The High Priestess (9 page)

Finally, it was too much. He couldn’t stay away from her any longer.

Drew was on duty, the boy lounging against the front desk. He snapped to attention when Gerard came through the door, trying to pretend he wasn’t slacking off. “Sir.”

“Relax. I’m not here for an inspection.” The best way to avoid suspicion was to keep everyone else on the defensive, so he made a show of looking around. There were scuff marks on the floor and a fine layer of pollen covered everything, brought in from the trees surrounding the town. “If I was, you’d be in some serious trouble. This place is disgusting.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll get right on it, sir.”

“Do that.” While the kid was still sputtering out excuses, Gerard walked past him and headed down the stairs. Drew might be the darling of his superior officers, but he wouldn’t go far enough to be a lieutenant. He was too lazy and he lacked the drive that made men shoot up through the ranks of Sanctify. A drive Gerard had once possessed. No longer, though. Not for Sanctify. Everything was changing, the world blurring and melting around him.

There was another guard sitting at the end of the white hallway where the prisoners were kept. He, at least, was alert, standing at attention with his hand on his laser. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

Damn. He hadn’t put much thought into what people would think of him coming to visit the fabled Diviner. Again. “I need to question the prisoner. High Priest’s orders.”

The guard gave him a slow once-over, as if he couldn’t quite believe it was the truth. In the end, though, he had no choice but to allow Gerard entry. “Do you need assistance?”

“No. I can handle one w—female. Not as if she’s a Bolkerian.”

They shared a laugh as the palm lock flashed green. And then there was nothing keeping him from her. Marianna stood as he entered the room, kicking something under her cot. The cards, no doubt. But he wasn’t interested in them—had no interest in her future-telling abilities, either. If he was going to be honest with himself, the only reason he was here was to see her. She was the one who had started this storm in his life, and when he was with her was the only time he didn’t feel as if he were about to be swept away. Gerard waited until the door shut behind him to speak. “How are you doing?”

She started to cross her arms over her chest, abandoning the motion halfway through. “As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

“No one’s hurt you?” His vision bled red at the thought of anyone laying hands on her. But she was shaking her head. Gerard made an effort to release the tension that wound through every one of his muscles. “Good.”

“Gerard…” She bit her lip. “I, ah…”

“Ask.” As if he could deny her anything within his power right now. The next three days lay before them, a timeline Gerard couldn’t do a damn thing to change. Regret was sour on his tongue, burning from his throat to his stomach.

“Would you mind…holding me…just for a few moments?”

He blinked. Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t for her to seek comfort with the very person responsible for her situation. If it weren’t for him, Marianna would still be on Keiluna, doing…whatever it was she did there. Ba’al be damned, it felt like she’d been in his life forever and he still knew next to nothing about her. “Of course.” Gerard sat on the cot and waited for her to approach him.

For a long moment, it seemed as if she’d reconsidered, but then Marianna slid carefully next to him, perching on the edge of the mattress as if she expected to flee at any moment. That wouldn’t do.

“You asked me to hold you.” Without waiting for permission, Gerard scooped her up and settled her in his lap. She was so thin. Too thin. “Have you been eating?”

Marianna laughed. “I haven’t had much of an appetite.”

Of course not. He was an idiot for not taking that into consideration. Well, if he couldn’t change their current reality, he could definitely distract them both for a time. Gerard scooted until his back hit the wall and stretched out his legs. There wasn’t much space on the cot—hells, there wasn’t much space in the room itself—but the only other option was the floor. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I hardly think that’s appropriate.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “I’ve seen you half naked—there isn’t much that’s inappropriate after that. Did you grow up on Keiluna?”

“You’re not going to allow this to drop, are you?”

The echo of their first conversation hit him like a punch from a Bolkerian. Had it really been just over a week ago? “No. So you might as well submit.”

“As if I haven’t heard that line before.” She started to relax, tracing her finger along his forearm. The innocent touch was distracting as hells. There was no hiding his reaction to it, but she didn’t mention it, and he’d be damned before he willingly let her go. “Yes, I grew up on Keiluna.”

“What was it like?” All he’d ever known was Sanctify, first the elementary dorms and school, then secondary, then on to officer academy. The only thing that really changed was the level of physical training. Everything else stayed the same, from the monochrome walls that he wasn’t allowed to decorate, to the hard cot, to the harsh lessons.

“It was difficult at times.” When he moved to look at her, she gave a half smile. “My parents died when I was a child, barely ten years old. Since I had no close relatives, I ended up in an orphanage, which wasn’t completely terrible. But I was willful and thought I knew what was best, so I ran away. Through luck and happenstance, I fell in with a group of street children, and we looked out for one another.”

He waited, drinking in the small smile she wore. “You enjoyed it.”

“Yes, some days. I’m quite the pickpocket, though I haven’t had reason to practice in years. But, there were times when food ran scarce or we were hurt by others—”

“Who hurt you?” Again, anger rushed through him, more heady and dangerous than Keiluna’s homegrown brew.

Marianna leaned her head against his chest, the fresh smell of her hair wrapping around him. At least someone—probably Fisk—had ensured she was allowed to use the sans shower. “There was always someone larger or angrier. These things happened. It’s just life.”

“You have a very odd explanation of ‘just life.’ Were you ever…you know?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he shook his head. “Never mind. You don’t have to answer that.” He didn’t know if he could handle it if her answer was anything but negative.

“It’s all right. No, I was never hurt in that way. Just mugged a time or two.”

He had a feeling her count was off by more than a handful, but Gerard made an effort to let it go. As she said, there was no point in nitpicking right now. The past was the past and there was no changing it, no matter how much he wanted to go back and save that willful child. What a ridiculous thought, considering their circumstances. Instead of traveling further down that mental road, he pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m glad.”

“Yes, well, everything happens for a reason.” Marianna shifted, looking up at him until he was drowning in her violet eyes. “Do you believe in fate, Gerard?”

Unable to help himself, he traced a thumb across her bottom lip. “I don’t know. Some days, maybe. Others, not so much.”

She shivered, opening her mouth for him. It was all the invitation he needed. Gerard leaned down and kissed her, tongue tracing slowly along hers, leisurely, enjoying every second of it. Pulling her closer, he slipped a hand beneath her shift, cupping her hip. Like this, she felt so fragile, almost breakable. Then she arched into him, her nails digging into his arm. “More. Please, Gerard.”

He couldn’t ignore a plea like that, not when he wanted it as much as she did. Gerard slid down, moving her until she straddled his waist. Giving a whimper that made him want to protect her and get her out of her clothes all at once, Marianna sat up just enough to look at him. “I need you naked.”

Gerard could do that.

Finally, it was too much. Marianna dug her nails into his arms. “Gerard, if you don’t finish this—now—I may just die.”

“Trust me.”

Gerard slithered down the cot as he lifted her and settled her on his chest, her knees on either side of his head. Marianna straightened, looking down her body at him. The position was slightly awkward, but she didn’t get a chance to say so before his mouth found her core. She slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek, but she was already too far gone to worry about being overheard. The pain of his fingers digging into her skin perfectly counteracted the pleasure of his tongue, heightening it until she wasn’t sure where he ended and she began. And then it was too much—she shuddered, still trying to smother her cries even as he pushed her over the edge.

Marianna collapsed, barely catching herself on the wall. Aftershocks sparked as Gerard shifted, rolling them until he hovered over her. He smoothed her hair from her face, lips quirked into a smug smile. “Are you okay?”

As soon as she could form a coherent thought, she’d give him an answer. Or perhaps she wouldn’t. Marianna kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue. She drew back long enough to say,
“More.”
Then her mouth was back on his, teeth raking over his bottom lip.

Gerard found her with his fingers, first one and then two. It was too much. Too much and not enough. Even as she thrashed, she needed him there with her. “I need you.”

“Yes.” His fingers disappeared long enough to be replaced by exactly what she wanted. Gerard pushed his way inside her using slow, shallow strokes. He propped himself up on his forearms, dark eyes seeming to look into her soul. Desperate, Marianna grabbed his hips, trying to force him to move faster, deeper.

He groaned again. “You’re killing me.” Then Gerard slammed into her, withdrawing almost completely before he did it again.

“Yes. Oh, yes,
yes
.” She couldn’t seem to draw a full breath, her voice coming out in a gasp. Pressure started low in her stomach, building with each stroke. So close, so terribly close to what she needed. Reaching further, she dug her nails into his backside, driving him on. He kissed her as she went under, borne away on a tide of passion beyond anything she’d ever known. He kept going, finishing with a shudder that tore through his entire body before he collapsed on top of her.

Marianna wrapped her legs around Gerard’s waist, trying to get him as close as possible, and ran her fingers through his hair. He responded by slipping an arm under the small of her back and kissing her again. “Gods, woman, how did you manage to turn my entire life on its head just by walking into it?”

“Because she’s a whore and, as the past has shown us, you have a taste for whores.”

There was nowhere to hide. Gerard didn’t move except to turn his head to the door. Marianna followed suit, instantly trying to shrink away from the older man standing there. Every instinct went on red alert, screaming at her to run as fast and as far as she could.

“High Priest. How surprising.” Ice was warmer than Gerard’s tone.

“I shouldn’t think so. You are in one of my cells, after all, seducing my prisoner.” The man turned his attention on her. “You’re quite a fetching young thing, aren’t you?”

“Stay away from her.” Gerard leaned over and grabbed his shirt, using it to cover her when he stood. “I’m to blame for this.”

“Of that I have no doubt.” The High Priest looked at her as if he could see through the flimsy fabric covering her nakedness. “However, the truth remains that she is, in fact, a Diviner. So your self-sacrifice is for nothing.”

Gerard glanced at her, his gaze containing so many things. Things she had no name for. “No. Not for nothing.”

“Guards. Take him. Strip him of his robes—he’s no longer a lieutenant of Sanctify, though whether he’s to be burned as a traitor remains to be seen.” The High Priest waited while they did as he commanded. They marched Gerard from the room without a backward glance. The High Priest, on the other hand, lingered. “You are quite lovely for a creature whose very existence defiles our god.”

Marianna sat up, careful to keep the shirt pressed against her chest. “Somehow, that does not make me feel any better.”

“I imagine not.” His smile held all the emotion of a reptile’s. “Still…it would be a shame to let such a nubile young thing go to waste. Perhaps I can be…persuaded…to extend your life a bit longer.”