THORNE
Late the next morning,I staggered toward the hearth room, skull splitting, tongue coated in ash and regret. Enchanted alcohol still seeped from my pores. After leaving Serafina… Strike that. After Serafina leftmeat the pool last night, I’d forgone dinner in lieu of a bottle of Ambrosia.
I’d never been so easily dismissed by a woman that I’d bedded. Was it not good? Surely it was good. My sexual prowess was legendary, after all. Her screams in my ears couldn’t have been faked, nor her claws in my back. Could they? And then there was my dragon flame. I had never shared so much of myself with anyone before.
Regardless, what happened last night could never happen again. Just as Alaric suggested, I’d screwed Serafina out of my system. Gone. Done. Over. My brother could do anything he wanted with her, and I wouldn’t care. Not at all.
I entered the hearth room—and froze.
The hangover vanished, scorched away in a rush of rage.
Serafina massaged oil into Alaric’s shimmering scales, illuminated fingertips gliding over his exposed flank. The possessive sweep of his wing above her had flames tickling my throat. She was dressed in a shift and little else, her bright mop of hair braided down her spine, stray curls framing her face. It was a quaint and intimate setting.
Too intimate.
Outrage exploded in my fractured mind, threatening to split my skull. How dare she touch another male in such a way? Once I shifted, I would rip out his heart, tear open his throat with my teeth. I would—
“Good morning, Thorne.” Serafina turned to me with a bright smile. “I came in search of breakfast only to discover Alaric had returned from his healing soak.” Solar crystals set into the walls illuminated her face, setting her hair on fire. Radiant.
“Look,” she commanded proudly.
I was looking. Looking at the way the oil gleamed on her arms. How the thin shift begged to reveal her full breasts. Noting that Alaric had probably appreciated the same sight.
“At what?” I snarled.
“Alaric’s wound,” she said, barely sparing me a glance. “Did you see my fingers glow? The stone Yaga gave me—it’s helping me to channel the energy.”
“Is it now? Good for you.” I stomped to the cupboard, withdrew another bottle of Ambrosia, uncorked it with my teeth, and chugged.
“Really, Thorne,” Sera said, brow arched, lips pursed like some prudish schoolmarm. “How about some food for a change?”
My teeth ached, sharpening in my skull. “Leave a man to his drinking, wench.”
“Thorne,”Alaric barked, his voice a low warning.
“If you need me, I’ll be neck deep in the family hoard.” I stormed across the room.
“But I do need you.” Serafina’s voice stopped me mid-step.
Something inside warned that I should keep walking, but another part couldn’t resist those five softly spoken words. Damn her.
“Alaric and I have been talking, and I need you to help me rescue Speck.”
No wonder she was so chipper. I figured this was coming.
“You see—”
“Hold!” I raised my palm while moving to my favorite chair and planting my feet on the table. After taking a long gulp from my bottle, I finally faced the pair.
“Proceed.” I rolled my finger, indicating Serafina should continue. “Do tell me all the lovely things you and Alaric whispered about this morning.”
To my delight, her cheeks flushed, and she lifted her chin, declaring in an imperious tone, “Alaric knows everything.”
“Everything?” I arched a challenging brow. He sure as hell didn’t know everything, seeing as how I still had all my limbs attached.
Serafina cleared her throat, stating primly, “Yes, everything. About Yaga’s claims that I can’t break his curse, my being Hathor’s handmaiden, along with the information I gathered about Speck and the others.”
“My, that is a lot. You’ve been a busy girl, sharing all your secrets. Is there some point to this?”
