Page 81 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

“Cade can fucking bite me,” Rynn snarled. “And Bastian can get fucked! Ryker too!”

Guess that answered the question about if things were getting better between her and the Alpha Pack. I bit back my sigh but didn’t miss the look between Cali and Samara. Our priority might be dealing with Carmilla and figuring out what Erendriel and the wraiths were up to, but I had no doubt those two were also plotting how to get Rynn out of her messy situation.

I didn’t know the Alpha Pack that well. Most of my interactions had been with Bastian. The panther shifter served as an ambassador of sorts and used to make regular trips to the Moroi realm. He was difficult to read because, like me, he was exceptional at slipping into different masks based on the situation. Sometimes, he was self-deprecating and charming. Other times, he had an edge like he was just itching to spill some blood.

Then there was Cade, the de facto leader of the Alpha Pack. He was calm and steady . . . until he wasn’t. I’d once seen him tear the head off a rabid howler like it had been nothing.

Ryker was the youngest and a bit of a hothead.

Technically, there was a fourth member of the Pack, but I’d never met them.

Rynn paused her pacing and chewed on her bottom lip. I supposed there were five members of the Alpha Pack now. Even if the fifth one might never go back if her friends had anything to say about it.

“What did you find, Rynn?” I prodded gently. Something had sent her running through the badlands on her own. Rynn could be rash, but even she wouldn’t have done that unless she were desperate.

Rynn went back to chewing her lip and looked at Samara. My dark-haired beauty held her gaze for a long moment before giving a deep nod, like she was giving Rynn permission.

“I’m guessing some of you already know this, but Samara’s grandfather was the Seelie King—thetrueSeelie King. Erendriel is just a pretender.” Aniela and her Marshals gave Samara appraising looks but didn’t say anything. “I didn’t get through all the documents, but I saw enough to know that I needed to warn you.” Rynn smiled at her friend. “You’ve always acted like a queen. I should have known you actually were one.”

“Wasn’t acting like a queen when she pulled my hair and kicked me in the crotch,” Aniela muttered.

“Anything I do is queenly,” Samara replied with a sniff.

I. Adore. Her.

“The wraiths can’t get into those hidden rooms,” Rynn continued. “Trust me when I say they tried once they realized I was in there, but however they managed to break through the blood wards around our outposts clearly doesn’t work for these rooms. More importantly, there are things in the room that I couldn’t open either—I think only the Seelie royal line can.”

“That’s why Erendriel is suddenly interested in you.” Draven gave Samara a worried look. “Somehow, he learned the truth of your lineage, and now he’s trying to sway you to his side. He’ll start with pretty words, and when that doesn’t work, he’ll use other methods. Find your weaknesses and exploit them until you have no choice but to bend to his will. He can use his magic to—” He flinched and abruptly stopped talking.

Apparently, he’d been about to say something that was still protected by whatever spell Erendriel had put on him. His face contorted in frustration and fury at not being able to share whatever knowledge was locked away in his mind.

I turned and cupped his face in my hands. “You know we’re going to kill him, right? For everything he’s done to you?”

Draven’s deep blue eyes warmed. “You say the sweetest things, love.”

“Can we please get back to the room full of secret treasures and away from this gross display of affection?” Roth complained.

Samara snickered and leaned down to kiss their cheek, causing the taciturn librarian to blush slightly.

I opened my mouth to tease them, but Alaric gave me a stern look to knock it off, so I pouted and settled back against Draven instead.

“So you left to find Samara,” Vail guessed, “but the wraiths found you first?”

“I bolted as soon as the sun rose, causing the wraiths to scatter.” Color stained Rynn’s cheeks, and she muttered something.

“What was that?” Cali crossed her arms and stared at her best friend.

“I fell into a spider’s trap!” A sheen rolled over Rynn’s eyes again. “It was an old one, and some debris had fallen over it, so I missed the signs.”

Cali threw her hands up. “This is exactly why I’ve told the two of you to stay out of the badlands if I’m not there! You should have gone back to the Alpha Pack and sent us a message. You could have gotten yourself killed, Rynn!”

I groaned as Rynn closed the distance between them.

“I’m not some helpless pup!” Rynn growled and stopped a hair’s breadth from Cali so they were practically touching, aggression rolling off both of them. Samara was the short one of the trio, while Rynn and Cali were almost the same height, but Cali had at least thirty pounds of muscle on her leaner friend. Not that Rynn cared. If she were in her wolf form, her hackles would have been raised. As it was, her words had more of agravelly tone to them than usual. “Samara needed to be warned, and I didn’t know where you were.”

She tried to shove the Furie, but Cali didn’t move an inch, which only pissed Rynn off more.

“We protect each other, Cali. It’s what we do.” Rynn pointed a finger in Cali’s face. “So don’t you fuckingdaretell me to retreat with my tail between my legs while you two fight!”

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