Page 52 of Camriel
“We’ve set up bedrooms in the south wing,” Camriel said, guiding his mate to the final wing.“We found a resort further up the mountain and have been scavenging gear from it,” he added.
Victoria glanced into the rooms that didn’t have makeshift doors yet.Amaros and Cam had fixed boards over the rest of the empty windows to keep the weather out.“Do they all have fireplaces?”she asked.They were back-to-back with a stone wall in between them, so two rooms could use the same chimney.
“The ones we’ll be using as bedrooms do,” he replied, heading towards the far end of the hallway.“This is my room,” he said and shifted the temporary door out of the way.He watched in anticipation as Victoria strode inside.
She came to a stop and turned in a slow circle.“Nice rug,” she said, eyeing the furry black carpet.“I bet you’ll have a great view once you install some windows.You might want to think about getting some curtains, though,” she added, pointing at the boarded-up window that faced the back of the woods.The fireplace was on the wall to the right, backing up against the one in the room next door.
“The trees and shrubs will give us privacy,” he said.
“Us?”she asked in surprise.“Does Grace sleep in here with you?”
“Of course not!”he exclaimed.“She’s like a little sister to me.”
“Who are you sleeping with, then?”she asked, beginning to smirk.
“Hopefully, with you,” he retorted silkily.“I set this room up for my mate.I hope it’s to your liking.”
Victoria frowned at him, hand going to her sickle.“What is it with this mate business?”she asked.“How can you be billions of years old, by the way?You barely look much older than me.”
“Amaros will explain everything,” Camriel said.“We’ve existed for as long as this planet, but we spend most of our time in the Void.”
“The coffee is ready!”Grace called out from the kitchen.
“Thank God,” Vic muttered, clearly needing the brew.She hurried past Camriel and made her way to the kitchen.She found another short hallway linking the south wing to the main wing.There were passageways everywhere and it would be easy to become lost in the maze.At her count, each building had twenty rooms each, with sixty in total.The ones in the main area varied in size.Some were gigantic.
Following in her wake, Cam was pretty sure the cambion liked their bedroom.She’d nodded in approval at the number of closets and dressers he’d installed.The bed seemed to meet her needs as well.The only thing missing was a bathroom, but there was still room for an ensuite in the corner between the windows.
“Let’s take these to the great room,” Zoe decided.She grabbed some snacks and led the way through to the largest room in the structure.Amaros stoked the fire while everyone chose a folding chair to sit on.
“Don’t you drink coffee?”Victoria asked Camriel.
“I won’t need to eat or drink until after we’ve become bonded,” he replied.
She paused in mid-sip of her drink to gape at him.“What the fudge?”she asked, looking at the other cambions to see their reactions.
“They’re aliens,” Grace reminded her.“Amaros only started eating and drinking after he and Zoe knocked boots to complete their bond.”
Victoria rubbed her face with her free hand, then took a cautious sip of her hot drink.“Okay, I’m going to need you to start from the beginning, Amaros,” she ordered.“Tell me everything, so I can make some sense out of this fudging madness.”
Cam was glad he didn’t have to do the talking.Being around his mate was enough to make him tongue tied again.She was so beautiful he just wanted to stare at her forever.His heart lurched every time she glanced over at him.Her initial skepticism of their history was soon replaced with fascination as Amaros told her their story.
“So, this Fate character decided to flip things, since this is your last rodeo?”Victoria said when Amaros was done.“She decided to fudge with the soldiers’ DNA so the ones who were released early could only produce one cambion each and we’re all female?”
“That’s correct,” Amaros confirmed, putting his arm around Zoe.“Fate has given us all a chance not just to live, but to thrive this time.”
“Things could be a lot worse for our kind, Vic,” Zoe said when Cam’s mate seemed skeptical again.“I have the disturbing feeling that our sires have been given the same choice.”
“Since when?”Grace asked in alarm.
“Since right now,” Zoe said with a shiver.“Anarchy must have stolen the idea from Fate.That’s why the Mad Prophet thinks they plan to be here for the long haul.If our dads bond with us, they’ll force us to use our powers to kill the knights and they’ll win this war.We’ll become the slaves Vic thought Grace and I were in reality.”
“My pops is a real piece of shiz, to borrow your vocabulary,” Grace told Vic.“The last thing I want is for him to get control of me.I can’t wait for my knight to turn up and claim me.”
Victoria’s gaze went to Camriel.Heat rose inside him at the challenge he saw in her beautiful eyes.“Is that what you’re going to try to do to me?”she demanded.“Claim me like a prize?”
“Yes,” he replied honestly.“Just as Zoe is the most precious thing in the world to Amaros, so shall you be to me.”
Silence fell at his bold announcement.
