Page 58 of A Spark Of Revenge

“This is your first Christmas at the castle?” he asks with a tilt to his lips, and I nod.

“It is. It’s beautiful, but I have to say I’m surprised. From what I’ve heard, we need to be preparing for war, right?” I ask in a low voice, leaning toward Victor so only he can hear me. Victor nods, setting his fork down as he rakes his dark gaze over the room.

“Indeed. However, keeping the morale up for the Hunters and Rangers is just as important as training. The Regalis brothers have increased the training over the last three days, and our people are tired. Even with the threat of war between our ranks, they deserve a night off,” Victor grumbles, surprising me with the long speech.

“That makes sense,” I whisper back to him, my body still leaning into his as a large, warm hand suddenly finds my thigh under the table, fingers squeezing in warning as I gasp and sit up, darting a surprised look at Nox. Only he’s not even looking at me. He’s engaged in conversation with Elaine, yet his hand is locked tight on my thigh, wrinkling the fabric of my dress as he holds me tight.

“What are you doing?” I hiss at him under my breath, reaching under the table as subtlety as possible and push at the strong fingers grasping me.

“Meyer? Is everything all right?” Victor asks politely, and I'm quick to smile back at him, putting on a fake mask of calm as I nod.

“Yes, of course. The food smells great,” I say quickly, bringing my hand back up to grab my fork before diving into the creamy mashed potatoes on my plate. Truthfully, I’m starved, but I'm having difficulty enjoying my meal with Lennox's hand still on my thigh. “How long have you been at the castle?” I ask as I try to move my thigh away from Lennox’s firm grip, which only makes him hold tighter, and I try not to wince. The big bastard is going to leave bruises if he squeezes any harder. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before the day Elaine and Lennox announced you as the new Drakos Senior.”

Victor nods, taking a small bite of food before setting his fork down and dabbing at his mouth with the napkin he’s set across his lap, and I grin in amusement. For such a big, burly guy, Victor sure has impeccable manners. “I only came back at Elaine's bidding. The late Senior Axford and I didn't see eye to eye on things, and I refrained from visiting the castle unless called upon,” he responds, his eyes narrowing as he continues to look around the room. “Meyer,” he questions, his accented voice becoming easier to understand the longer I talk with him.

“Hmm?” I ask around another bite of food, groaning a little as the tender prime rib practically melts in my mouth.

“Is there a reason two Demons are currently stalking me?” he asks with mild amusement.

My eyes shoot up in surprise, and I stupidly inhale and gasp when a piece of meat lodges itself into my throat. I immediately fall into a coughing fit, which makes Victor’s eyes widen in horror as a massive hand wallops me on the back, helping me cough up the offending piece of meat as I make a fool of myself in front of everyone.

Eyes watering, I finally clear my throat as Victor leans closer to say, “I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you that way,” he says, eyes falling to the hand on my back, which is now rubbing my shoulder in soft circles, before he looks over my head at Nox. When I risk a peek at the Demon to my left I realize his hand is no longer on my thigh but my back. I find him still in conversation with a concerned-looking Elaine, who gives me a tight smile before returning to her conversation once she’s sure I’m okay. Nox doesn't glance my way once as he helps me not choke and die on my prime rib, and I glare at him, shrugging off his hand before looking back at Victor with an embarrassed smile.

“I’m fine. I just wasn't expecting you to ask that question,” I whisper, trying to ignore the curious glances pointed my way as my eyes flick around the room, landing first on Creed. He’s only fifty or so feet from the table, a small throwing blade in his hand as he leans casually on the wall, tossing the knife in the air every thirty-seconds or so. His dark glare is trained on Victor's hand as he picks up my napkin and offers it to me, which I take gratefully, dabbing at the tears that had run down my face while coughing.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asks, leaning forward so he can look at my face, genuine concern on his heavy brow, and I can't help but giggle and nod, wondering how I thought this massive man was terrifying the first time I saw him. Besides his intimidating size, he is honestly one of the softest-spoken, well-mannered men I have met since stepping foot in this castle.

I can see Nox tense out of the corner of my eye when I laugh at Victor just before his hand clamps around my thigh once more, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes at his possessive gesture. He wants to get mad that I’m laughing with a man, but finds it amusing when I walk into his office to find him holding another woman in his arms. To be fair, I’m no longer upset about it since Elaine and I talked, but he doesn't know that.

“Yes. Sorry about that,” I rasp, cheeks still warm as I grab my fork while looking around the room for Valen. It doesn't take much to find him. Almost like a magnet, our eyes connect, and my heart skips a beat at the intensity in his eyes. He’s no longer standing next to Creed, but is now on the other side of the table, his beautiful face frozen in a mask of anger as he tilts his head to the side, eyes flashing like a predator hunting his prey. I shiver and yank my gaze from him. Victor hadn't been lying. Demons are definitely stalking us. They've split up and are closing in on all sides. “Just ignore them. They won't attack… I think,” I whisper his way, then squeak when Lennox’s hand tightens to a painful level on my thigh. I glare at the infuriating Viking, but he’s still ignoring me.

As quickly as I can, I move my fork under the table, holding it like a dagger before stabbing Nox in the back of the hand, making his hand release my thigh as his head slowly turns to glare down at me. My eyes widen when I see Nox’s pupils blown, a dark, uncomfortable energy sparking from him as a growl slowly vibrates from his chest. I stubbornly glare back at him, refusing to let him boss me around with his bad attitude as I yank my fork out of his hand, then smirk my triumph as Elaine laughs nervously at his side.

“Lennox. Ask me to dance,” Elaine suddenly requests, standing as Victor chuckles darkly at my side. I guess he caught my less-than-subtle stabbing as Elaine yanks a growling Lennox from his chair and forces him over to the cleared portion of the dining hall at the center of the room. Nox allows Elaine to pull him from the table, but his dark eyes stay on me as Victor stands and offers me his hand.

“And now I understand why Elaine likes you so much. Would you care to dance?” he asks, and I grimace.

“I don’t know how to dance,” I admit, and Victor's lips quirk up in the smallest of smiles.

“It's not hard. Just follow my lead,” he prompts, and I eye him warily. “Come on. Elaine said dancing was mandatory before I allow you to sulk off to your room,” he replies as I hesitantly take his hand and let him pull me to my feet. I tuck my now bloody fork under my napkin as I leave, hoping no one else caught my little tantrum before allowing Victor to lead me to the dance floor, which is quickly filling now that Elaine and Nox are waltzing gracefully around the space.

I watch them with a strange feeling in my chest as Victor places an enormous hand on my waist and takes my hand in his. “Watching him will only give him the satisfaction he wants, Meyer,” Victor whispers, and I look up at him in surprise, finding him staring longingly at Elaine.

“How do you know that?” I ask as he slowly starts to move, our pace much slower than the sprawling dancers around us. Tentatively, I follow him, stepping on his toes at every turn, and cursing under my breath when Victor chuckles. I glare up at him, bending my neck so far back it almost hurts.

“Because I would be proud as a damn peacock if I had her staring at me the way you are him. From what I have heard, that man is powerful and knows it. It looks like you are giving him a run for his money, but you can't be too obvious,” he adds with a wink.

“But you are staring at her,” I point out as we dance around the room.

“Yes, but the difference is, I want Elaine to know I’m pursuing her. There is no fight on my end. Only hers,” he grumbles, his scowl deepening with his words as he watches Elaine and Nox. When I step on Victor's toes for the fourth time, I curse and glare at my feet. “Come here,” he mutters, his hand moving to my waist, plucking me off the floor before resting my feet on top of his much larger ones. “Now, don't go stabbing me with a fork. I’m just trying to help,” he adds, and I laugh at the completely serious look on Victor's face.

“I won't thank you,” I add as Victor picks up our pace, dancing us around the room, placing me on my feet when he spins me under his arm before putting me right back. By the time the song is done, we are both laughing and smiling before a dark presence comes up behind me, making Victor’s smile falter.

“Prince Darakh,” Victor greets with a dip of his head as I turn and look up into my dream man's face.

“Lennox?” I whisper, not expecting to see him behind me. I’m so used to calling him by the name I know or that of Regalis that I forget it's not his actual name. Lennox glares at Victor, the two of them almost seeing eye to eye before he silently holds his right hand, the hand I had just stabbed but no longer has a wound.

“Ranger Smith. Would you do me the honor of a dance?” he grits out between clenched teeth as Elaine rushes over to us, her eyes flitting from me to Lennox, then landing on Victor.

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