Page 30 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

“No promises. I exist to piss that man off.”

“That is definitely what Alaric believes.”

We both snickered as I unlatched the window and swung it open. This was the trickiest part of my plan. I needed to climb down the wall to the courtyard and then quickly make my way out of House Harker. Draven had said he was retiring to his room after dinner, but I doubted that. Ary and Aniela were also still here, and I wouldn’t put it past them to do a little sleuthing before they left tomorrow morning. Luckily, this window opened up to one of the smaller courtyards near the outer wall. There was a secret tunnel on this side that we could use to get outside the walls so we didn’t have to go through the main gate.

I just needed to climb down without drawing attention. Or falling.

The cool night breeze danced across my skin as I peered down. My living quarters were towards the top of the tower, and it was a long way to the ground, but it wasn’t fear racing through me right now. Exhilaration lit up my skin as I breathed in the crisp air and admired the cloudless and starry night.

We might currently live our lives by day, but it was night that made us feel truly alive. Even tonight, when the moon was barely a sliver in the sky.

Moroi. Velesian. Furie. We were all Moon Blessed.

I sat on the windowsill and swung my legs until they dangled over the edge, Kieran’s lips quirking as he watched me.

“You’re kind of insane. You know that, right?”

“It’s one of the many reasons you love me.” With a sharp inhale, I let my bloodlust rise. It was easy to control during the day, but beneath the moonlit sky, it surged forward, and I had to claw it back so I could stay focused.

Kieran’s brown eyes studied me, noting the change in my eye color and how my nails had lengthened into claws. There were other small changes, ones I couldn’t see but could feel, like the killing instincts that slumbered beneath my skin coming out to play.

Not the least bit afraid, Kieran leaned down and claimed my mouth with his, gold sparks dancing in his eyes when he pulled back. “I want to feel those claws running down my back later as I bury my cock inside you again.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re excellent at providing motivation?” I smirked before twisting off the window and letting myself fall, my clawed fingertips instantly finding purchase between the bricks. I tilted my head back as much as I could to meet Kieran’s stare from where he was leaning out the window and shaking his head at me. “You better be naked when I get back.”

He laughed quietly and continued to watch as I hugged the wall and quickly scaled down towards the ground. It’d been a while since I’d done this, but I used to all the time when I’d been a kid. My parents hadn’t liked me roaming around at night, but I loved walking on the beach under a full moon, so I’d sneak out without them knowing.

Or try to.

More often than not, my mother would be waiting for me at the bottom of the tower, fighting back an amused grin whileshe tried to lecture me about the dangers of climbing down a tower wall. Then she’d take me on a moonlit ride.

Of course, back then, my chest had been considerably smaller. I should have wrapped my breasts tighter. Aside from being cumbersome and making it difficult to cling to the wall, they weren’t exactly comfortable. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I gently placed my hands over my breasts while I silently apologized to them.

“What are you doing?” Alaric hissed in a low voice from where he was standing with Vail in the shadows.

“Apologizing to my tits for dragging them against the bricks for the last two minutes,” I snapped back as quietly as I could, the two of us glaring at each other.

“I’d say fuck and get it over with, but you already did that,” Vail grumbled. “We doing this or what?” He didn’t wait for an answer, just strode off down the narrow passage that stretched between the main tower and two of the smaller ones.

Alaric started to follow after him, but my hand shot out, and I gripped his arm, letting my claws sink into his flesh. Not a flicker of pain appeared on his face as he took in my predatory black eyes. I knew he didn’t like it when I let my bloodlust ride high like this because it reminded him of the cousin who had turned Strigoi when they had been kids. While I understood why he felt this way, I didn’t agree with it. Our bloodlust made us stronger, and it could be controlled. Even Moroi who didn’t belong to the House bloodlines could do so with careful practice. Alaric was deliberately inhibiting himself by denying his true nature.

“How does he know about us?” Alaric was hardly the type to kiss and tell, and he certainly wouldn’t where I was concerned.

“There is nous,” he growled and yanked his arm out of my grip. His rejection stung, but I refused to let him see that. Alaric clenched his jaw and looked away when I merely archedan eyebrow. “I ran into him after I left your study. He could smell you on me.”

“Great.” I blew out a breath. “Now he’s going to be even more of an asshole.” I let my claws shrink back into nails but didn’t bother trying to pull my bloodlust back any more than that. This close to the House, it was unlikely there would be any nasty beasties, but it was still nighttime in Lunaria, so one could never be too careful.

Alaric huffed out a laugh. “Can we go now?”

“Lead the way.” I gestured dramatically down the alleyway, and Alaric just rolled his eyes before stalking away. Vail had accused me of sleeping with both Kieran and Alaric before, and now he knew it was true. I didn’t fully understand Vail’s problem with me, but for someone who claimed to hate me, he acted awfully jealous of my lovers.

The Marshal of House Harker was waiting for us at the end of the passage. The sides of his head were freshly shaved, and he’d pulled his shoulder-length, brown hair back into a bun. He’d trimmed his beard back quite a bit and ditched the bones that he often braided into it. Only Vail could still look half-feral despite the cleaned-up appearance.

The silver streaks in his dark grey eyes glinted at my approach. He’d been avoiding me the last couple of days, Alaric having to track him down and inform him of this plan. While Alaric was unnerved by my eyes full of bloodlust, Vail’s reaction was the slight flaring of his nostrils and a hard look at my neck. The silver in his eyes expanded before he turned away and flattened his hand on the outer wall, activating the glyph on it. A section large enough for us to pass through vanished from the thick stonework, and the three of us quickly slid through. Within seconds, the hole vanished, and the wall was once again solid.

It was a shame the Fae were gone, because their magic was truly extraordinary.

Not gone, I reminded myself. The wraiths were Unseelie, and now they were using that extraordinary magic of theirs to reclaim what they’d lost. At the cost of our lives.

---