Page 95 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

Truthfully, I didn’t think Sam loved me yet. How could she? I’d hidden so much from her, and while we’d always been friendly towards each other, up until recently, I hadn’t allowed it to go any further. But if she did feel that way . . . and if she did say it . ..

I wouldn’t be able to walk away, and that was too dangerous an option to pursue.

“I’ll wait here while the two of you do whatever you came here to do.” It was a lie. As soon as Samara left, I was going to run far away from her. A plan had already begun to form in my head. My mother would want me, but Erendriel would be pissed about the wraiths. There was a good chance he’d tell them to chase me rather than pursue Samara. Maybe I could lead them away and buy her a little more time.

The question was where to go. I was good at fighting wraiths one-on-one, but now that they knew I’d turned on them, they’d be more careful. I needed to run, go somewhere they’d have a harder time getting to me. The Furies were my best bet. Something about them made even Erendriel wary.

I hadn’t gone to them originally because they probably would have laughed in my face and then thrown me out of their realm, but Cali loved Samara and would do whatever she had to in order to keep her friend safe. She’d protect me.

Or kill me if she determined that was the best way to keep Samara safe. I’d have to be very fast about my explanations.

Samara leaned into my touch as I trailed my fingers down her neck and chest until they rested over her heart, which beat strong and steady beneath my hand. I wished I’d had more time with her and Kieran, but this would have to be enough.

I breathed in her scent, which always reminded me of the spicy night blossoms of the plants that grew along the southern coastline. Reluctantly, she pulled away, and I let her go, watching silently as she cleaned herself up as best she could before getting dressed. There was nowhere for her to rinse off, and I reveled in the knowledge that she would smell like me all day.

And Vail, but I decided to not let that bother me.

Samara quickly rebraided her hair and tucked her throwing daggers into the thigh sheaths. By the time she wasdone, I’d already gotten dressed, my whip once again coiled at my hip.

“We’ll be back soon.” She cupped my cheek, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling. “I think we might find something that can help you. Even if we don’t, I will find a way to keep you safe. Promise you will wait here? Promise me, Drav?”

I opened my eyes and met hers. They were the perfect color of twilight, and I saw how much she believed her own words. The lie rolled off my lips, even as it felt like someone had stabbed my heart. “I promise.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Samara

I lookedat the cabin one last time before setting off to find Vail. It was a little surprising he had wandered so far away . . . and that Rynn wasn’t here yet. Maybe it had just taken her longer than she’d anticipated to slip away without being noticed. I shook my head as I tried to focus my thoughts. They were still reeling from what had happened between me, Draven, and Vail in the cabin, but I needed to pay attention to the task at hand, and that meant bottling up my jumbled mess of emotions and tucking them away to be dealt with later. There were too many people counting on me.

I would not fail them.

Draven didn’t believe I could save him. That was fine. I’d just have to prove him wrong. This wouldn’t take longer than a few hours, and then I’d be able to return to him. I’d told him to stay inside to avoid running into any Velesians, who may not be too happy about the Moroi Prince coming unannounced into their realm. Hopefully none of them tried to use the cabin today. He’d assured me they wouldn’t be able to pick up his scent from outside, which had only led to questions on my end, but I hadn’t bothered voicing them.

He was still hiding things from me, and whatever strange magic he had was definitely one of them. Logically, I knew I shouldn’t trust him, but my heart said otherwise.

Just as I started to step over a fallen log, my instincts screamed at me that I was no longer alone.

A broad hand covered my mouth and another clamped around my waist, pulling me against a hard body. Panic seized me, and I struggled for several seconds before recognizing Vail’s scent.

“Quiet,” he whispered faintly in my ear. “The Velesians are here.”

Slowly, he dropped his hands and beckoned me forward, further into the forest and away from the cabin where Draven hid.

“Velesians.”As in more than one. Rynn was supposed to have come alone.

Something had gone very wrong.

Vail and I quietly made our way through the woods. I was a little disoriented, but I was pretty sure we were headed back the way we’d come, which meant we were going away from Lake Malov. Not ideal, but what mattered more was staying undetected.

Maybe we could backtrack and then make our way around them to the lake? I also needed to find out what had happened to Rynn. Given her status with the Alpha Pack, I knew she wouldn’t have been hurt, but maybe they had detained her somewhere.

Fuck, this was already turning into a political nightmare, and we didn’t even know if it was worth it yet.

A low, rumbling growl caused us to stop dead in our tracks before a familiar, sleek, black form dropped from the branches above us, blocking our path ahead. The panther surveyed us with its cunning, green eyes.

Hello, Bastian.

Also. Fuck. Me.

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