less violent, that’s for sure. There are raw energies that govern the fabric of existence and keep everything together. Destiny is one of those, as well.”

“Isn’t Zexistr the God of Existence? That’s what Cy said.”

She had been spending way too much time with fucking Cyake. “Almost all those energies are kept in balance thanks to his being alive. He’s tied to them.”

“Just like you all have purposes you’re tied to.”

Dyletri nodded. “Right.”

“So those energies decide when to give you physical bodies. Why twenty thousand years ago, though?”

“Because that’s how long it took the Illion to perfect any type of biological design in this galaxy. There was no real reason for us to take solid form until living beings existed on the planets in the ‘Milky Way,’ as humans call it. Every galaxy has its group of gods and beings.”

Ismini’s eyes went wide with excitement. “So, the Andromeda Galaxy? How about M87? Messier 83? Omega Centauri? NGC 4414?”

Dyletri smiled, amused and impressed that she was able to name so many of humanity’s known galaxies.

“Ismini, in a place as vast as the Universe, did you think we’d be the only immortal beings? And that humanity would be the only mortal life? And, just so you know, the beings that live in those galaxies have different names for them.”

“I knew it!” She was almost vibrating in her seat. “Most people don’t even think about that, let alone believe it. And the ones that do . . . well, most are complete whack jobs.”

He’d long given up trying to hide his fascination. His eyes were superglued to her face and weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. “Most people are closed minded and ignorant of the Universe.”

Ismini’s eyes were all wide and enthusiastic. “Nylicia said that if you guys die, your powers need to be absorbed or locked away. Why?”

“Nylicia’s told you a lot of things.” Dyletri stopped when Ismini gave him an odd look. “What?”

“You have no idea. Some of the things she’s said I can’t bring myself to believe.” He wanted to know what she meant by that, but she pressed on before he had the chance to ask. “So, why do your powers have to be locked away or absorbed by someone else?”