Page 63 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

Samara would never allow that to happen to Cali though, and against all odds, it did feel like Cali was drawing her rage back. I could still feel it on the outskirts of my mind, but the blood was no longer pouring from my nose, and I was capable of thinking for more than a few seconds at a time.

Which was why I was able to contemplate the way Cali had moved. In addition to the strange mental attacks Furies could invoke, they all had a little bit of shadow magic. That was the true reason they’d always felt apart from the Moroi and Velesians. Their shadow magic was just a little too similar to the wraiths that haunted these lands.

Over the generations, the Furies had learned to lock down their magic. They only wielded their mental attacks as a last result, and most refused to touch their shadow magic altogether.

Except Cali.

She’d always been the exception. Much like Samara was somewhat of an exception amongst the Moroi, as she frequently flaunted her bloodlust. And Rynn had her own eccentricities that set her apart from the rest of the Velesians.

It was almost like fate had drawn the three of them together. Bonded them on some deep level that no one else could touch.

I normally didn’t believe in such things, but it was hard to deny it as the most powerful Furie in existence clawed back her magic, looked at her friend, and wept.

I didn’t know what to do, so I looked at Kieran.

He looked at me wide-eyed. “This is outside my area of expertise.”

Great.

I rubbed the back of my head and turned away from Samara and Cali. Something told me the Furie wouldn’t want anyone to see her cry, and I really liked my head being attached to my body.

Kieran moved to huddle next to me. “Go check on Roth,” he said quietly. “I’ll make sure Nyx is . . . alright.”

Nyx was definitely not alright.

I jerked my head in a nod and strode towards the Devereux clan. Other than a few patches of dark red hair, I couldn’t even see Roth past all the muscled bodies guarding them.

“Samara has it under control,” I told Taivan and Desmond as I approached. They’d put themselves in front of their sibling with Severen and Celestina guarding their children from the sides.

“Does she?” Desmond rasped.

“She does,” I said flatly.

The brothers traded a look that said they didn’t quite believe that, but then they both let out twin shrieks as Roth grabbed them by the ears and yanked.

“I’m officially out of patience.” Roth shoved past their brothers and crashed to a halt in front of me, their eyes a burning orange. “Move, or I’ll move you.”

“I was actually coming to get you.” I gave them a wry smile.

“Oh.” Some of the fire banked in their eyes. “Let’s go then.”

Roth started to walk past me before turning back around to face their family. “Uhh . . . thank you for keeping me alive.”

Severen rubbed his face, clearly at a loss for patience when dealing with his youngest child, but a faint smile of amusement teased Celestina’s lips. Meanwhile, Roth’s brothers both smiled like they’d just been paid the highest of compliments.

That was clearly too much emotion for Roth because they practically fled past me, and I quickly followed after them, not wanting to be left behind to deal with the strange family dynamic that was House Devereux.

We walked across the clearing to where Samara was wiping some of the blood off Cali’s face while offering soothing words. I cut a glance to Kieran and found him standing a few feet away from Nyx, who was rooted to the same spot, tension rolling off them, but at least they weren’t actively hunting anyone nor had they bolted into the woods, so I’d take that as a win.

Samara’s dark gaze cut to us as Roth and I approached, then she dropped her hand to her side and moved her fingers in a way that had to be some type of signal. A ranger signal maybe? Kieran spent a lot of time sparring with the rangers, so he probably would have known what it meant, but I had no idea. I opened my mouth to ask when Roth’s fingers briefly closed around my forearm, drawing me to a stop.

Wait and hold, they mouthed.

Surprise flickered through me. It was well-known that every member of House Devereux went through ranger training, but I’d assumed Roth had been exempt from it because they were . . . well . . . they were Roth. If it wasn’t a book—or Samara—they didn’t give a shit.

Any musings I’d had about Roth and their upbringing evaporated as Samara tucked a strand of hair behind Cali’s ear and started asking her questions—ones I was really curious about the answers to.

“How did you know where to find us?” Samara asked her friend gently.

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