“One.”
She opened her eyes, pulling him close, until her lips hovered next to his….
Nox pushed her away, though it was the last thing he felt like doing. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I know what I’m saying. I’m saying Mortal boys can’t give me what I need. They don’t feel like this.” She reached her hand inside the collar of Nox’s shirt. “Don’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“All of it,” she said. “Everything that matters. The burning cold. The electricity. The chaos when we touch. The power surge.”
As she spoke, Nox realized it was true. There was something different about her touch now. She’d always driven him wild—even the thought of her, the one person he couldn’t have—but now even the brush of her skin against his sent him over the edge.
“That’s not true,” he said, though he didn’t know why he said it. Every cell in his body was telling him to shut up, to kiss her back, to never let go.
She laughed in his face.
“This isn’t you,” he faltered, trying again.
She snuck her arm back around his neck as a black snake slithered out from under the bed. It wound itself around Ridley’s bare leg and twisted its way up her torso, looping itself around her neck. She didn’t seem to notice at all.
“The snake,” Nox pointed. “Around your neck.”
She glanced down and ran her fingers over the delicate skin below her chin until she reached her collarbone. Her fingers slipped right through the serpent’s body, as if she’d touched a hologram.
It’s an illusion, Nox thought. Of course.
He’d seen Floyd manifest illusions often enough. He should have recognized this one. He’d probably won a handful of Illusionist powers in TFPs, too. Liar’s Trade seemed to draw Illusionists to the game tables.
But she wasn’t finished.
The cell darkened around her, like a wave of black clouds was rolling in. A flash of lightning cut across the space above her head, which suddenly looked exactly like a real sky.
Nox looked up at the darkness that used to be the ceiling. “Is that you, Ridley?” He’d never seen her do anything like this before.
“How long have you been projecting illusions, Rid? Do you remember what Silas did to you?” He hated asking but couldn’t figure out how to undo it unless he knew.
Maybe I don’t want to undo it. She wants me.
What’s my problem? I just need to shut up.
We could finally be together, if we can get out of this place.
Rid licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. “He made me more powerful. More of what I was destined to be.” She paused. “More of everything, Nox.”
The way she said his name made him shiver. Her powers were stronger now. He could feel the pull—tugging at him.
“I feel it even more when I touch you.” Ridley raised her arms over her head, exposing the Dark Caster tattoo that encircled her navel. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still going to kill Silas. No one does anything to me without my permission. Even if it does feel absolutely decadent.”
“You might not get the chance to kill anyone,” Nox said, trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation. “There’s no way out of here.”
The dark clouds around her disappeared. Only the snake remained, coiling through her pink-streaked hair.
“There’s always a way, Nox.” She kept saying his name, making him forget everything but her. “If you want something bad enough.”
Ridley slid her hands down the bars, and Nox could almost feel her touching his skin. She lowered her voice. “Do you want me bad enough? Do you want us?”
The intensity in her eyes—
The need in her voice—
Nox’s head swam.
“More than I’ve ever wanted anything,” he said.
I want you, Rid. More than you’ll ever understand.
He tried to pull his eyes away from the Siren standing in front of him.
I want to kiss you and hold you and run my fingers through that wild hair.
He tried not to think about it, about her, about the way she said us.
I want to protect you and make sure no one ever hurts you again.
He knew what he wanted. Maybe he had always known.
I want you to let me love you. Finally.
But first he had to find the girl he loved.
Is she still the same girl?
This girl wanted him, so could it really be her?
He knew they belonged together the first night he met her at the card table—maybe even before that, on the beach in Barbados—and he also knew that if Link wasn’t part of the equation, Ridley would’ve acted on her feelings. He was sure of it.
Was it so wrong if he let her love him now?
You don’t even know if her feelings for you are real.
She probably doesn’t even know.
Still …
The sound of boot steps echoed through the passageway, and Ridley turned toward the noise. The snake around her neck vanished, replaced by the stench of a Barbadian wafting through the air.
A moment later, Silas Ravenwood’s wing tips followed. He ignored Nox and walked straight to Ridley’s cell. “How is the most powerful Siren in history feeling today?” He smiled at her like a proud father.
Nox’s stomach twisted.
Ridley tossed her blond locks over her shoulder. “I’d be doing a lot better if I was sleeping on silk sheets in a real bedroom.”