Page 22 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

“And what were you doing?” Alaric cocked his head.

“She was being insane.” Ary lifted his wine glass to me, and I raised mine back, a wicked grin on my face.

“There is another weak spot you can exploit. The spines that run along their back and neck are longer but less dense than the rest of the ones on their body. If you shoot an arrow at the base of their neck, you can sever the vertebrae and take them down in a second.”

Alaric frowned. “You’d have to shoot at the same angle as the spikes, which means you’d need to be both behind and above them.”

“There are dried-up riverbeds all over their territory, and they create narrow channels. Rynn convinced a few pack members to chase some of the boars down them. I would run along the edges and leap across to the other side. At the apex of my jump, I’d have the perfect angle. Could bring down three or four each time,” I said smugly.

“You’re good with a crossbow?” Draven asked.

Alaric and Kieran snorted, but it was Kieran who answered. “Samara isn’tgoodwith a crossbow. She’s excellent. Pretty sure she’s a better shot than any of our rangers, Vail included.”

“And let’s not forget the bloody knives,” Alaric muttered, drawing a grin out of me.

“There are no helpful riverbeds down here, so it’ll be difficult for me to pull out that trick,” I said.

“I could throw you.” Ary sent me a heated look. “It’s not exactly how I’ve always wanted to get my hands on you, but I’lltake what I can get. Perhaps offer to rub down your muscles after the hunt . . .”

“You should stick to hunting, Ary.” Aniela laughed. “Your flirtations continue to be awful.”

“They worked on you.” He arched a thick, dark brow at her.

My eyes widened as I looked at the two Heirs who I’d always thought hated each other. “Did you know that?” I gave Kieran a wide-eyed stare.

He shrugged. “Old news. Happened two years ago, not long after Aniela was named Heir.” He looked at the beautiful Moroi female who wore a simple, emerald green dress that did wonders for her red hair. “Summer equinox, if I remember correctly. You’d just been dumped by that cute blond boy you’d been seeing all spring.”

Aniela glared at him. “He wasn’tcute, he washot, and I wasn’t dumped. We mutually agreed to end things.”

“Of course.” Kieran smiled, which only pissed Aniela off more.

“So,” I cut in and waved my hand between Aniela and Ary, “hate fuck then?”

They looked at each other for a long moment before nodding and saying, “Hate fuck.”

Everyone at the table laughed, and some of the tension dispelled. I didn’t think anyone else caught how Ary’s gaze lingered on Aniela for several seconds after she’d already looked away.

I thought about asking some probing questions to start feeling out where everyone might stand on the wraith situation, but it would be easier if I could talk to them one-on-one. Before I could think of anything to say, Demetri leaned forward and caught my eye.

“Perhaps we should try it?” he suggested.

“Try what?” I arched an eyebrow.

“Hate fucking.” He smiled. “It might do wonders to repair our relationship.”

Ary looked at Aniela. “Okay, compared to him, you have to admit that I’m charming as fuck.”

I took a sip of wine, keeping my expression relaxed even as I fumed internally at Demetri’s words. The audacity of that male. Beside me, Draven, Kieran, and Alaric had all gone completely still. I needed to play this down before they did something foolish. As the Moroi Prince, Draven could do whatever he wanted, but if Alaric or Kieran did anything against the Heir of another House, there would be consequences.

“The only relationship we have is the one that exists between all Heirs,” I drawled. “There is nothing beyond that, and despite what antics some might engage in”—I glanced pointedly at Aniela and Ary—“I have no interest in hate fucking any of the Heirs.” I slid my hand across the table, and Kieran immediately grabbed it, intertwining our fingers. “As you pointed out earlier, I’m already getting quite thoroughly fucked. There is no reason for me to slum it anymore.”

“You’re fucking a courtier who was a throwaway from House Corvinus and an advisor who came fromnothing.” Demetri sneered. “The Lockwoods are outpost trash who have no business living in a House, let alone advising one.”

My fingers curled around the knife next to my plate, but Draven’s hand found mine before I could do anything with it, and Kieran’s fingers tightened around my other hand so all I could do was glower at my ex-husband and envision slicing his throat open. It wasn’t enough. I opened my mouth to tell him off, but Alaric beat me to it.

“House Laurent is going to run out of malachite by the end of the year,” Alaric said calmly. “Which means you’ll have to rely on other crystals to power your wards, ones that won’t last nearly as long. Since you foolishly didn’t pursue Samara’s proposal of trading with the Velesians—who have malachite inabundance—you have no reliable way of getting more.” He took another sip of wine. “She sent that proposal to the Order of Narchis as soon as she returned here, by the way. So House Harker now has one of the best trade deals for malachite in all of the Moroi realm.”

“I’d love to speak with you about that tomorrow,” Aniela cut in. “I believe House Salvatore can offer favorable terms in exchange for some malachite.”

---