Page 75 of Blood Bought

“Heir Alaris?” Aerin called from the hallway. “You’re needed. Now.”

His grip around me tightened. “I’ll be there when I’m ready to be there.” She must have spoken into his mind, because the growl he released was so angry and protective I knew that she was trying to convince him to leave me right then. “Leave now, Aerin. I don’t care if you’re Kellian’s sister. I will kill you, and anyone else who tries to pull me away from my mate. She needs me more. Go!”

I heard her footsteps retreating and glanced up. “I didn’t know they were siblings. Talk about your kept secrets... but Ris, if you need to go, I’ll be okay. I know you wouldn’t go unless you had to.”

“We just confessed our love and I’m supposed to run off and deal with their shit?” He kissed my forehead. “Say it again first.”

“I love you. All of you, even the prickly parts that sometimes give me nightmares. Now go, Renzo needed you and you probably shouldn’t ignore him, either. I’ll be right here... or, you can make Aerin wait, stay in bed with me and let Renzo come in and talk.”

He contemplated that, and then I assumed he reached out to Renzo because within a moment he was standing above the bed and looking down at us.

“Pissing a lot of people off again, Ris.”

“I tend to do that. What is it?” He pulled the blanket up to cover my chest, making me almost giggle at how possessive he’d gotten since first letting them feed on me while he ate me out.

“So Ciro wasn’t lying, there was a Shield dead in the Faint Wood. But we... found some things. Some disturbing things. Namely... the Shield wasn’t coming to hurt us. They were coming to warn us.”

I watched his eyes scan Renzo’s mind, seeing all of it for himself, and whatever he saw there had his fangs out and him leaping to his feet. “Have you spoken to Azel? Is it time?”

“What?” I asked quickly, sitting up and holding the sheet to my chin. “Wait, warn us about what?”

Renzo looked once at Alaris and then took a breath as he faced me again. “You know, I’m sure, that while vampires, wolves, and witches are the most common supernatural beings in the New Allegiance territories, we’re not the only ones, right?”

“Yes.”

“Across the Great Sea, the dynamics are different. Vampires, wolves and witches are rarer. Other beings have higher populations. They mostly keep to themselves, but not always.”

I reached out for Alaris’ hand. “So someone’s coming? That’s what they found?”

“Yes. Not just any someone, either. Djinn. Which brings me back to your question, Ris. Yes. She was my first stop when we got back, and she confirmed it. This is the catalyst of the Great War that was foretold. It’s time.”

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Alaris disappearedso suddenly it shocked the hell out of me. One moment my eyes were open and they were both still there, then I blinked and they were gone.

Confused and understandably scared, I scrambled out of bed and hastily got dressed, throwing that camo tank back on and testing out the leather chest strap Renzo had gifted me to sheath a pair of twin blades I thought I’d never use.

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