Kissed by a Dark Prince(28)

“I would imagine our physical composition is very much the same, with only a few key differences.” He looked down at the vial. It was almost full. Olivia removed it from the contraption and then pressed a wad of white material to the point where it entered his flesh and slid the needle from his vein.

“Hold this,” she said and he did as she had instructed, replacing her fingers with his, keeping the soft material in place. She took the rubber strip from his arm and feeling returned to his fingers. “Thanks.”

She scribbled something on a label, stuck it on the glass vial, and placed it in a rack. Her gaze roamed back to him and down to his legs.

“If it’s metal, I’m afraid it’s going to have to come off. The machine I would like to use to scan your body doesn’t like metal. It will interfere with it.” She sounded nervous and felt it too. Loren could understand her apprehension. Bleu was already on the verge of issuing a protest.

Loren held his hand up. “Very well.”

The piece of material fell off his arm, revealing the dark hole in his skin. Olivia had taken his blood. What would it be like to have her take his blood properly, as a mate should? He knew how to complete a bond. She would need to take his blood into her body, drinking from him. Just the thought of her wrapping her lips around a wound on his flesh and sucking had him hard beneath his armour.

He shifted uncomfortably and Bleu raised an eyebrow at him again and then looked over to Olivia where she stood beside a large white ring-shaped machine, pressing buttons on it.

Loren spoke with him in their tongue. “Are you concerned about the tests?”

Bleu shook his head. “I am concerned that for a male who claims to desire to be free of this bond, you are enjoying the female’s attention rather too much.”

A very blunt and very Bleu response.

“I am intent on undoing the bond, Bleu,” Loren said, keeping to their language so Olivia couldn’t understand their exchange. “You need not be concerned. My mission is still the apprehension of my brother.”

Bleu’s expression twisted into darkness. “Vail deserves death for the things he has done, not containment. You swore to the council that you would end your brother.”

Loren closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know. I will do what I must for my people... even if it will kill me.”

“My prince...” Bleu started and Loren looked up at him, hiding none of the weariness invading his body, pressing down on him and crushing his heart. “I spoke out of turn without thought for your feelings. I apologise. It was cruel of me.”

Loren shook his head. “No need to apologise, Bleu. I know what I must do. I have put it off for too long, giving my brother too many chances to hurt our people and those I care about, all because I cling to a ridiculous ideal that I can save him.”

“It is because your brother is one of the people you care about that you desire such a thing.”

Loren supposed that was true. He loved his brother, even after everything that had happened, and he didn’t want to imagine a world without him, let alone make it real.

The hard edge to Bleu’s expression softened. “I am glad I never had a brother.”

Loren managed to smile but there was no trace of feeling behind it. “Your sister is trouble enough.”

Bleu’s face fell. “Do not remind me. She is off in the second kingdom of the demons, intent on uncovering some artefact that was lost millennia ago. She will get herself into trouble one day.”

“One day?” Loren smiled properly now. “When is she not in trouble, and when is her big brother not having to go to her rescue?”

Bleu smiled too and Loren was glad to see his second in command relaxing again.

Olivia ruined it by speaking. “Our linguistics department would love to study your language, if you would let them? I’m sure they would find it fascinating.”

Bleu scowled at her and then at Loren, keeping to their language. “The female seeks to allow her comrades to learn our language so they might infiltrate our species and bring them harm.”

Loren shook his head. “She does no such thing. She is merely curious. It is the way of her species, and our own. Did we not seek to learn the mortal languages as they entered an age of great civilisations? We did not do so to find a way to bring them to their knees or harm them. We did so because we were curious and wished to communicate with them and understand them.”

Loren rose to his feet and turned to Olivia, speaking in her tongue now. “I am sorry but that is not a good idea. No species outside of ours can speak our language and that is how we wish to keep things. Not even the demons can speak our tongue.”