My blade was at her exposed throat in a heartbeat, and she never blinked an eye, clearly prepared to die. "Why have you attacked us?" I demanded.
She shook her head, a dark laugh spilling from her lips. "Always the last to put the pieces together."
She was goading me. It was a classic move to get me to lose control and do something stupid, but even with my rebirth, I was too well-trained to fall for that. I also had a very good idea why they were attacking us: my suspicions of Tsuma were correct. But it never hurt to see if she would reveal additional information.
Pressing the blade deep enough to break skin, I smiled. "Spell it out for those of us too stupid to put it together."
Her eyes, dark pits of midnight green, spat fire at me, but there wasn’t much she could do. "You don't belong here Melalekin. You don't belong with Reece."
Again she was trying to distract me, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t feel a pang at that jab.
"Angel," Mera shrieked, appearing through the smoke, fireballs in her hands as she glared down at Zena. "Who is this bitch, and how do we kill her?"
Zena's eyes widened, and I was fairly certain she had no idea how to take the heavily pregnant redhead who was literally holding flames in her hands and casually talking about murder.
"This is an old family friend of Reece's actually," I said shortly.
Mera snorted. “My god, he has horrendous taste in friends. We should still kill her; he won’t even notice.”
I tried not to laugh, lest my prisoner think I was weakening. “Reece would want you to remove the blade,lunta," Zena sneered at me, insulting my heritage with that Desertlandian slur.
Kicking out, I slammed my boot into her side, and even with the protective shells, her forehead wrinkled as she winced.
"Firstly, I won't remove my blade," I said softly, infusing into my tone every ounce of the deadly intention I felt. "Secondly, if you insult my family one more time, I won't wait for Reece to finish the job. I'm giving him a moment because I know your family was important to his, but my patience is very thin."
Her bravado was all but gone now, the light brown of her skin paling to the point that she was turning splotchy.
Mera laughed, her fire fading away as she relaxed by my side. “And that’s why you don’t fuck with my best friend.”
Taking my eyes from Zena for a beat, I met Mera’s warm gaze. “How is everyone else? Do they have it all handled?"
"Of course they do,” she shrugged. “These dumbasses vastly underestimated us; most of them weren’t even armed. Shadow rounded up three of them, Reece a few others, and you've got ass-eyes here, who looks like she swallowed an entire lemon with that sour expression."
Her observation was acute. "This one is well-trained," I said, keeping my voice even. "Wearing protective shells.”
“None of the others have that.” Her statement confirmed what I’d been guessing—Zena was the leader of this little attack. But did her orders come from Tsuma?
“Did you find out exactly what this is all about?” I asked. “Is everyone from Rohami?”
Reece stepped out of the smoke then, his gaze running over me so fast I doubted anyone else would have noticed. I wasn’t sure if he was checking me for injuries or just checking me out, but either way, heat blossomed in my chest despite our current situation.
“There are members of almost all the clans,” he said flatly.
“They’re part of whoever is attempting to wake the ancient gods?”
He nodded, looking grim, and whatever lust I’d been feeling faded under the worry of that statement.
“None of them are the leaders or higher-up family members,” I said softly, having already felt their energy.
Reece’s lips thinned; his brow furrowed. “I know. This attack was either a distraction or a ridiculous attempt to cast suspicion onto lower members so the higher-ups could continue on with their task.”
“We need to get them to talk now,” I said in a harsh bark. “We need to know what their plans are and why this gathering was called.”
Before it was too late.
26
Reece, ignoring the blade I still held against the throat of one of his oldest friends, reached down and hauled Zena up. He used one hand, wrapping it around her arm and right shoulder, and even I was a little impressed by that display of strength. "The others are inside so we can question them," he rumbled. I'd only heard him this pissed a few times—usually directed at me. "They'll tell us everything before we're done."
