Page 40 of Reigning
Will she really join us against her own family?
“I’m not here to fight her. I’m here to stop things from becoming even worse for us. If a mage tries to steal Minden, and fails, they won’t stop until they’re sure every last one of us are gone. She made us seem like a threat once before. I won’t sit back to let history repeat itself.” The woman’s attention drifts from one person to the next, seemingly checking which of us appears to be harmful to her.
She oddly settles her glaring attention on Chaos who’s still leaning back on the bed.
He’s so big he easily takes up most of the mattress, and I can see why she’d think he’s the most dangerous one.
It’s hard for me to say which of them is the most dangerous. If I’m threatened, Chaos might truly be the deadliest one of them all.
Even if he doesn’t look it at the moment.
“So this is our team? Three shifters and young girl who can’t even do a summoning spell without my help?” the woman says.
“I’m a mage.” I narrow my eyes on her, and she doesn’t even give me a second glance of attention.
“And there’s a demon. And three other mages in the dungeon which I’m going to get right now.”
“The elder women? They’re here?” Her big eyes focus intently on me now.
“What’s your name?” Kain walks toward her, coming close to really study the woman who once threatened to feed us to her fish.
If we’re a team, we’re the shittiest team I’ve ever seen assembled. The trust in this room is nonexistent. Seconds tick by in absolute silence. When it’s painfully clear the woman has no intention of answering Kain, my mother does it for her.
“This is Seara. She’s a friend of mine.” My mother stresses the word friend hard as she looks from one defensive man to the next.
Well, really, it’s just Rime and Kain. Chaos is still being pinned with the full weight of Seara’s glare, even though he has the most blank expression right now. He looks like he’s ready to roll over and go back to bed.
That doesn’t stop the mage from being suspicious of the shifter.
“I’m going to sneak downstairs. I’ll bring the other women up in just a few minutes,” I say and my mother nods to me. “Did Sin come back?” I peer back at Rime. The ice shifter gives a subtle shake of his head, and my anxiety fires to life all over again.
So much for that restful sleep.
I weave through the now crowded room and find Kain trailing quietly behind me. Cold metal meets my fingertips for a single second before the knob turns and the door opens, nearly slamming right into my face. Strong arms wrap around me, and Kain pulls me flush against him just as crimson eyes peer around the door.
“Hey,” Sin whispers. His attention drifts, and his eyes light up with a charming smile when he spots my mother. “Bella, good to see you again.” He waves from around the door, still not stepping inside, and despite all his sweet greetings, my mother still darts her eyes quickly away from the demon as if he might slap his dick out right here and now.
It happened one time. One time. Can we let it go, Mom?
Sin notices the awkwardness, and I can see the moment he remembers his fuck-up.
“Right.” He nods to himself but seems to just ignore the unease.
Thank the goddess we have more pressing matters than my mom seeing more of my mate than any mother should ever see.
“I have something tell you,” he whispers and gestures for me to follow him out.
I slip out into the dark hall, and Kain follows. It’s quiet. Not a single footstep can be heard down the narrow brick staircase or the level below. It’s so silent it presses on my nerves. Everything about it is an unnatural sensation.
The door clicks closed, and Sin looks around the empty corridor before coming close to the two of us. “I checked around. The guard with the splitting face is in charge. He arranged the rotation. He told them to rest up.”
“Why?” Kain’s chest brushes along my back, and I feel his quiet question more than I hear it.
Sin shakes his head.
“Maybe he wants them well rested for the queen’s attack.” I search through my thoughts and try to organize them the best I can. “No, he was Linden’s guard first. The demon’s working both sides. He knows something,” I whisper.
We won’t truly know unless we ask him. And I also know he’d never tell a living soul. He helped me. Once. That doesn’t make us friends. He won’t risk his life to keep a nobody like me informed.
