Thirst (Hellish #4)(15)
Lire knew. Faolan didn’t need to finish his thoughts. None of them ever expected they’d be able to touch. It felt too good to be true—like the moment they actually set hands on one another, the blessing would slip through their fingers.
They took turns inspecting one another. Dougal smiled. “You both know I love you, right? Like with everything I have.”
“Aye,” Faolan said while Lire nodded.
“I can’t stay in this bed and leave Jonathan unguarded. I owe him everything.”
Faolan nodded. “Aye. I want to lounge about and stroke you both until you scream my name. That’s not happening until our king is safe.”
They exchanged matching determined smiles before diving for the invisible wall. They’d break through if it killed them.
Jonathan checked the house’s perimeter and made small talk in his head with his husbands. He wanted Kallus to stew. This one wasn’t like Lire. Jonathan wasn’t as sure in his dealings with him. When they spoke, Jonathan could feel Kallus’ dishonesty, but he couldn’t decide which of his words were lies. After finding the chalk where he’d stashed it earlier, Jonathan headed down the hall again. Outside the door, he hesitated. Baptiste had chosen to help his clan, but it didn’t feel like much of a win. He was certain Lire, Dougal, and Faolan would disagree. Jonathan’s shoulders still weighed too much. He’d done nothing to help Baptiste. It didn’t matter Jonathan recognized there was no comfort for Baptiste in this life. He’d still hoped. Jonathan unbolted the door and strolled inside. Kallus stared out the window. He didn’t turn at Jonathan’s arrival.
“There’s no greed in this house. I’ll starve in a few months.”
Jonathan settled in the chair he’d occupied earlier. “I’m not sure about that. My mates won’t be home for a few more days. I should think this house will be filled with longing until then.”
Kallus turned. His light blue eyes stood out brighter than the rest of the room. “That’s an extension of love. There’s no such thing as greed in real love. All the feelings you have for your mates are derived from your love for them. There’s no grasping in that.”
Jonathan smiled. “You sound like a bible verse I read once. I never found much comfort in religion before my turning. Of course, I didn’t know there was so much to learn about the afterlife.”
Kallus snorted and turned his back on Jonathan again. “You’re so young. You’re like an infant to me. If you live long enough, you’ll stop believing in everything, even if you can see it, touch it, and taste it.”
Compared to everyone he knew, Jonathan was like an infant. He couldn’t even grasp how old Kallus was, being the first-born son of Mammon. Mammon was as old as time. Kallus couldn’t be much younger than that as well.
“As long as you’ve been alive, you never loved until Baptiste. Why him?”
“I built Baptiste’s voodoo shop for him, did you know?” he asked instead of answering Jonathan’s question. “There was no avarice in our relationship either. I had to create something that would draw the miserly people in, looking for spells to bring them riches. I fed off their emotions. I’ve never been anywhere where it was enough—where I felt full. However, there was this one night, too many years ago to count, I was inside this tavern in Rouen. There was this huge mountain of a man, covered in tattoos and scars. He had these piercing light gray eyes that were almost eerie to look at. Everyone gave him a wide berth. His gaze was honed on this tiny mouse of a man. Well,” Kallus waved dismissively, “he wasn’t really all that small, but compared to this guy, he looked like he’d be crushed. Little Mouse held a book, trying to read by the world’s shittiest candlelight. God, it’s amazing we’re not all blind from those days. Anyhow,” Kallus said, turning, claiming his chair, and focusing on Jonathan, as if getting into his story. “The insatiable hunger rolling from this giant in waves was like doing ten lines of coke. The higher I got, the more I wanted. This ravenous longing twisted my insides like nothing I’d ever experienced. I had to have more. So I became one with my new little pet. I ensured he turned his head and met that giant’s stare.” Kallus shook his head. His smile bordered on insane. “Dear Goddess, the explosion of emotions as their gazes met… there are no words. I didn’t need to control either man. All I had to do was go along for the ride. I stayed high for so long, I didn’t recognize I’d hung around inside Baptiste too long. I had feelings and shit. They wouldn’t go away. The greed had dried up and turned to love. I had to find nourishment elsewhere, but I couldn’t stay away. With no real plan, I found ways to insert myself in their lives. This time, as myself, ensuring they fell for me the way I had them.” Kallus stayed silent, staring at nothing for so long Jonathan almost poked him. Then, Kallus blinked. When he spoke, the excitement was gone, replaced with only a dead note. “It was a slap in my father’s face, having a son capable of falling in love. Then, we were mated, and his fury was like nothing I’d ever seen. I’d switched teams. Goddess Celeste had blessed me—the fifth prince of Hell’s son. It couldn’t stand. It wasn’t done.” Kallus’ gaze bounced back to Jonathan’s. “He came for us with every pack member he could find. One day, Asmodeus will do the same for your demon. In our world, sons obey their fathers or they die. In my case, my gorgeous Viking died protecting us, and my shy little mouse hates me for it.”