The thick slabs of Eros’ shoulders shifted. Then he pushed out a snarl, shoving his wrist toward Vincent’s fangs.
“You want proof, asshole? Fine. Keep your father’s bottle. Kiss it. Make an alter out of it. Empty it in the ocean. I don’t give a shit what you do with it. But you still need to heal because we have the vampire king to murder a second time. This time for good. And you can’t be laying in bed while the rest of us do all the work. So feed from me.”
A gasp latched in my throat. Corry swore. And Sterling just smiled, all small and secretive-like.
I expected Vincent to shove Eros away or cuss him out or something. Vampires feeding on other vampires was something intimate, usually reserved for lovers.
I wasn’t sure why Vincent didn’t protest more. Especially when he knew we were all watching. My heart hitched, and a swarm of butterflies filled my belly when his attention fasted to me. Something strange and powerful passed between us.
Understanding.
I smiled so faintly the others wouldn’t notice and gave him the tiniest of encouraging nods. With a growl that was more a grumble than anything, he accepted Eros’ wrist and bit.
Sterling stood by the door, as still as a statue, and Corry watched quietly over my shoulder at the scene that none of us would have thought possible in our wildest dreams. And these days, our dreams were pretty freaking wild.
“What is happening?” Corry muttered. “Did I miss something?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but a knock at the door sounded. Sterling opened it, but from where I stood, I couldn’t see the newcomer. I could smell him, however, as did Sterling and everyone else.
A prickly feeling hooked in my belly. It was hard to miss the stench of a fucking rat.
Corry hurriedly pulled off his T-shirt—the one depicting a faded image of a ninja riding a Ninja motorcycle—and tugged it over my head. “Put this on, babe.” His voice dropped to a ragged whisper against the shell of my ear. “This sexy body belongs to us, baby. No one else deserves to look at it.”
My entire body pulsed hot at this rare show of Corry’s possessiveness. But my world came crashing back to shitty reality when Sterling’s lips lifted into the stiffest smile I’d ever seen him wear as he stepped to the side, allowing the newcomer to enter.
“Elder Grigori. How lovely of you to join us.”
Sterling wasn’t usually one to spew lies, but I guess even my silver-tongued vampire fibbed. Because it wasn’t lovely for Grigori to join us one bit. Not that the priest bothered keeping the terse sarcasm from his voice.
I, however, was less subtle. “This isn’t any of your business. No one invited you.”
Grigori regarded me just like he had at the council meeting: like I was a bug that he debated squashing beneath his boot. His slivered gaze sliced down my front, and his lip curled when he found me standing in a novelty T-shirt and nothing else.
“You’re a vile creature, Princess Ruby.”
I pressed a too-sweet smile and gave him a mock curtsey. “Thank you.”
Sterling sighed, and Vincent and Eros pulled apart seconds before Grigori turned his sour gaze to them. “The blood donors told me the prince and princess had made their return and that the prince was severely sun-scorched.”
Sterling raked his fingers through his hair, his polite smile never wavering. “We’ve healed him.”
The wrinkled old vampire huffed. “Under who’s authority?”
“Who gave him the authority to be such a raging douche?” I whispered to Corry, even though I knew Grigori heard by the quiver of his lips.
Cor snickered, his arms wrapping around my middle and pulling me against him. “What’s a little sun scorch compared to your lame burns?”
Sterling whipped his glare in our direction, and it stabbed right through us.Quiet.Let me deal with this,his silent stare screamed. When he returned his attention to his colleague, his smile was gone.
“Undermyauthority.” His cold tone dared the other Elder to argue.
Grigori’s eyes narrowed. He stepped past Sterling and approached me. “I’m surprised you returned at all, Princess.”
“Why? I live here.”
“You fled to Fairie with the man who is currently on trial for the murder of the king. And I don’t consider it a coincidence that our only witness vanished without a trace the same night you ran away. With that, it has been determined by the council that you will not be crowned queen.”
My jaw fell open. “What?”
