Page 82 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

“Fine?” I repeated, my voice cracking. “I was falling apart and had no one to talk to. There wasn’t anyone our age back then aside from Alaric, and we didn’t exactly get along.”

“You get along now,” Vail muttered, and I didn’t miss the hint of jealousy in his tone, which snapped me out of the heartache I was feeling and sent me straight into pissed-off territory. He was the one who had ended our friendship. He was the fucking one who had been flipping back and forth between hot and cold since I’d returned. One second damning me and the next saving me.

“After you decided I was no longer worthy of your friendship, I had no one, Vail!” My hands slammed against his chest as I gripped the front of his shirt. I didn’t know if I wanted to shove him away from me or pull him closer. “It wasn’t until Kieran came to live at House Harker that I had another friend, and things between us were always complicated. By the time I went to Drudonia and became close friends with Rynn and Cali—” The words got stuck in my throat as I struggled to get my emotions back in check. “The lie became the truth. Everyone believed I was fine, and I’d gotten really good at hiding the pain. Seemed easier to just go on like that.”

Vail placed his large, warm hands over mine, and I stared at them for a long moment before raising my eyes to meet his, which were full of understanding, like he finally saw me, andsomething inside me settled. Then his lips curled into a lopsided smile. “We’re both equally fucked.”

“I suppose,” I admitted and shivered as the dampness of my clothes sank into my bones.

“Truce?” Vail offered and squeezed my hands.

“You were the only one declaring war,” I felt the need to point out.

“Please,” Vail scoffed. “You used to prance around in those skimpy outfits every time you were back visiting from Drudonia.”

I stared at him wide-eyed. “What are you talking about?”

Vail leaned forward, silver flickering in his eyes. “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said in a deep voice that had my toes curling. “Every summer, you would come back for a few weeks, usually dragging Rynn and Cali with you, and the three of you would generate chaos around House Harker as you ran around basically naked.”

“Oh.” I tilted my head and thought about it. We’d started doing that when the three of us were eighteen. Three years before I was supposed to marry Demetri. I’d been going through a bit of a wild phase, and Cali and Rynn had only been too happy to participate. “Honestly, I was just trying to make Kieran jealous. It never worked because usually he had his tongue down the throat of some other girl.”

“It definitely worked.” Vail chuckled, and my heart skipped a beat. “As soon as you left, we’d all have to deal with Kieran’s mood swings for months afterwards. Honestly, I’m surprised Alaric didn’t drown him in the ocean. Or himself. I caught him staring after you more than once.”

My lips curved into a victorious grin. “Good to know.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Vail shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.

“Did you?” I asked.

“Did I what?” He quirked an eyebrow, and I raised mine in return.

“Ever get jealous?”

Vail looked at me for a long moment and then shrugged. “Of course. Rynn is pretty hot.”

“Cade will kick your ass.” I glared at him, ignoring the flare of jealousy I sensed and the fact that I actually had no idea how the leader of the Alpha Pack felt about Rynn.

“Unlikely.” Vail bared his fangs at me even as light danced in his eyes. “I’m faster than that old bear.”

“He’s only a couple of decades older than us.” I laughed.

Vail gave me an unimpressed look before releasing my hands and stretching out on the cave floor. I didn’t think everything was completely fixed between us, but I felt . . . lighter? The painful history was still there, but for the first time, I thought that maybe Vail and I had a chance at something new.

What thatnewthing was I had no idea. Friends? More than friends?

Before I could ponder that more, an involuntary shiver ran through my limbs. This cave wasn’t exactly warm, and I was standing there in cold, wet clothes that were clinging uncomfortably to my skin.

Sighing quietly, I started pulling them off. There was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep in them.

“What are you doing?” Vail asked in a rough tone as he stared at me with silver winding its way through his eyes.

“I’m not sleeping in wet clothes. At least this way, they’ll hopefully be only damp in the morning.” My fingers felt along the wall until I found some creases that I could tuck the edges of my tunic and pants into so they could hang. I left the thin shirt I wore under my tunic on along with my underwear, but I did turn my back to Vail and reach under my shirt to unlace the band I wore around my breasts.

A moan of relief slipped from my lips before I shoved the band into another crevice.

I heard Vail rise behind me, and when I glanced over my shoulder, my mouth went dry as he pulled off his wet vest and tunic. He had his back to me, and it had never occurred to me until this moment that well-defined back muscles were hot as hell. Even though scars littered his lightly tanned skin, my fingers itched to trail over each one and to feel his corded muscles beneath my touch. The healing glyphs hadn’t been enough to fix the damage he’d taken over the years.

You’re only feeling this way because you almost died an hour ago,I told myself, but when I’d returned to House Harker, I’d embraced a new motto.

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