Page 91 of Thrall

“Thena,” Natalie said fondly. “Beautiful Thena. If you use your newfound free time to take on another project, I’ll kill you myself.”

Athena laughed, and bent to pick up an armful of her too-big floor cushions. “Then in that case…I guess I’ll see you all at dinner.”

“I’ll help you with your stuff. Lucy and Mila can hold down the fort, can’t they?” With a big, wicked grin, Natalie blew a knowingmwahto the room—and then she and Athena were gone, shutting the door behind them.

Lucy laughed as she turned back to Mila.Sosubtle. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Mila said. She was wearing that green cardigan again. The one that made her look softer, more unassuming. “How’s your mom?”

“Beset by the horrors,” Lucy said. “But good.”

“How areyou?” Mila said.

“Good,” Lucy said. But even without Vanya there, Mila was still the hunter. Lucy couldn’t hide anything from that searching stare. “Maybe alittlehungry.”

Lucy had been hesitant to say it. It had only been a couple of days since she fed from Mila last, and she knew she’d taken too much then—she was wary of doing it again. But an odd gleam hit Mila as she said it. An anticipation.

And Lucy thought,Oh. Maybe in this case, the euphoria went both ways.

“I’m sorry to hear it,” Mila said, closing the distance between them. Even when they weren’t touching, she was so warm. “Can I do anything about that?”

Lucy lifted herself onto her tiptoes to kiss her. And as she smiled, she felt the points of her own fangs against her lips. “Come to me.”

And, laughing, they fell together.