Page 38 of Bros Come Before Hordes
"How do I know that for sure?" I spat, my hands twitching toward my weapons.
"You can...smell me?” She shrugged. “Or you can just take my word for it. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead, a lot.”
My gaze strayed to a black sword on the bed that glittered with magic, a sword she'd tried to hide by sitting in front of it. I gritted my teeth. Dragon fire or not, I doubted I could take her, what with her being all those things she’d listed.
She followed my gaze then turned back to me with a quirked eyebrow. "You can trust me, Yara. Vance explained everything."
I backed away from her, putting the poisoned dress still on the floor between us. "I'm still wondering how he did that. I know everything, and evenIdon't want to help me."
"He focused on you and your little brother mostly, your relationship, how you went to the ends of the earth to save him. I understand that kind of love, and the way Vance described you...” She smiled and gave me a knowing look. “Well, I can tell he cares a great deal about you."
My chest pinched, feeling almost like it was caving in on itself. "They all do," I croaked. "My harem. Even though I'm not sure I deserve it."
She nodded, watching me carefully. "We're more alike than you know, Yara. I heard you out there declaring war against the fae and also the part about you already getting what you needed from Vance, Calhoun, and Tavis. Lies, that last part anyway, right?"
My eyes watered, totally giving me away. "I just want them safe," I admitted, my voice cracking.
"That's all anyone wants for their harem," she said softly.
"You too?"
"Eddie, Jacek, and Sawyer," she said with a wistful smile. "I didn't even try to resist, and then soon enough, they'd kissed their way into my heart so far that I was also doing whatever I could to keep them safe. So I get it. I do."
I swiped at a stray tear, hating that I was this vulnerable in front of a strange woman I still didn't trust but who I was starting to like—just a little bit. A huge feat for me.
"I'd show you their pictures on my phone, but they're vampires, so..." She shrugged.
"Mine are dragon shifters,” I said, eyeing her sword again. “But I guess you already knew that."
"Do you often tell them to stop dragon your panties around?" she asked, totally serious.
"Um."What?
She snorted and waved her hand. "Sorry, I'll leave my bad puns at home next time. Here's the thing, Yara. I kill gods instead of rescuing them, but for you?" She grinned. "I'm willing to make an exception."
"Can I trust you?" That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
She winced."From what I saw of your coronation, I might be the only person youcantrust, other than your harem. And I'm not sure you have a lot of time to decide if you can or not."
She had a point. Lots of them including the weird bone thing she had going on and the sword lying on the bed.
I nodded toward it. "What kind of magic does that thing have?"
"What, Night's Fall?” She took it by the hilt and gazed at it lovingly. “Yeah, this bird-sword will be taking us to the fae border."
"Bird...sword?" I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on.I wasn’t sure what I was expecting of Belle Harrison, but this wasn’t it.
"Yep. Just touch my elbow or whatever when you're ready. I got to warn you, though, traveling by Night's Fall can be a little...uh, discombobulating." She held her elbow out. "Ready?"
I took a deep breath. These next few steps were so much more than just trusting Belle. I was about to cross into the fae land and officially wage war against them even though they’d already waged it against us. Judging from what I had seen from them already, the fae might not let us back out again, alive or otherwise. But I had to do this. I had to free Léas so she could give the shifters a fighting chance against the fae with a power surge. And the only way I could rescue my harem was to do this step first.
I swallowed and tried to steady my quickening breaths. "Have you ever been so terrified that you question if this is all really happening or not? Like...how can this be happening in real life if it makes me so scared?"
She looked at me, really looked at me then, nothing but understanding in her sunset eyes. "Yes."
She said it with so much conviction that I believed her.
Nodding, I slowly raised my hand to her elbow. Could I trust her? I didn't really have a choice.
