Page 83 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

Carmilla was no doubt plotting a way to deal with her. In the back of my mind, I was trying to think of a way to convince Cali to take Rynn somewhere safe—out of reach of the Alpha Pack. If it worked, they would both be out of harm’s reach. I just needed to frame it in a way that didn’t sound like I was trying to keep Cali out of the fight for her own safety.

I was kidding myself of course. Both of them would tell me to go fuck myself if I suggested they hole up somewhere and hide.

All of this was exactly why I’d been shoving the wraith problem to the side. I’d already survived one chat with Serril. Surely I could do it again and buy us a little more time.

Draven felt otherwise, and to my annoyance, Kieran had backed him up without hesitation. So had Vail.

I’d suggested that we track down Ary and warn House Tepes instead, then retreat to House Devereux. Only Roth and Alaric had agreed with me on that plan, but when Vail had just shrugged and said he was happy to tie me up and throw me onto the back of a horse to get me to the temple in the badlands, neither of them had argued.

I’d decided I’d be withholding sex from all of them. A minute later, I’d changed my mind because I wasn’t going to punish myself for their treachery. They’d just have to get down on their knees and get creative with their begging.

“Still mad?” Kieran tucked some of my hair behind my ear, and I glared up at him. All of us were standing around in one of the side courtyards, waiting for the stablehands to fetch horses for us. Fast ones. We had less than eight hours to make it to the temple before the sun set. It was doable, but we’d have to push the horses hard.

I missed Zosa. My fiery mare would have raced across the badlands like she had wings, but she was safe at House Harker, where I would hopefully be reunited with her when this was over.

“What do you think? You’re supposed to always have my back, Kier.” I pursed my lips together and tried to ignore how gorgeous he looked because of the late morning sun hitting his golden blond hair just right.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a hard chest. A second later, Draven kissed the side of my neck, and I barely managed to swallow down the moan that tried to escape. “Don’t be mad, love.” He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, and the stubble scraped deliciously against my skin as he nuzzled my neck. “I know Serril. He’s a tricky bastard. We need to make sure you’re out of his reach so we can plan accordingly.”

“But House Devereux?—”

“Can’t keep you safe. Not from wraiths.” Kieran stepped closer until his chest was against mine and I was sandwiched between them. Then he claimed my mouth while Draven alternated between kissing and nipping my neck. Both of them had their hands on my hips and were gripping me hard.

Mad. You’re mad at them,I reminded myself.Furious.Don’t let them?—

“Oh!” I exhaled sharply when Draven slipped his hand between me and Kieran to rub the seam of my pants.

“Get a room,” Alaric muttered.

Kieran broke our kiss to grin at his best friend. “Why? So you can walk in on us again?”

“Wait, is that your kink, Alaric?” I asked a little breathlessly. “Isthatwhy you never knock?”

Alaric gave me an unamused look, even as his lips twitched like he was fighting a laugh.

Fuck. It was impossible to stay mad at them. Even if I still didn’t love the idea of going to the temple. It was so isolated there. I felt like I was running away when I should be staying and fighting.

Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what treasures the room might hold, especially in the spaces that were locked. I mean, someone—it had to have been the Fae—had gone to a lot of trouble to set up these hidden locations. What had they found so important that they’d decided it needed an extra layer of protection?

And assuming the Fae were responsible for these hidden treasure troves, why couldn’t Erendriel get in? He seemed to have at least mostly reverted back to his original Fae form. He was no longer trapped in shadows like most of the Fae.

I loved me a good mystery. I’d love it even more if Lunaria weren’t on the brink of collapse.

“Sam,” Kieran said in a singsong voice.

“What?” I blinked and found him smirking at me.

Draven chuckled, his hand that had been rubbing my overeager clit through my pants sliding up to wrap around my waist.

“I forgot that’s the trick to making you forget you’re mad at us—not kisses—uncovering Fae mysteries.” Kier kissed me on the nose and walked to the rangers, who were leading out horses, then Draven kissed me on the cheek before following him.

I wrinkled my nose and opened my mouth to argue.

“Samara, you’re with me,” Vail announced.

“What?” My head whipped to Vail as he strode over to a large black horse and took the reins from the stablehand, who gave him a respectful nod.

Vail didn’t even turn to look at me as he secured several bags to the front of the saddle. “Salvatore can only spare three horses. They already don’t have enough to relocate most of their people to House Devereux.” He quickly and efficiently started lifting the horse’s hooves and inspecting them. “I’m not riding with anyone else. So either you ride with me, or someone stays behind. Horses can only carry two.”

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