Page 65 of Blood So Brutal

His jaw clenched. “Notforus.Withus.”

“Does he know?” I glanced toward the bedroom door. “Does he know what you have planned with them?”

Wolf lowered his gaze again. “It’s safer for him if he doesn’t, but I’m confident that when the time comes, he’ll choose the right side.”

Sleep came swiftly.

Wolf’s hand never left my back.

Chapter 19

Wolf

“The mission was uneventful,” I lied, doing my best to sound as bored as possible. Luseyar and Asmodeus sat at the far end of the large table, both demanding answers to questions Jessiah and I couldn’t answer.

It was always the same damn thing.

“You didn’t see anyone else in Scarlata?”

I shrugged. “The place was overgrown by the forest. There’s no sign of anyone living anywhere in the ruins. It was silent.”

Luseyar busied himself with looking anywhere but at me.Still. But Asmodeus glared at me for one too many seconds before sliding his gaze to my brother. “And you agree with this?”

Jessiah leaned back in his chair. Even after our long journey home, he looked confident and put together. Hells, he was such a damn good liar, I couldn’t help but wonder what else he lied about in his life.

“I agree,” Jessiah added. “We scouted the entire kingdom’s ruins and the surrounding areas. There was no sign of anyone, not even the hungry ones. They must have moved on.”

Asmodeus tapped a finger against his chin. “They’re out there somewhere. If they’re not in Scarlata, they’re somewhere else, waiting for us.”

I took a long breath, making sure to exhale loudly.

His gaze snapped to me. “Apologies, son—are we bothering you?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m simply exhausted from our journey, and I have much better things to do than stand here and tell you—once again—that our trip was uneventful.”

He considered my words. It was risky, but he would usually rather dismiss me than deal with my attitude on a regular basis.

“Fine,” he snapped. “You must prepare for the wedding, anyway. The equinox is coming up, and I want to know everything there is to know about Huntyr’s power before then. Find out what she can do. My patience is growing thin. I assume she’ll be more forthcoming with you than she will be with one of my men forcing it out of her.”

In the corner of my eye, I saw Jessiah shift.

“If you don’t start showing me what she’s capable of, I’ll be forced to get the information another way. Understood?”

I nodded, biting my tongue and clenching my fists until I was sure my palms bled. “Understood.”

“What the hells is that supposed to mean?” Huntyr asked. “I show him my wings? I draw blood and burn the place down like I nearly did in Moira? I turn more hungry ones into statues when we’re about to die?”

“You’ve matured as a vampyre now,” I explained. “Your magic is going to be much more powerful than it was at Moira.”

“Great,” she mumbled. “Because that wasn’t terrifying at all.”

“You summoned your wings, right?” I pushed myself away from the door. “That was magic you didn’t have access to until you drank my blood.”

She paused. “You must think very highly of your own blood.”

I took another step closer. “It could have been anyone’s blood you drank. But it was mine, because it willalwaysbe mine.”

“How is that fair?” Her big, round eyes looked up at me from her seated position on the edge of the bed. “You drink from other people. You’ve drank froma lotof other people, I’d bet.”

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