Her face lights up as she giggles and practically prances back to Melvolin's desk. I grind my teeth and resist fighting. The more I fight, the more they'll continue to threaten Maven.
Resigning myself to the fact that I'll have to be parted from her out of necessity, at least for a couple of days until I can get back, I quickly form another plan. One that will hopefully give my beautiful keeper a semblance of peace at night until I can tend to her nightmares myself. All it will take is nimble fingers and a moment of Somnus being distracted.
That moment comes quickly enough when a very gleeful Natalya returns with a wickedly sharp knife and a vial of brightly glowing liquid. My muscles tense as I recognize it. Liquid bronze. A potion Melvolin perfected long ago and thoroughly enjoyed using on me.
Just as fae are weak to iron, vampires fall to oak, and all types of shifters can't heal from silver, bronze is every siphon's weakness. Our accelerated healing is put in a chokehold when bronze is involved.
This is about to hurt like fucking hell.
Though I tell myself to hold still to get this over with quicker, I can't help instinctively struggling as Engela helps Natalya pry open my mouth to cut out my tongue—andSyntyche's scythe,it's painful. Iker and Somnus are still pinning me tightly to the stone wall. Just before Natalya pours Melvolin's potion into my mouth, I swipe what I need from Somnus's front suit pocket without his noticing and tuck it up the left sleeve of my leather jacket.
Pickpocketing has always come easy to me.
But then the fuckingagonizingliquid gushes into my mouth and down my throat, halting the way my body is trying to mend my tongue, and I momentarily black out from the pain. When I come to, I'm slumped on the floor, coughing up blood. I immediately sense the lack of tongue in my mouth and grimace.
It stings like hell. It also stings that all remaining members of the Immortal Quintet are standing above me, leering, watching me struggle to get to my feet. Natalya giggles and tosses my tongue over her shoulder. Somnus looks like this is the best day he's had in a long while. I flip him the bird for good measure as I finally stand.
Thanks to the liquid bronze, my tongue is going to regenerate painfully slowly—something siphons can do with missing bones, skin, muscles, and ligaments. I suspect it will take a full two days to recover enough to speak, which is precisely why Natalya did this. She knows I won't waste time outside of Everbound reporting them to the Legacy Council once I heal, not when I need to return to Maven to make sure she's safe.
Speaking of which…
I glare at Natalya, willing her to read my mind for once.
Her eyes glow blue just as I push the thought at her.Let me leave a note.
Asking this immortal bitch for any favors sits like acid in my stomach, especially when she giggles and reaches up to pat my head condescendingly.
"A note? How utterly soft you've gone over such a weakling!"
I certainly wouldn't describe myself assoftwhen I'm thinking of Maven. My stunning keeper makes me hard all the damn time without even being the wiser.
Hearing my thoughts, Natalya wrinkles her face. "I saw her at the ball, and I'd hardly describethatas stunning. But then, there's no accounting for taste. Except in this case, I suppose it makes sense—she did look rather corpse-like. Like father, like son."
It takes a miraculous level of self-control to keep my thoughts in check. But when miniature fissures in Limbo appear in the room, and everything begins to float, I know I'm dangerously close to letting my fury get the best of me.
Comparing me to Somnus has always been Natalya's favorite button to push. It's the one thing that sickens me more than anything.
But I would doanythingfor my dark little darling, so I ask Natalya again, this time politely.
After Natalya's eyes stop glowing, they "grant me the privilege" of letting me use Melvolin's stationery to leave a letter that Engela surprisingly offers to deliver. I write quickly and discreetly slip Somnus's stolen item into the envelope before sealing it. I then write three more letters addressed to the other members of my quintet.
Because if I'm going to be forced to leave Maven for any amount of time, those clueless wankstains are going to need a reminder of what I'll do to them if they let our girl come to harm.
12
MAVEN
Advanced Combat Theory was a bore.Not a single cracked skull to be found, just a petite water elemental professor giving a long-winded lecture about her favorite defense strategies. She openly glared at me several times, which I found odd until I saw the stars in her eyes whenever her gaze lingered on Everett. Which happened to be for most of the class period.
For reasons I have yet to determine, that bothered me.
Not that I blame her for staring becauseeveryonestares at the gorgeous ice elemental.
He ditches our quintet immediately without looking back as soon as the lunch break starts. Silas and Baelfire say nothing about it. Come to think of it, there's been an uncharacteristic lack of barbed comments from either of them toward the ice elemental all morning.
But it's clear that, outside of necessary training, Everett wants nothing to do with me.
I remind myself that the feeling should be mutual.
