Page 81 of Princess Avenged

Crusher pushes off the chair and it rocks forward and back on the floor. “If Ana goes, I go. It’s not a question.”

Ember sighs, as if this is a battle she doesn’t want to fight. “Let me think about that.”

Ana shifts on Flame’s lap, but she’s looking the other direction, and I can’t see her face. I’m not sure how she feels about Crusher’s declaration, especially since she hasn’t forgiven him for killing Timur. I place my hand softly on her back, and she turns to offer me the hint of a smile.

“Where is this portal thing?” Flame asks. “And how soon can we get there?” His hands trace over Ana’s hip and onto her torso. His thick fingers span her ribs in a way that seems both protective and threatening.

Like all of us, Flame could crush Ana’s ribs with one hand, and the size difference between them, between Ana and every one of us, stirs both my desire and every protective instinct inside me. Ana’s so tiny, so fragile in many ways, and yet she’s so strong, and certainly capable of taking on all of us—in every imaginable way.

“I can’t reveal the location of the portal,” Ember replies after a pause. “Not to everyone.”

Glaring, Crusher crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s not acceptable.”

Axe leaps up to confront Crusher, and the bear-man seems to get bigger and hairier as he gets close to Crusher’s personal space. Will he shift?

In reaction, Ryker protectively pulls Ember onto his lap, and her thigh grazes his cock. The moment is obvious—written all over Ryker’s face.

Clearly these men are as hot and ready for their mate as we always are for Ana.

Instead of backing down, Crusher takes a step toward Axe, like he means to start a fight, but I doubt he will unless Ana is threatened. And while I don’t know Axe that well, he must not have liked how Crusher spoke to Ember.

Passing Ana onto my lap, Flame jumps up, and plants himself between the two irate and mountainous men, one hand on each of their shoulders to keep them apart.

“Hey, guys,” Flame says. “Tearing each other apart sounds like fun, but not exactly productive right now. How about you two save the wrestling rematch until later?”

“Rematch?” Ana shifts in my lap. “You two wrestled? I wish you wouldn’t fight.”

“It was in good fun, Princess,” Ryker says, stroking Ember’s thigh. “While you ladies were away, we menfolk staged a tournament of sorts, that’s all.” He pauses. “I won.”

Axe spins around. “You most fucking did not.”

At least Ryker has drawn Axe’s attention away from Crusher.

Ana pushes herself off my lap and stands strongly, raising her chin. “Stop it. All of you. Right now.” Ana’s a foot and a half shorter than any of the males in this room, but standing in the firelight, dressed in her simple long gown that covers nearly every inch of her body, and with her long hair reaching down to her rounded ass, it’s clear to me who is the most powerful vampire in the room. The most commanding. And it’s not Crusher. It’s Ana. The most powerful vampire here is my love.

“Sit,” she says firmly, addressing Crusher, Axe and Flame. “Let Ember finish telling us everything she can. We need to make plans to complete this quest, and I am certain she will not withhold any information we require.”

Flame grins, clearly turned on by Ana’s commanding tone too—and how she took control of the situation. His hand brushes hers as he returns to sit on the sofa next to me. Then sheepishly, like little boys scolded by their teacher, Axe and Crusher drop back down into chairs, sitting quietly and waiting for Ember to continue.

“The portal is in Paris,” Ember says. “I can tell you that much. The council explained how to open and close it. Once we are there, I will tell Ember how to pass through…” She doesn’t look or sound quite as confident as I’d like her to be.

“Explained it to you?” I frown. “Are you confident you can deal with this portal? Are there any books or documents we can study to be sure we have all the information?”

She draws a long breath. “I’m as confident as I can be, without having done it. There is no written documentation, and the portal hasn’t been opened for a very, very long time.”

I don’t love that answer, but I suppose it’s all I can expect in the circumstances. “Did they tell you any more about the special sword?”

“The council agreed we should bring the dagger,” she says, but her expression reveals a level of uncertainty I really don’t love. “It’s possible that the records mistranslated the words sword and dagger.”

“When do we leave for Paris?” Flame asks.

“There is no we,” Ember says. “Only those crossing should go.” Ember’s eyes flick toward Crusher, who shifts in his chair.

“I’m going to Paris,” I say firmly. “I might have relevant information you need.”

“You’ve held something back?” Zuben asks me.

“Not intentionally.” But the thought of being on the other side of an ocean from Ana… Especially if she’s putting herself in danger…

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