Page 36 of Blood Oath
Even through the glass, I can hear the roar of a dragon in the distance. Which means Baelfire isn’t far behind.
Hopefully, they’re pissed enough that they’ll finally understand they don’t want me.
I’m so distracted with frowning out the window that when Kenzie shrieks, I jolt in surprise, turning quickly to find?—
The Nightmare Prince is barely an inch away from my face, seated directly beside me. I’ve never been this close to him before, and I swallow, trying to ignore the alluring scent of leather and something intoxicatingly sweet, like a plant I can’t identify.
“Sorry,” Kenzie says quickly, grimacing. “He just popped out of nowhere. Scared me into spilling my hot chocolate everywhere. I’ll be right back…plus it seems like you might need to have a little chat with your quintet,” she adds sheepishly, shooting me an apologetic smile as she hurries away to slip into the bathroom.
Crypt studies me, and I try to ignore his gaze lingering on my lips and the way it makes my thighs clench without my permission.
“Where were you?”
His voice is a harsh rasp, surprisingly…emotional? That can’t be right.
“Odd that you don’t know since you’re stalking me from Limbo.”
But thank the fucking gods that he didn’t witness my little incident earlier. I need to avoid him witnessing anything like that at all costs.
“Answer me, darling.”
The bell jingles. I glance over, expecting Silas, but I’m surprised to see Baelfire striding into the Witch’s Brew along with him. The shifter sure caught up fast, and he barely spares the rest of the bakery a passing glance before locking eyes with me and visibly relaxing.
As they approach, I can’t escape Silas’s intent ruby gaze. He scans me a little too possessively—and then he abruptly halts in place just as he reaches the table. He inhales deeply before swearing viciously.
“I’ll ask this only once. Why the hell do you smell like blood?”
The other two tense, and Baelfire also tests the air and snarls. Thanks to his obnoxiously sizable muscular frame, he barely fits into Kenzie’s side of the booth, and then he demands, “Are you hurt? Where? And more importantly, who am I turning to fucking ashes tonight?”
Gods. They’re acting like I’m made out of glass. How laughable.
But I’m not about to correct them. It’s better that they think I’m weak and helpless. They won’t want to hang on to a weak keeper, and the more people underestimate me, the more opportunities I’ll have to do what I came here for.
So, I take the easy way out and lie without blinking. “Menstruation hardly warrants such extreme reactions.”
Silas frowns, skepticism coloring his tone. “I didn’t scent your period at lunch.”
Ew. Blood fae are so fucking weird. “Aunt Flow popped in as an unpleasant visitor shortly thereafter.”
Crypt vanishes from my other side without a word. I take it he isn’t the type to ever say where he’s going or coming from. Some of the tension slips away from Baelfire’s shoulders, and finally, his mouth pulls into a crooked grin.
“I hear heat helps with cramping. So does sex. I’m more than happy to help.”
I roll my eyes. “How noble of you.”
“We just want to help you, Boo. That’s it. Until you ask nicely for more,” he adds, easily slipping back into his flirtatious charm now that he’s not worked up over my safety.
Silas pulls a chair up to the end of the booth and looks over me carefully as if he’s searching for any sign that I’m lying about not getting hurt. I guess fae always have to wonder if other people are lying since they don’t have that ability.
His attention lingers on my hair, where it was matted with blood earlier, and I don’t miss the way his tongue rolls over his lower lip—just once, slowly.
Right. Blood fae.
But before he can call me out, Kenzie returns from the bathroom and slides in beside me, flicking her gaze between the two intimidatingly strong legacies. Even though she’s modestly ranked among the grad students at Everbound, she’s known Baelfire for a while—but it’s evident by the way she gawks at Silas that she doesn’t know how to make small talk with the Garnet Wizard’s apprentice.
Baelfire seems to catch on to her hesitation and snags a broken piece of cookie from my plate, popping it into his mouth. “Don’t let us interrupt your girl talk. Just had to check on my mate after she went MIA.”
That does the trick.
