She scrunches up her button nose, her brows pulled down in determination as she scans the missive, before releasing a soft sigh.
“It seems the Vampire King was in communication with the humans, requesting a meeting. They agreed to see him, but only if he brought Aimee with him.”
She turns the paper again toward me, showing me the official wax seal and the names signed at the bottom of the page.
Kahlya and Celine.
I knew Killian was working on securing an alliance with the humans, but I didn’t know how far he had reached in the negotiations.
Truth be told, our brotherhood has been a little strained since he cold-shouldered Aimee, but I would still give my life for him.
For them both.
“What if it’s a plot from Morweena to attract them out of Sangeries and enact her nefarious plans? She seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with Killian. She will go to the ends of this realm to get him, to destroy Aimee.”
“If that were true, our Dark Umbras in the Fae court would have picked up on it. Soren would have alerted me,” she says in a confident tone that leaves me puzzled.
“And how would he go about doing that? He is miles away.”
She casts her wary glance toward Mattya and Axel, pursing her lips slightly.
“They can be trusted,” I answer her silent question.
Sariah nods and unsheathes a dagger from its thigh holster, placing the sharpened tip against her index finger and puncturing the skin. Hunger coils swiftly around my gut as a droplet of blood forms on the pad of her finger, my tongue darting out to lick my suddenly burning fangs. Gods, how I wish to taste her blood. I have a hunch it would become my drug of choice, and I have tried them all at least once in this unbearably long undead life.
“Another perk our ancestors granted our bloodline,” she says as she smears the blood on her wrist, and it swirls with a beat of its own.
“Blood magic,” I whisper in awe.
“Indeed,” she answers. “We can communicate through blood. It’s meant to help us in our sacred duty, but also to keep our secrets safe.”
“That’s a neat trick,” Axel says as he approaches us, looking at Sariah with eyes that do nothing to conceal his fascination.
“Thank you, darling,” she answers him with a crooked smile, and a pang of acid burns in my chest.
Is that how jealousy feels? I can’t say that I like it.
The blood shapes into words until a coherent message is painted on her ivory skin.
What’s the matter, sister?
“Any new rumors in the Fae court of a possible kidnapping?” she whispers to herself, and the blood swirls again, sending the message to Soren.
Nothing of the sort. Who’s been kidnapped?
“Inconsequential. Just keep your ears open for any unusual rumors,” she says.
It’s bizarre to witness her talking to herself, but I can’t deny the tactical advantage of her revelation. She’s a creature of many secrets and surprises, and I am a little bit more enthralled with her each passing second.
“See,” she says, looking up from her wrist at me, a quirky smile shaping her luscious mouth. “We’ll know if anything is amiss. But I bet something else is going on here. Now, do any of you lovely lads have a handkerchief?”
She wiggles her wrist gently in front of us, and I grab it by reflex.
“No need,” I say as I bring her sweet-scented skin to my lips and lick the droplet with a swipe of my tongue. I finish by pressing a chaste kiss to her flesh, feeling the flutter of life throbbing in her veins just below the surface.
Her eyes widen in shock, and she tsks at me, but she doesn’t snatch her hand away. The moment lingers between us for a few beats before Axel clears his throat rather rudely, dissipating the spell completely.
“Maybe you shouldn’t bleed in a room full of vampires,” I say, letting go of her hand, although my desire is to tug her closer into my arms instead. “Blood makes us lose all decorum.”
