I set my spoon down.
I hadn’t even thought of that. For a while, I thought he was on drugs, but it turns out he’s probably just crazy.
“Don’t worry, Piper. My clan’s on it. We’ll protect you both,” Matteo said.
I gave him a small, grateful smile. I’d been too proud at the beginning of all of this, certain that I could keep my niece safe on my own terms. But the long days and endless nights, where I got little to no sleep because I was listening for an assassin’s bullet, had worn me down to nearly nothing. By the time Everly had come along, I would have taken the paw of a rabid dog with fleas if it meant help.
“That’s… not ideal,” I finally answered the Prime.
Understatement.
The Prime nodded. “At least, that’s how it works for me. It might be different, though, because he’s an elemental.”
As we all finished our dessert, Everly and the Prime showed us to our rooms on the second floor. They were two guest suites that linked through a shared door. I thought this was going overboard, but Matteo explained that Riggs would mangle him if he failed to protect me, and that the connecting rooms were perfect.
After I said goodnight to everyone and thanked them for their hospitality, I shut the door and glanced around. The room wasgigantic. A chandelier hung above the king-sized bed, throwing prisms of light onto the dark wood furniture. Splashes of color brightened the room, and the flooring was deep, thick carpet that made me sigh in delight when I took my shoes off and felt how luxurious it was.
I made use of the ensuite bathroom, showered quickly, then threw on some sweats, a sports bra, and a tee shirt. I debated putting my socks and shoes back on, but decided against it because I loved the feel of the carpet on my feet so much.
I made sure to pack all of my things again so I could grab my shoes and bag at a run in case of an emergency, though. I’d had to learn that the hard way.
Matteo knocked on the adjoining door, and I moved quickly to open it.
“Yes?”
“Do you need anything?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, giving him a flat stare. “You can tell Riggs I’m fine, Matteo.”
He gave me a look I couldn’t read, then said softly, “You know, it’s not a crime for someone to care about you, Piper.” Then he shut the door, and I stared at it in shock for several moments before I finally moved and went to bed.
As I lay there, before sleep tugged me under, I found myself agreeing with him. Whenhadit become a crime for someone to care about me? When had I gotten so hard-hearted?
Uneasy at the direction my thoughts were turning, but exhausted from the day, I finally drifted off.
Chapter 6
Piper
Iwas jolted awake by an explosion that rocked my room so hard the chandelier above me crashed to the floor, scattering shattered glass everywhere. Another blast followed right after the first, and chunks of the ceiling fell as things around the room toppled and crashed.
Barrett.
Throwing off the covers, I ignored the glass on the floor and grabbed my shoes and socks, then slung my bag over my shoulder and hurried through the connecting door into Matteo’s room.
Matteo’s room was just as trashed—worse, actually. And he was on the floor, unconscious.
At least, Ihopedhe was only unconscious.
“Matteo!” I knelt quickly, feeling for a pulse at the side of his neck, then sighed in relief when I found one, though it was faint.
A massive roar shook the castle, rattling the walls, and I instantly knew who it belonged to. The Prime was on it, whatever or whoeveritwas. But I knew it had to be Barrett’s men. How had they tracked me to Alaska? Better yet, how had they gotten into Dragonspire? The gates had been closed and guarded by at least a hundred guards.
My door was thrown open next door, and when they couldn’t find me there, Matteo’s door was thrown open. The Prime thundered in, along with about fifteen guards. He glanced down at Matteo, laid out on the floor.
“Alive?”
“Yes.” Thankfully.
