Page 32 of Taken By the Blood God

Minerva rubbed her hands over her face. She looked exhausted. I doubted she realized I could see her in the dark because she made no effort to hide it.

I touched her arm, cupping her elbow with my fingers. “Minerva, you should rest. I can open a portal for you to the hotel. I will stay here and keep watch.”

She sighed again. “No, no. I’m staying. I will take a nap though.”

I watched as she arranged her backpack on the ground next to me and laid down. I wanted to tell her that she could lay her head on my lap, but I knew she wouldn’t.

Instead, I waited until I knew she was asleep before I rested my hand on her shoulder. I just needed to be close to her—to reassure myself that she was still there, even though I could see her and hear her breathing.

And I waited.

Chapter

Fifteen

Minerva

I didn’t wake up where I’d gone to sleep.

Instead of hard ground and grass beneath me, there was a comfortable mattress. I was barefoot and wore only my shirt, underwear, and socks. I shifted, lifting a hand to my chest. Oh, and my damned bra.

I knew exactly where I was without opening my eyes. I was back in the hotel room. A sneaky blood god had portaled me back to the room after I had fallen asleep and put me to bed like a six-year-old child.

I kept my eyes shut and let my senses spread out around me. The room was empty, save me. I lifted my lids to find the room still dim, but there was sunlight leaking around the edges of the curtains. Groaning, I sat up, looking around for my backpack. When I turned my head, I saw that someone had set my cell phone on the nightstand and plugged it in to the charger.

Not that it mattered since I didn’t have international service. I couldn’t call or text anyone. But maybe I could hook up to the wi-fi here in the inn and message Ally to let her know that I was all right. If that didn’t work, I’d have to cast a quick spell.I preferred to conserve my magic, but I knew she would be worried.

Wait, how had he plugged in my phone? I didn’t have a voltage adapter in my bag. I followed the cord back and saw that it was a completely different charger than the one I brought with me. Maybe he borrowed it from Gerald. Or had Gerald go out and buy it for me.

I hoped he hadn’t done that because I would feel bad. I wasn’t even sure how we were paying for this stay. I should probably go downstairs and give the front desk my credit card.

After a shower and a cup of tea.

All of that would have to wait until I found a particularly irritating blood god, though. Because he shouldn’t have brought me back to the hotel, undressed me, and put me to bed. He had no right.

Just as I threw back the blanket to get out of bed, a portal swirled into existence in the middle of the room, and Talant stepped out.

I didn’t even stop to consider that I was half-dressed. I jumped to my feet and stalked over to him as the portal closed behind him. Even in the dim room, I could see that he looked fine. Fresh as a freaking daisy.

“What the hell, Talant?”

His only answer was to push a paper to-go cup into my hand. “Here’s some tea.”

I had to take the cup because he was already letting it go. The scent of freshly brewed black tea hit me, making my mouth water. It smelled delicious. Unable to resist, I took a sip. Caffeine would give me the energy to tear him a new one. The flavor hit my tongue, and I had to bite back a moan. It was lightly sweetened and brewed to perfection.

Talant walked over to the window and threw open the curtains, revealing another bright sunny day. There were people dotting the beach already, so it must have been late morning.

I squinted at the light, lifting a hand to shield my eyes until they adjusted. When I lowered it, I realized Talant’s eyes were locked on the lower half of my body. Which reminded me why I was so pissed at him.

“First, where are my pants, Tal?” I asked.

He gestured behind me, and I turned to see my pants tossed over the back of the desk chair. I stomped over, put my cup down on the desk, and snatched them up. As I wiggled into them, I glared at him.

“Why are you angry?” he asked.

I was suddenly lightheaded. Probably because all the blood had rushed straight to my head, threatening to make it explode.

“Why am I angry?” I repeated.

---