Rooke’s narrowed gaze swung carefully between us. “I’d heard Gravelock had an accomplice, but I’ve never seen her. Before you do anything foolish, let me send my crows inside to get a better look. If that really is your sister, then you’ll know for sure.”
“Oh, we’re sure,” I murmured, at the same time Lyrae growled,She’s not a fucking accomplice, asshole, under her breath.
Ryland scratched the back of his neck. “She’s not an accomplice, but Ariel is how Gravelock found the artifacts in the first place. After the botched job at the Citadel, our theory is, he brought her down here and had her start hunting for the relics.” Ry paced away. “And she kept hunting, until she found all three.”
“Which still doesn’t make sense.” Rooke shook his head. “My ancestor hid them where no one would ever find them, not even my father. Split them up, buried them all over this realm, in places no one would ever know to look.Nobodyis that good.”
“Like Ryland said, Ariel is the best.” I shrugged, praying Rooke didn’t ask any more questions. “Regardless of how she was captured, Lyrae’s sister is being held in Evernight, and we’re getting her out.”
“And the Crown,” Rooke growled.
“And the Crown,” I agreed, feeling no need whatsoever to add that much like I could smell gold through walls, Ariel possessed the uncanny ability to sense treasure of any kind. All she needed was an idea something existed, a picture, a description of what she was searching for, and she would track that object down.
Over any distance.
Even across realms.
No wonder Gravelock had wanted her so badly.
Taken her.
“We’re getting her back, Ly,” I promised. “We’re bringing her home, then everything will be exactly like it was.”
34
RYLAND
“We should go now. Right now.” Lyrae paced in front of the bedroom window, milky afternoon light still streaming in. “I’m not leaving my sister in that horrid castle a second longer than necessary.”
“Everything’s in place, but we’re waiting until dark. That’s the plan.” Varian traded a look with me, dark shadows under his eyes, strained lines on either side of his mouth. “We should all get some sleep, this will be a long night.”
It had already been a long day.
We’d made too many trips between here and the small outpost—not big enough to call a town—spending every last coin on a ramshackle wagon and two half-dead horses, the chickens, a few crates of potatoes, most of which were rotten.
Varian had just enough magic to carry the three of us back to the stables, but he needed rest.
Fuck, we all did.
“Who could even sleep right now?” Lyrae was a storm filled with restless energy with nowhere to go, and finally, I caught her by the arm.
“Sleep…or burn some of this anger off? How does that sound?” I didn’t ask, just wrapped that sheath of smooth black hair around my fist and tugged, holding her still as I plundered her velvety mouth, gorging myself on her delicate taste until her body relaxed, her fingers dug into my shoulders, my cock throbbing against her stomach.
When I pulled back, her eyes were hazy, lips swollen and wet, cheeks pink.
“Strip.Now.” I told her, stepping away, my balls already tightening.
There was something intoxicating about giving a strong woman orders, about watching her pupils blow wide, watching her quiver in anticipation as trembling fingers plucked open buttons and ties, baring her beautiful, toned body to us, Varian drinking in a deep inhale of her scent as he helped her slip off her shirt, dragged her trousers down her slim thighs.
His fingers dented the pale globes of her ass before his face pressed between her thighs, her fingers threading through his hair as he pushed her legs wider. Then she moaned, the rough kind of sound that told me he’d sunk his tongue in deep, his head moving in time with her hips as she rode his mouth, eyes closed, mouth slightly open in utter abandonment.
They were good together, and watching Lyrae come…
Nowthatwas something I would never get tired of watching.
I pulled my shirt over my head, kicked my boots into the corner, stripped my trousers off, palmed my cock, walking around them, watching Lyrae grind herself against Varian’s mouth, those little panting moans coming faster.
“Do you want to come?” I came up behind her, wrapped my arm around her waist, rolled one of her hard, tight nipples between my fingers, ground my throbbing cock intothe softness of her perfect, delectable ass. “Do you want Varian to fuck you with his fingers and suck your clit? Show me how much you like his mouth, Lyrae, show me how good he is.”
