“Don’t you even start!” I bark back at him, even as my dick twitches in my pants at the mere mention of her. My shadows also perk up at the thought, flowing freely from my skin and pooling at my feet.
“Fine, fine! A vampire can’t even crack a joke around here anymore.” He grumbles before sobering up. “Reports came back from my spies, confirming Vladymyr’s identity. It’s him alright! His last known location is just one hour away from Dithrau. How do you want to proceed?”
My mind spins with that information. Finally, some good news! If we can apprehend Vladymyr and bring him back for Leilah to torture and interrogate, we stand a good chance at uncovering the enemy’s command post. We must find out where the heart of their operations is based, so we can meticulously plan an attack once we fetch Aurora Vaureghain and convince her to help us.
“Prepare your warriors for the journey. I will join you to capture him alive. We leave after I finish my dinner with the sister.”
He eyes my perfectly normal, not out of the ordinary, black shirt again as if to say, .
“Speaking of which, any news regarding Aurora Vaureghain?” I ask in annoyance, trying to ignore his inquisitive stare.
“My spies have left a trail of breadcrumbed rumors in Vroni, and at the outskirts of Ibrok, that vampires have kidnapped her twin and hold her prisoner at the Vampire King’s court. If she’s there, or if she has people there, she will hear about it. It’s all a matter of time before she comes barging in.” Blaise says in response, still observing my attire.
“Good.” I groan. “This better work out. I don’t know how much longer we have until shit hits the metaphorical fan. And I don’t expect her to warm up to our side overnight. It’s quite clear from her twin’s attitude that they were raised to believe the worst about us. We have to consider the time we need to convince her to fulfill the prophecy with me.”
“I’m well aware, Killian,” Blaise says nonplussed. “What both intrigues me and worries me to some degree is that Aimee doesn’t seem fond of her sister or her family. If there is bad blood between them, your plan might not work out as you want it to.”
“I’ve noticed that too.” I say, thinking back at my little umbra’s reaction the other day. My thoughts pause a moment at that possessive self-proclamation. Is she mine? I know I stated as such to her in the heat of our fight that night, but do I really believe that? I shake the idea away immediately. Now is not the time to dwindle in such trivial pursuits. My shadows churn at my feet in rebuttal. “However, I am still not convinced that it’s not just a clever act on her part. Her way of protecting her sister from what she believes to be an impending doom.”
“Mmhmm,” is all that Blaise offers in response.
A soft knock comes from the hallway, and I immediately sense that it’s Nella, seeming quite giddy.
“Yes?”
She opens the door, stopping just shy of the entrance. A small smile adorns her pretty human face, and I exhale a long breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Aimee must have accepted my invitation. Every other night when Nella came to relay her refusal, she was frowning and slightly shaking, especially on that first occasion when she stammered out the message the Fae had given her for me. Something about starving herself to death and ravens picking on her skin, if memory serves me right.
“I am most delighted to inform you, Sir, that my lady has kindly accepted your invitation and will be present for dinner shortly. I must hasten back to attend to her needs before the meal.” She performs a curtsy before leaving the room in a hurry.
“Make her look extra ravishing for our boy here, will ya?” Blaise hollers after her, and I throw a paper knife his way.
He ducks his head in time to avoid it, grinning slyly. “At last, we’re moving past the slow-burn tension of the first chapters, and diving in straight to the lewdness,” he whistles. “I was about to bang my head against the headboard in boredom, I swear.”
“You read way too much smut for a hardened warrior life yourself, Blaise. It’s unbecoming,” I say. Akaoridamn, whatever filthy lover of his, got him started on that specific genre. He was deviant enough already, without the added incentive of those dirty books.
“The ladies love it, Killian. You should take notes. Who knows, this old dog might even learn a new trick or two, to woo a certain Fae kitty cat,” he chortles, wagging his eyebrows at me.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now!”
Blaise jumps from his seat and stalks towards the door.
“Can’t wait for your mood to improve significantly after you pound her ass!”
His unperturbed laugh lingers as he exits the room.
I swear on Akaori’s name and glory, sometimes I wish I had left him to die in that ransacked village house where I found him six hundred years ago.
CHAPTER 12
Aimee
Itakealong,soothingbreath as I give myself a once-over in the mirror.
Nella helped me shimmy the breathtaking silver dress on, and she is arranging my long curls in a half up-do. She pinned away from my face the upper half of my locks with onyx and mother-of-pearl barrettes, while the lower half flows freely on my naked back.
Silver dusts my eyelids, the same shade as the flowy, deep V-neck dress with a fitted waist that hugs my curves before flaring in layers of delicate chiffon. The criss-cross straps snuggle against my ribs, holding the dainty layers in place, before fastening in the front with a bejeweled brooch, similar in design to the hair clips I’m wearing.
My eyes sparkle like molten lava against all this contrasting platinum. This feels better than being covered in gemstones from head to toe. I am a gemstone!
