Page 73 of Madness of Her Mages

There was no way I would consider ‘destressing’ until I had all my mates safely with me again.

WORDS COULDN’T DESCRIBEmy relief when I found Drae and Blaze in our bedroom suite. I ran toward them, and Blaze caught me first, spinning me around once and then letting me slide down his chest, feeling every hard angle along the way. Drae grabbed me, kissing me senseless, until my chest was heaving by the time we came up for air. Blaze took my hand and led me to the sofa. I sat in his lap, draping my arms around his shoulders, the heat radiating from his bare chest like my own personal hearth.

“How did it go?” I asked them.

Drae went to the server, his back toward us as he began pouring drinks. “The spymaster knows about Thorin.”

My spine stiffened as I shot up in Blaze’s lap. “What did you say?”

Drae shrugged. “Not much.”

Blaze ran his hands over my new white cloak. “This is beautiful,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck. “But not as beautiful as you.”

I pushed against his hard chest. “Be serious.”

“We told her what our mother’s spirit said,” Drae said as he handed me a goblet of wine, “but we refused to tell her about Ember.”

I took a reluctant sip of wine. Then another while Drae handed full goblets to everyone. Blaze drank his wine while eyeing me over the rim of his goblet. I recognized that look, and the growing protrusion poking my bottom confirmed what he had on his mind. I thought about ‘destressing’ again. Malvolia was probably getting pounded by three fire mages right now. Why shouldn’t I? Other than the fact that my aunt wanted me to kill my sister, war was looming, and demons were trying to take over the world?

I finally said to hell with it and downed the rest before holding out my empty goblet to Drae. “What will she do?”

“We don’t think she’ll do anything,” he said with a devastatingly sexy smirk while taking the goblet from me. “She’s too afraid of Malvolia’s wrath. We told her we’ll tell the queen after we’ve earned her trust.”

Blaze rubbed warmth into my shoulders. “How did it go with you?”

“I met Malvolia’s coven,” I said to them. “They are all very young.”

I caught Nikkos’s eye as he sat in a chair opposite us, noting that he didn’t seem shocked by my news.

Drae nodded. “Most of the older generations didn’t survive the Crimson Tide.”

“My aunt orphaned thousands of Ravini children,” I blurted.

Drae grimaced. “Yes.”

“And so did Thorin, most likely,” Nikkos said while leaning forward in his chair, as if that justified Malvolia’s actions.

Blaze’s hands stilled on my shoulders as he expelled a shaky breath.

I thought of those children today who could have been orphaned had their parents been demon possessed, for my aunt refused to guarantee she wouldn’t kill them. I thought of Malvolia’s lovers who had all been children when she’d killed their parents, and I couldn’t help but think disturbing thoughts. Were any of her mage lovers adolescents when she’d slept with them? Had she intentionally groomed them as children to one day warm her bed? I thought about voicing my questions aloud, but what could I do if she had done those things? She was queen, after all, guilty of murdering thousands. Her day of reckoning would come soon, though. I was sure of it.

I heaved a weary sigh. “She won’t take the news well that she was deceived by Thorin and needlessly killed her own subjects.”

“Probably not,” Blaze said as he continued to rub the tension from my neck, “but she still has to know before we go to war against your sister.”

“War is coming, anyway,” I said to them. “Duke Viggo and Selig are demon possessed.”

Blaze shot up, nearly dropping me off his lap before he snatched my waist and hauled me against his chest.

Drae crossed over to me in a few long strides, concern marring his brow. “How do you know this?” he asked as he knelt in front of me.

“I outed two more demons today,” I answered. “They told us before they exploded.”

“Fuck!” Drae shot up, his wings propelling him as he threw up his hands. “Could this get any worse?”

“Yes, actually.” Bitter laughter escaped my throat. “We could all get explosive diarrhea. My Cousin Felicity and her mates are planning on poisoning us with defluxio tonight.”

“Diarrhea medicine?” Nikkos arched a brow. “Was this why you were upset during tea?”

---