Free Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) by Airicka Phoenix, Morgana Phoenix Page B

humoring me.”
    “No!” He put up a hand. “I swear it.”
    She seemed to consider this a moment, then said slowly, “Perhaps we can hunt together.”
    Gideon bunched his hands to keep from touching her. “I would like that, Miss Devereaux.”
    “Miss Devereaux?” She wrinkled her pert little nose. “I am not a fancy human lady. Valkyrie is fine.”
    “Valkyrie,” he repeated, and felt heat tickle his cheeks, but he kept her gaze. “It is beautiful, but it doesn’t suit you.”
    Both eyebrows rose. “Doesn’t it?”
    He shrugged. “It is strong and powerful and the perfect name for a warrior, but Kyrie makes you feel less threatening.”
    If colors could be seen from a laugh, hers would have been a wild mess of pink, yellow, and purple with tangles of light blue and white. It was bright, carefree, and joyous.
    “Do I threaten you, Caster?” she teased.
    He didn’t bother concealing his grimace. “I have seen you fight.”
    She seemed delighted by his remark. “Perhaps I like being threatening.”
    He let his neck bend ever so slightly to the right. “Even to me?”
    “Perhaps.” She bit her lip and eyed him with feigned suspicion. “So what is your name? You never did tell me, or will you force me to call you Mr. Avery?”
    Folding his arms, he raised an eyebrow. “You never asked.”
    Mirroring his posture, she arched her own brow. “Well, I am now.”
    Pushing up to his full height, he bowed low at the waist. “Gideon Avery. At your service, my lady.”
    Her giggle captivated him. “A pleasure, Gideon.”

Chapter Four
    T he sound of her voice followed him into consciousness. Gideon lay awake a moment, studying the shadows across the ceiling and hanging on to that memory, to the way her hair had spilled down her back and the way her eyes had danced in the moonlight. He hadn’t let himself dwell on those days in ages. He blamed Octavian and Riley for bringing them to surface now; if they weren’t so lost in each other all the time, Gideon wouldn’t feel the echoing emptiness inside himself. He had, after all, managed to avoid the pull for over three centuries.
    A glint of twirling silver caught his eye and he followed it to the figure lounging in a chair next to his bed. He recognized his brother’s dark, brooding form even before seeing his face.
    “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Magnus muttered, never looking up from the thin blade he was twirling effortlessly around each finger. “I was beginning to wonder if I would need to bring a prince in here to kiss you awake.”
    “What happened?” He struggled to sit up.
    Magnus ceased his knife play and tucked it into his boot. “The Daitya stabbed you with spider venom.”
    Gideon gaped. “I was venomed?”
    “Calm down,” Magnus said, leaning back in his seat. “It was just the numbing agent spiders use to incapacitate their prey. It wouldn’t have actually hurt you.”
    Gideon pitched a pillow at his brother’s head. It bounced off and dropped behind Magnus’ chair. “Thanks for the concern, asshole!”
    “I was concerned.” He spread his hands in indication. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
    Gideon frowned. “Why are you here?”
    “Because I thought you could use a break from Mom and Riley fussing over you like you were on your deathbed. Those two could try the patience of a saint.”
    With a reluctant sigh, Gideon sat back against the mountain of pillows propped up behind him. A frown crinkled his brow when his attention roamed up the span of his bed and the unfamiliar, pink sheets adorning his mattress. The spread was scattered with tiny, pink rosebuds and smelled like lilacs. But he was in his room!
    “What happened?” He lifted his hands into the air as though fearing some kind of contamination from all the ... ew.
    Magnus smirked as he steepled his fingers together in a very evil villain type manner. “Like I said, you owe me and you’re welcome.”
    Using just the tips of his fingers, he thrust back the sheets, as