We followed his lead, our suit-clad feet crunching on the frozen surface as we entered the ice slit. The ice cracked, the sound echoing hauntingly as the mountain’s pressure mounted.
Frost clung to Rune’s dark eyelashes, and her hands were shaking by the time the crevasse narrowed. “We need to warm up. Do you guys trust me? I have a venom that can warm our blood. I picked it up from a venomous spider back when I was hiking with Mom.”
“Always, venom baby.” Slater slid in front of her, tilting his head to bare his throat with a grin that fogged the air. “Dibs on first bite.”
She swallowed hard, pushed her fangs out, and whispered, “Hold still.” Her pupils slit as she leaned in and sank her fangs into his neck.
Slater’s breath hitched, and his lashes fluttered for a moment before she pulled back. “Whoa,” he whispered, a goofy grin on his face. “That’s fucking incredible.”
Rune licked the tiny mark just before it healed. “Next?”
“Me, pretty little poison.” Zuko stepped in next with a wicked smile plastered on his lips.
“Of course.” She sank her fangs into the curve where shoulder met neck.
Zuko’s hand flexed on her shoulder, but he didn’t pull away. He exhaled a low, surprised sound, then laughed against her hair. “That’s…mm.Warm. Very—mm—sweet of you.”
“Behave,” she murmured, brushing her thumb over the wound that had already healed.
“Define behave,” he breathed, his orange eyes brighter now, and there was color back in his cheeks.
“My pops is watching this,” she reminded him.
He coughed and straightened up. “Whoops.”
“I trust you.” Koa hovered beside her, fidgeting with his fingers before sticking his hand out to her. “Can you bite my fingertip? Neck feels…intimate.”
“You don’t want me to bite your neck?” she teased.
He went red, and Rune took pity on him.
“Fingertip it is.” Rune took his hand and held the index finger. “You’ll feel a prick first, then you’ll be all warmed up.”
He nodded fast.
She used one fang to slice the pad of his finger as gently as she could manage.
The venom slid in, and Koa’s shoulders dropped in audible relief. “Oh,” he said, surprised into stillness. “That was easy. That’s so much better. I didn’t think the cold would affect me the way it did, being a phoenix, but that’s a huge difference. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled softly.
Aura stumbled back from Rune with a fearful expression as she zero-ed in on her fangs. “How much venom? What will it do to me? I’m an imp, you know. I can’t take venom. And...fangs scare me.”
“It’s a micro-dose, Aura,” Rune answered, voice soft. “Even a human wouldn’t be hurt by it. They’d just be warmed for a while,even in this frigid climate. I promise. I don’t even have to use my fang. I can just touch your finger if that’s easier.”
Aura searched her face for a beat, then held her finger up, bare and steady. “Then, get it over with.”
Rune touched her finger to Aura’s and let her venom seep into her. Aura didn’t flinch, but her jaw clicked once. Heat must’ve found her fast because she nodded. “Thank you, Rune.”
Eleanor outstretched her trembling hand toward Rune. “Please. It’s so cold.”
Rune immediately spread her venom through her finger, and Eleanor closed her eyes with a small sound of appreciation. “You rock, Rune. Thank you.”
Lorian held out his thumb for her, and she dosed him, too.
Lorian’s mouth quirked as he felt the effects. “Warm,” he rumbled. “Deep warm. Not at all what I was expecting.”
She pressed her finger to Raze’s quickly, and he nodded in appreciation before stepping back.
