His eyes glittered with amusement as if to say, “do I have to spell it out?” And no. He didn’t. He trusted me. And it scared the living fuck out of me. But I trusted him too. It was a stupid move to trust the hybrid when his more primitive side was in charge, but our bond was telling me to put my faith in him. If our bond led me astray again, I’d sever it once and for all.
In exactly the way I’d promised.
I’d kill him.
Chapter sixteen
Costs of Love and War
TheflighttoVincent’svillage was long and bumpy. Every time I slipped into sleep, he jostled me in his arms just enough to keep me from drifting into unconsciousness. When he did this for the third time, I snapped my eyes open and bared my fangs at him.
“You can’t keep me from seeing him forever.”
The stupidly handsome fae gazed back at me with a stony expression, but regardless of the mask, I could scent the guilt on him. It was as rank as a gut-punching cologne. Being in my monster form, I had less patience for being told what to do. “If I want to see him, I’m fucking going to. Especially if you don’t have a good reason for keeping me from him.”
Neither of us needed to specify who we were talking about.
I missed Corry so goddamn bad it physically hurt. But my need for Sterling went deeper than bone and flesh now that I knew he was going to father the heir to the vampire throne. The anxiety of holding onto such a bombshell of news had turned the butterflies in my tummy into angry hornets, and, at this rate, I couldn’t wait to tell him. Plus, there was the whole marrying Feral thing. I figured there would be varying reactions to our marriage announcement. Corry would probably be fine with it. Deathwish would be outwardly pissed, which would be easier to deal with than Sterling’s reticent silence.
Dark and angry clouds had rolled over the sky, and thick pellets of rain stung our bare skin. Vincent pulled me closer to him to keep me warm, and just then, a crack of lightning lashed across the sky, lighting up his face.
His mask had dropped, and his emotions were on full display. “What if he talks you out of the marriage ritual?”
My heart pulsated at the hitch in his voice. I sighed. “Sterling doesn’t have the same relationship with jealousy as you, you know.”
The corner of Vin’s mouth curved into a dark smile. “When it comes to you, Princess, we’re all a little possessive.”
My belly fluttered, and I squirmed in his arms. “Sterling wouldn’t—”
“Damn it, Sterling isn’t perfect!”
His roar cracked louder than the lightning. I gaped at him, catching a rare glimpse of vulnerability. That shit was rarer than a unicorn with this male. I shook my head, and my gaze dropped to my mark on his throat. “The tighter you try to hold onto me, the more I’m going to slip away. Kidnapping me, marrying me, breeding me…. None of that will bring us closer if you keep pushing your brothers away. We will always be a package deal.”
Vin’s brows contorted into a scowl, and his eyes banked with swirling ribbons of green and black. “This isn’t easy for me. My kind doesn’t share.”
“You’re not just a dark fae anymore. You’re more than that.”
With Corry Cross, I felt human.
With Deathwish, I felt free.
With Sterling, I felt cherished.
Vincent Feral was different. He made me feel like an unholy cataclysm packing all the devastation of a biblical plague. And I needed that to take up my father’s throne.
After several minutes of silence, Vincent expelled a conceding sigh. “We still have a while before we get there. If you’re able to sleep, go to him.”
I smiled victoriously, flashing my fangs. “Wow. That’s the shortest fight you’ve ever put up, Feral. We’ll make a beta out of you yet.”
An inky vein ticked in his jaw. “Don’t push it.”
The jungle was a weird combination of hot and cold. My entire body was covered in sweat, and somehow the unforgiving rain made me feel dirtier. Yet I was so tired I was able to nod off in my fae’s arms almost instantly.
This time Vin didn’t wake me.
Spiraling into the familiar darkness, I sensed the consciousness of another bump against mine and moved toward it. When Sterling’s scent of ancient leather and salty ocean wrapped around me, I knew I’d reached him in the dreamscape.
The Knight Mansion’s library unfolded around me suddenly, like a desert mirage. I knew it was just a dream, but damn. The relief that swelled through me almost knocked me on my ass.
