“How…how would you know?” I asked, my heart hammering as his fingers splayed across my jaw and cheek. I didn’t know if my heart beat so fast because he was touching me, or because he did it so gently. His hand grazed the curve of my neck, and I wondered if he could feel how fast my pulse thrummed. “Are you a God of Thoughts and Emotions?”
He let out another raspy, rough laugh as his fingers slipped under my hood, moving beneath the braid hanging at the nape of my neck. “You,” he said, his thumb moving in a slow swipe over the side of my throat. There was something about the way he said that. “You are trouble.”
I bit the inside of my cheek as another wave of shivers pulsated through me, settling in very indecent places, and leaving me to question how unwise I actually was.
Which, I had a feeling, was very.
Because the sharp swirl of tingles tightening my skin was utterly insane. He didn’t even look mortal right now.
“Not really,” I whispered.
“Lies.”
I searched the hard, brutally striking lines of his features. “You…you aren’t angry with me?”
“I’m definitely perturbed,” he replied, and I could think of dozens of better adjectives to describe the state of my rage if someone had almost stabbed me in the heart. “As I said, it stung. For a moment.”
Only for a moment?
“I have a feeling your next question will be if I’m sure I’m not going to kill you,” he continued, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been thinking that. “I won’t say it didn’t cross my mind when I felt the blade pierce my skin.” His thumb made another slow pass over my pulse.
“What stopped you?”
“Many things.” His head tilted slightly, and I felt cool breath coast over the curve of my chin. “Though I find myself questioning my sanity, considering you then proceeded to threaten me again immediately.”
I stayed quiet, listening to instinct for once.
“Color me surprised,” he said, lips curving upward. “I expected you to have some sort of retort.”
“I’m trying to employ common sense and remain somewhat quiet.”
“How is that working out for you?”
“Not very well, to be honest.”
The god laughed quietly, and then his fingers left me. “Why are you here?”
The swift change in him and the subject left me reeling for a minute, and I almost sank against the wall as he turned to the body. Why was I here? My gaze flicked to where the woman lay. Oh, yes, murder. Gods. “I was walking…” I folded my arms across my waist, knowing I couldn’t tell him the complete truth. “I saw that god from earlier leave this house and thought I should check it out.”
“You saw him leave but did not see me enter?” he questioned.
Dammit. “No.”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “Why would you think you should check it out?”
I stiffened. “Why not? Shouldn’t people be concerned when they see murderous gods leaving mortals’ residences?”
An eyebrow rose. “Shouldn’t mortals be more concerned about their safety?”
I snapped my mouth shut.
The god turned away, and without his piercing gaze on me, I took a moment to really look at him. He was dressed like the last time I’d seen him: dark breeches, hooded tunic, sleeveless and black. Gods, he was even taller than I remembered. There were also leather straps across his chest and upper back, securing some kind of sword to his back. The hilt was tipped down and to the side for easy access. I didn’t remember seeing him with one when I encountered him before.
Why would a god need a sword when they had the power of eather at their fingertips?
I shifted my weight. “She was killed like the Kazin siblings, wasn’t she? That’s why you’re here.”
“I was alerted to one of them entering the mortal realm,” he said, edging around the body of Miss Joanis. So, someone was aware of him tracking the responsible gods. “I got here as fast as I could. Madis was lazy this time. Leaving her here. I was looking for some evidence of who she was when you arrived, let yourself in, and failed to check the rest of the home.”
My eyes narrowed. “You mean when you failed to announce your presence?”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “Come now, do you believe someone who harbored ill will towards you would’ve announced their presence?”
“No. I believe that someone who doesn’t, would,” I replied. “All others would end up with a dagger in their chest.” The corners of my lips turned down. “That is if I had a dagger.”
“Perhaps you would still have a dagger if you didn’t go around stabbing people.”
I actually still had one. Tucked in my boot. Not a shadowstone blade, but a slender iron one. However, that was beside the point. “I don’t go around stabbing people.” Usually. “And you owe me a shadowstone dagger.”
“Do I?”
I nodded. “You do.”
“By the way, how did your stepbrother come upon such a weapon?”
It took me a moment to remember the lie I’d told him. “Someone gave it to him for a birthday. I don’t know who or why. My stepbrother has never expressed interest in weapons.”
“You do realize that it’s forbidden for mortals to hold shadowstone daggers.”
I did, but I lifted a shoulder in a shrug.
One side of his lips tipped up, and then he looked away. “Did you let go of what you saw at the Kazins’ home like I asked?”
My spine stiffened. “I don’t recall that you asked. More like demanded. But, no, I did not.”
“I know.”
“Were you watching?”
Molten silver eyes connected with mine. “Perhaps.”
“That’s…creepy.”
One broad shoulder lifted. “I told you I would. I figured I should keep an eye on you. Make sure you didn’t get into any more trouble.”
“I don’t need you to do that.”
“I didn’t say you did.” He inclined his head as he eyed me.
“Then what are you saying?”
“I wanted to,” he said, and he sounded surprised by the admission.
I opened my mouth and then closed it. How…how was I supposed to respond to that?
“What did you find out?” he asked after a moment.
It took some effort to gather my thoughts. “If you were watching, you should know.”
That faint grin reappeared. “I imagine you discovered that no one had anything bad to say about those mortals.”
“In other words, you already know I didn’t find out much,” I admitted. “Has…have there been any more deaths? Besides this one?”
He shook his head. “Do you know her?”
“I…I know of her. She’s a seamstress. Andreia Joanis.” I inched forward. “She’s very talented. In high demand. Or was.” I cringed a little. “I actually saw her earlier.”
His gaze sharpened on me. “You did?”
I nodded, looking at the body. “Yeah. It was only for a few minutes. She was bringing a gown to my mother,” I told him, thinking that piece of information didn’t matter. “What a strange coincidence, right?”
“Right,” he murmured.
When I looked up at him, I saw he watched me in that intense way that felt as if he could see everything I wasn’t saying. “Did you find anything that could indicate why Madis did this?”
The god shook his head. “Nothing.”
“But you believe that she died for the same reason as the others?”
“I do.” He dragged a hand over his head, shoving his hair out of his face.
I started to speak but stopped.