Malum Discordiae (Tennebrose, #1)

by Ashlyn Drewek

A pair of mismatched eyes stared back, a crystalline blue and a fern green, framed by long, dark lashes.

Electricity rippled through my palm as soon as it made contact with his skin.

As if incensed by the challenge, a cold wind ripped across the yard, slamming me backward into Graeme. His steady hands caught me once again, practically searing my skin through my sweater.

His breath caressed my face a moment before the warm, plush feeling of his lips pressed against mine.

If it was possible, he might have been even hotter when he was angry. God, I fucking hated him.

“I’d watch your fucking mouth if I were you.” “Why? You didn’t mind it last week.”

My smirk spread into a full-fledged smile. The only answer I gave him was laughter, like the villain he wanted me to be.

“Shh! I have an image to protect.” “Not in this house, you don’t. Here you’re the guy who still jumps in puddles and nurses woodland critters back to health.”

It’s not like I wanted to come home and gush to either of them about how dreamy Cassius was. Dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Cheekbones that could cut fucking glass. As much as I hated to admit it, and despite the fact he was a Corbin, he was still fucking hot.

“I can’t wait for the day when you’re begging me to touch you.” I let my gaze drop to his mouth, not even trying to be subtle anymore. Electricity rippled across more than my hands at the memory of his searing kiss and I licked my lips involuntarily. God, why did he have to be hot? And smart. And fucking infuriating.

His shoulders slumped, his jeweled eyes dropping along with them. Some sort of emotion fluttered through the center of my chest.

“First time on a horse?” “Other than a pony ride? Yeah. I prefer riding things that I can control.” He snorted. “That’s gotta be rough for your dating life.”

Regardless of the fact we were about to rip each other apart, being this close to him made my heartbeat stutter, just like it did the first time I saw him. Why did he have to be so goddamn attractive? He was like a snake in the garden — his beauty lured you in, then a fucking viper leapt out when you least expected it.

I couldn’t even think straight when he was around. My head hated him for a thousand reasons, but there was a want in my blood I couldn’t deny.

When we broke away for air, he pulled back a bit, looking at me with lust-drunk eyes. It was the same way he’d looked the night of Preston’s party before either of us knew who the other was, before the line in the sand was drawn. Back when we were just two people, connected by luck or fate or hormones — not hatred. They say there’s a fine line between love and hate. But what about lust and hate? Where did that fall on the spectrum?

“Fucking say it, Cash. Whose cock is buried so deep in your ass you can’t stand it?” “Graeme,” I blurted out, squeezing my eyes shut as my body hurtled toward release. “It’s Graeme! Fuck me, it’s Graeme!”

“Can you ever look at me and not see my father?” he asked quietly. “Can you ever look at me and not see a monster?” “I don’t see a monster.”

“Because last night you apparently risked your life going over there to get answers for me. And while I watched you sleep, wondering if you were going to wake up again, I didn’t see a fucking monster, Cash. I saw you.”

“One more thing.” My molars ground together, suppressing the urge to throttle him. “What?” He leaned up and grabbed me by the back of the head, yanking me close. As soon as I realized what he was doing, he pressed his lips to mine. A rush of warmth swept through me, along with a thousand more tingling sensations.

“Do you always have to be such a hard ass?” “Do you always have to be such a pain in the ass?” “Only if you want me to, baby.” I slipped both hands around his hips and grabbed the ass in question, yanking his pelvis against mine. Personality aside, he was fucking perfect. The long, hard lines of his body melded with mine, like two puzzle pieces coming together.

“Do you hate me, Cassius?” “You know I do.” His voice was hard, his face was hard, even his dick was hard. But the flicker of emotion behind that carefully cultivated facade, the way his grip tightened on my shirt... I didn’t have to have divination powers to know he was fucking lying. “That’s a shame,” I said, my lips brushing across his lightly. “Because I’m starting to kind of like you.”

And there I stood — dick out, pants undone, chest heaving, watching the boy of my dreams step over the pile of books and turn the corner like he didn’t just come in and wreck my fucking world.

He expelled a short breath and grabbed another book, flipping through it as loudly as possible. Until that moment, I didn’t even realize you could read a book loudly.

“Why do you even have something like this?” “For this very reason. Because in order for us to be close to anyone outside our family, we have to bend over backwards proving that we’re not evil incarnate. And you self-righteous assholes still blame us for everything.”

“Then on behalf of the Hewitts, I’m sorry,” Graeme said, so quietly I almost thought I made it up. I furrowed my brow and looked at him. When he didn’t elaborate, I asked the obvious. “For what?” “For accusing you. And your cousin. And for what my dad did…” He swallowed hard, his gaze dropping, like the weight of his father’s crime was hanging on his own shoulders. “I’m sorry about your friend,” I offered, clearing my throat softly, suddenly unable to look at him. “And your brother…” His pinky stroked mine slowly. It was barely even a touch, the most minuscule amount of contact ever, and yet heat flared from that spot and spread through the rest of my body like wildfire.

“My brain is confused. All I know is that you are all I can think about these days. You’re driving me crazy, Cash. It’s like nothing in the world makes sense until you come around, then everything feels… right.”

Little sparks of warmth flickered across my skin wherever he touched me. I didn’t know if it was his magic, or just him, drawing feelings out of me that he shouldn’t have been able to reach.

Despite the fact he’d started pushing inside, his lips never left mine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice him sliding deeper and deeper, but I was more concerned with his mouth and the way he took over mine completely. Somehow over these past few weeks he’d captured all of me and I didn’t even realize it had happened until it was too late.

Every fucking part. No matter what happened after this, in this moment Graeme Hewitt was mine.

You said you’ve already accepted death,” I said quietly, sliding my fingers into his dark hair and angling his face up toward my mouth. “So what are you afraid of?” His gaze burned into mine, so much that I swore he was using lightning against me. Tiny sparks danced over my skin as he ran his hands up my abs, around my ribs, and up my back. “You.” A slow smile spread over my lips as he pulled me closer. “Good.” “Why do you say that?” “Because you terrify me.”

Instead of securing Graeme’s trust, all that amulet had done was give him the upper hand in a fight that ultimately killed my cousin. Graeme still saw me as a monster, even after everything.

“I’m so sorry, Dad! I didn’t know this would happen! I thought he was different! I thought we could—” My stupid hope for what could have been died in a strangled sob.

“Because you’re a blood witch, Cassius. Everyone has some iron in their blood, but you have more because of your magic. The same with Stormbringers.

“I’d venture to say his feelings for you run deeper than they ever have with anyone else before. Because of your shared magic? Possibly. Perhaps that explained the initial attraction but he kept coming back because of you, Cassius. You’re more than your magic. So is he.”

Because no matter how much I tried to fucking hate him, all I wanted to do was see him, to know he was ok, and that I didn’t totally destroy him?

“Astra inclinant, sed non obligant. The stars incline us, they do not bind us,” he said gently, throwing a pointed glance in my direction.

“Are you telling me he and Claudia are in love?” “Claudia?!” I’m sure I wasn’t meant to be a part of the conversation that was clearly about me, but I couldn’t help it. It’s not like they were whispering and the fact they were, like, five feet away meant I heard every word. “I don’t want anything to do with Claudia!” Ainsworth chuckled, looking quite pleased with himself. “Not Claudia...” She straightened and reconsidered me with a tilted head and furrowed brows. “Cassius?”

“Together, they have the power to undo the damage of the last three hundred and fifty years!”

“I’m sorry for everything I did. Everything I said. Everything except this.” “What?” I snapped, opening my eyes to glare at him. “This,” he repeated, like it was supposed to be any more clear. “I’m not sorry that we happened.”

“Don’t you want to see Cassius when he wakes?” I couldn’t help but wince. “I don’t think Cassius wants to see me. Ever.” “I know he doesn’t have much reason to show it, but my son has a big heart. Trust me. He’ll want to see you.” “Did you use his blood too?” The corner of Caius’s mouth lifted in another smile, this one a little brighter than before. “I didn’t have to. I’m his father. I’ve known about you since he blundered through a story about why he had your phone after the equinox.”

“Please, just talk to me.” “Talk to you? Talk to you about what, Graeme?! About how you murdered my fucking cousin but it’s ok because you didn’t ‘mean’ to? Or how you’re the one who pushed for this… whatever the fuck it is… and then turned and threw it all in my face the second I didn’t have a good enough answer for you?” “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for freaking out on you. Please, Cassius, tell me what to do. Tell me what I can do to make it better.” “It’ll never be better! Don’t you see that? I hate you! I hate everything about you and what you represent! What you’ve said and done. But I hate myself even more and looking at you is a reminder of that.”

From the faint pink in his cheeks and the way he glanced down before looking up again, I knew it was true. He loved me. He fucking loved me. I didn’t know how. Frankly, I didn’t know why. But he did.

Underneath all of the hate and anger and stupid lust, was there something else? Was it love that made my blood come alive? Love that made the knot in my chest loosen whenever he was around? I had no fucking clue. I’d never loved anyone before. Not like that.

I wanted to keep him safe from Claudia, from demons, from whatever else might be trying to kill him on any given day. But I wanted to beat the hell out of him. He took my already complicated life and made it a thousand times worse. Just like a Hewitt to take and take and take and never give anything back. He’d taken my time, my energy, my focus, and what was I left with? Pain. Death. Confusion. A veritable mess of emotions.

I don’t know. But if magic is part of who we are, then why would it be any less real?”

“You feel amazing,” I said, tilting my hips up to meet his tentative thrusts. “It’s like you were made for me,” he panted, driving into me in a slow, steady rhythm that hit all the right spots. “Maybe I was.”

“What was that for?” “Because I think I love you too.”

Talking about the future was risky. Talking about the past was off-limits. And in the present, all I wanted to do was kiss him and beg him to stay with me.

“Dad can ask those assholes tomorrow night at the Meeting and see what kind of reaction we get — to that and to us.” “Us?” Graeme’s brows shot up. “Yes, ‘us.’ Isn’t that what you keep bugging me about? Trying to get me to say shit like ‘we’ and ‘us.’” “Yeah, but like, I didn’t mean we had to make an announcement in front of the whole Congregation.” “Ashamed of me already?” “No. Absolutely not. That is not what this is about.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of you. I would shout it from every rooftop in Winslow if you wanted me to. I just… you’re the first thing in my life they haven’t controlled. You’re mine,” he sighed, shifting closer and resting his forehead against mine. “To hold hands with, to kiss, to… be myself around. I’m afraid once they know about you, about us, I won’t have that anymore. We’ll be under a fucking microscope and I don’t want that for either of us.”