Free Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) by Airicka Phoenix

stalked through, leaving Riley to tiptoe just a little over the threshold to peer inside.
     
    The room was enormous. Her entire apartment could easily fit inside and still have room leftover. The floors were smooth marble with wood panels along the walls and lace on the windows that filtered a stream of white light into the otherwise dismal place. A giant four poster bed took up the majority of the space with its dark wood and soft, navy blue covers. Twin nightstands sat on either side that matched the dresser and vanity on the other side of the room. Two cream colored armchairs and a sofa faced a dark fireplace. But it was the massive grand piano tucked away in the corner of the room, barely visible except where the firelight danced across the gleaming surface that caught her attention.
     
    “Do you play?” she asked, pointing.
     
    In the process of swinging on a black, wool coat, Octavian paused and followed her attention. “Not anymore.”
     
    Riley frowned. “Why not?”
     
    He stalked back to her, forcing her to stumble back out of the room. “Because.” He slammed the doors behind him. “Come on,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and starting back the way they’d come.
     
    Curious of the man looming like an impenetrable force alongside her, Riley hurried to fall into step. They didn’t speak as they made their way back to the foyer and the glass stained doors, which, Riley found out, led outside. It had grown cooler since her arrival. The wind was edged with ice that cut upon contact. No amount of huddling beneath her coat shielded her from what was surely the cruel descent of winter.
     
    “You don’t have to walk me the whole way,” she told the silent figure ambling along next to her as they left the dull lights of Final Judgment behind and started up the dirt path towards the highway. “It really isn’t that far. You can see my apartment if you squint really hard.”
     
    “I don’t like squinting,” he mumbled.
     
    “It’s a metaphorical squinting.”
     
    “Even then.”
     
    Riley rolled her eyes. “Are you always so literal?”
     
    He turned his head slightly to the side to peer at her. “Are you always so stubborn?”
     
    “Yes,” she replied with just a hint of pride. “It’s one of my more redeeming qualities.”
     
    “One of? I’m afraid to ask what the others would be.”
     
    “Not sure you could handle the many levels of my awesomeness…” she mused.
     
    In the dark, she could have sworn she saw a flash of a grin before the shadows swallowed it up. “I’m beginning to see that.”
     
    “Yup,” she murmured slowly. “I’m a cocktail of all the really cool stuff.”
     
    He snorted. “Is telling really bad jokes one of your awesome talents?”
     
    Smothering a grin, Riley shrugged. “One of many.”
     
    “A jack of all trades, eh? How does your husband put up with you?”
     
    Riley barked a laugh. “Husband? How old do I look?”
     
    Night spilled over his face, obscuring his eyes, but she felt them roam over her as he seemingly calculated her question. Then he turned his head forward. “I reserve the right not to answer.”
     
    Riley blinked. “You what? Why?”
     
    “Because I, unlike you, have an obscene amount of self-preservation and, regardless of what my life may be, I would like to continue living it. The last thing I need is to guess wrong and get that life shortened.” He shrugged. “I’m going with the female book of ethics on this one.”
     
    “The female…” She shook her head slowly, chuckling. “Where can I pick up this mythical book? And I do too have self-preservation. In fact, if we were attacked at this moment, I would totally use you to slow them down while I make my escape.”
     
    “Well, I certainly feel safer being with you.”
     
    They lapsed into a comfortable sort of silence the rest of the way, her mind blank from exhaustion. Their combined footfalls crunched on brittle leaves. She let the sound