I swallow down the impulse along with my own saliva. What if I truly am a vampire? That might be too close to drinking from a vein.
I lift my chin as Bale looks at me, his eyes wary. The team stares at me in shock from across a slew of mangled bodies. I don’t know how many they killed. I killed a lot of them.
As the team takes me in like I’m something different from before, I start to realize that I might not be able to shift like they can, but there’s just as much of a beast inside me. The difference is that it doesn’t come out on command.
Except, I was in control tonight—of my senses, my speed, my focus. For the first time, I chose.
And just as I promised myself, heads rolled, and I swam in the death of the Vampire King’s soldiers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BALE
After leaving Idallia enough time to clean up and eat something, I summon her to my chambers at the inn. We stayed in the southeast, securing rooms for ourselves and the human captives in the town closest to where we intercepted the vampires. We already flew a whole day and fought a battle, though most of us barely got in a kill. The humans will be on their way home tomorrow under the protection of dragon shifters from the local garrison. They’re taken care of. The rest of the Elite Wing can take care of itself. The warbirds too. But Idallia and I need to have a conversation.
My heart turns over hard.
The knock comes faster than I anticipate, barely giving me time to finish dressing after a bath. I open the door, half expecting to see the blood-covered tornado from earlier.
There’s no gore, but the sight of Idallia still arrests me, a punch in the chest that stops my breath and shocks an explosive heartbeat from me. Straight black hair frames a face with delicate, pale features that give the impression of a moonlit sprite sliding like mist out of a forest. Then the sheer whiplike strength of her, the power vibrating under her skin, belie that impression entirely. She’s iron disguised as silk. I never want to be her enemy. Someone who loves as intensely as Idallia can hate just as powerfully.
We stare at each other, her golden eyes guarded in a way they never used to be. “Bale?” she says sharply when I don’t move from the doorframe.
I unlock my limbs and step back, inviting her in. After a moment’s hesitation, she sweeps past me, teasing my senses with the subtle scents of sunshine and ice and the softer, flowery perfume of the inn’s soap. Her hair is still damp, the thick, heavy mass holding the floral fragrance like a bouquet under my nose.
I steady my breathing and shut the door, the snick of the latch far quieter than either of our hammering heartbeats. Turning to her, I ask dryly, “Are you here for my blood too?”
She swings around, scowling. “I might be.”
Despite her obvious hostility, the prospect of a challenge excites me and stirs the shadowy beast lurking under my skin. “I’d like to clear the air between us.”
Her sour huff is astonishment incarnate. I deserve it after lying through my teeth. She crosses her arms, creating a barrier between us—or a shield for herself. “You told me I was worth fifteen vampires in a fight.” Her lips curve in a small, tight smile. “Looks like you were right.”
I can only agree. “What changed?”
She shrugs. “Once I was flying, all I wanted was revenge.”
“I think you got it.”
She nods, a hard glint in her eyes. With her big heart and special connection with her firebirds, she’s kept something innocent about her all these years. It was something to protect and preserve, but I see it fading now. Idallia is on the cusp of change—like everything else, I suppose.
“So I was right to push you?” I ask.
Her expression ices over. “Don’t ever threaten Rim again.”
Shock renders me speechless. I love Rimblaze. I love all the phoenixes. They’re my flesh and blood and made of more magic than even a starborn king should pull from his deepest inner wells and give away. “I didn’t threaten Rimblaze. He’s a warbird. He’s trained for war.”
“And that was all right when rebirth was a guarantee. We both know it isn’t anymore.”
“So what, then?” I scowl at her from under lowered brows. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that Rim and Sol are off limits. If you care about me at all, or them, you will never put them near a battlefield again.”
A flush of anger rises in me. “That’s not your choice,” I say stiffly. “It’s theirs.”
“Then you don’t get to make it, either!” she snaps in fury. “Like you tried to today.”
We stare at each other in a standoff. I eventually nod. I can agree to that, especially because I know what the phoenixes will do. They’ll choose Idallia. If she’s fighting, they will too.
