Page 140 of Vicious Is My Throne

She looked delectable, her hair all mussed around her face, the too big shirt showing a hint of her curves. And her arse in those breeches…

Anaria followed my gaze to the bed. “How about we attempt the stairs before we graduate to more rigorous activities? There have been developments, and we have to make some decisions. That’s why I woke you.”

Something niggled at the back of my brain, something I’d dreamed…or heard while I was dreaming, and every muscle tensed, including the ones on my back, which was a big fucking mistake.

“You said we were in danger. What kind of danger?”

Anaria made quick work of explaining the disappearance of Lord and Lady Whitehall, along with their guards, and by the time she was finished, I’d made my way across the room to the door, her arm wrapped around my waist.

“How confident do you feel about the staircase?” she asked, one of my wings hitting her in the face as I tried to fit my newly modified body through the door. These things were seriously cumbersome, and I wondered if Raziel could just disappear them already.

“Not very, but what are my choices?”

We paused at the top, our eyes meeting.

“First off”—I gently untangled her arm from my waist—“you are going to walk behind me. If I fall, I’m not taking you with me. Second, if I do go down, you stay out of the way so you don’t get hurt.”

“Ten gilder says he goes down on the second step,” Tavion called from below, his grin taking over his whole face. “And doesn’t stop rolling until he hits the floor.”

“You are seriously an arsehole,” Raz muttered.

“I’ll take that bet.” Tristan tipped his head. “I say he’ll make it halfway before he does a header.”

“You two stop,” Anaria scolded, her voice high. “No betting on Zorander. He’s only in this situation because he risked his life to save others. If I see so much as a single gilder change hands between you, you’re sleeping on the floor once we reach the palace.”

“Spoilsport,” Tavion muttered, his grin even wider as he scanned the sheer number of fucking steps stretching between us.

“Be careful, Zor,” Anaria whispered. “Don’t give them the satisfaction.”

“Now it’s a matter of principal,” I called down. “I’ll take both your bets, you fuckers, so you’d better kiss your money goodbye.”

I counted my money at the table while Anaria fussed over me, brushing up against my wings, apologizing every time, though I wondered if she was doing it on purpose, especially when her lips grazed my cheek before she sat down beside me.

“We’re at a disadvantage.” Raz left his position by the window. “We can’t see outside, and none of us dare go out there. If Bexley’s correct and the magic wave mutated the Whitehalls, we wouldn’t know they were on the move until they were here.”

“I’d get airborne and see if I could spot them, but by the time I landed, it would probably be too late for a warning.”

“Will Anaria’s shield hold?” I asked the mage.

“Against the blight? Yes,” Bexley answered slowly, as if he’d asked himself this a thousand times already and still didn’t have an answer. “But claws and teeth? I don’t know. And once they break through the ward, we only have two choices.”

“Fight or flee,” Tavion growled, sounding like he preferred the first option.

“You said the Wynter Palace is untouched?” I glanced to Tristan. “Why don’t we leave now? We have food.” I nodded to the overflowing table. “Water can be found at the palace, so there’s no sense in carrying the extra weight. We use our energy to get ourselves there, then decide how to get to the Hammer.”

They all were looking somewhere else, Tavion suddenly very interested in the edge of the table.

“We’re waiting on you, Zor,” Raz finally said. “Can you access your magic? Will your power work like before, given you have wings? These are questions that must be answered before we even think about leaving.”

“So we’re trapped here, waiting, because of me?” I pushed away from the table and godsdamned almost tipped over backward. “Get Anaria to the palace. Tonight. She should have been gone from here hours ago when it was still light.”

“We weren’t going to leave you, Zor.” She sounded angry with me, and I knew why.

“You aren’t the only one willing to sacrifice yourself for the rest of us, Anaria. Don’t think you have cornered the market on martyrdom.” I didn’t know why I said that. Temper, maybe.

Or maybe because I was finally realizing how much of a liability I was. I hadn’t been a liability since I was eleven and killed my first enemy then puked my guts up for a solid three days afterward.

But I couldn’t fight. Could hardly stand without help.

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