Page 22 of When Kings Fall

“We’ll sort it all out,” Colt added.

“No,” Lev said, shaking his head. “She’ll never forgive me for this.”

A shadow fell over the area and a sweet voice rang out.

“It seems like you’ve already learned your lesson, lovely.”

I took her in, her silky, long black hair all disheveled in a sexy, bedhead way, contrasting sharply with the bubblegum-pink robe Colt had wrapped her in as we’d put her to bed in the master suite upstairs when we’d arrived up here a couple of hours ago after I’d gotten that call from Roman Knight telling me that he was on board and reinforcing that we needed to head to Boreas ASAP, that Levi would be sent along too.

I stepped back as she went to Levi and smiled at Colt who rose to his feet to give her some room.

She leaned in and sank her fingers into Levi’s hair, then planted a soft kiss on the top of his head. “Nothing is ruined. I’m not happy about what you did, but we’ll talk it out.”

Levi looked stunned as she helped ease him back to his feet.

He was throwing his arms around her in the next moment and holding her tightly.

I walked away and leaned against the tree Lev had run me into earlier, letting them have their moment that Levi desperately needed.

Colt looked on smiling with relief for him. Always such a sweetheart, no matter what.

After a few moments, they eased apart, and then Bree was glaring at me.

I tensed, ready for her to lay into me.

The way it happened wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all, though, as in the next second, the glint of something caught my eye, a moment before she tossed a blade through the air.

It tore into the left sleeve of my shirt and drove into the trunk of the tree.

I jolted and looked to see that it hadn’t even scraped the skin of my arm, not even a little.

I didn’t get to register much more than that when she stormed toward me, then threw one hell of a punch that had me grunting, my head snapping to the side.

She grasped my jaw. Hard.

“When you wake up for the next few days and see a black eye staring back at you in the mirror, you’ll remember your mistake, your fucked-up decision to kidnap me like that. It will sink in, just like it will every time you put on this shirt going forward and find that knife tear in it. Repetition is the key to imprinting on your memory.” She yanked the knife free and stepped back, spinning it expertly in her hand. “Don’t do anything like that again.”

“Jesus,” I heard Colt utter.

She caught Levi’s eye and nodded. “Yes, this is my dark side. A glimpse into it, anyway.” She looked back at me. “You came close to bringing it to the surface when you marked me and I had to retaliate. But kidnapping me, of all fucking things, that really did it.” Her attention turned to all of us, eyeing us in turn. “Good thing, huh? Considering what the fuck has happened?”

Before we could get a word out, she called to Colt, “Mind showing me around?”

“Sure,” he said, walking to her in a stunned state that matched mine.

“Thanks.” She looked out at me, glaring again. “I need time to calm down, then we’ll talk.”

With that, she took off with Colt at her side, already starting to talk her ear off about the history of the place, and the amenities we had here.

“Jesus,” I breathed, slumping back against the tree.

Levi came to me and inspected my shirt. “Damn, her accuracy is on point. Pun intended.” He eyed me curiously. “Didn’t know she had that in her, did you?”

“And you did,” I realized from his tampered down reaction to it. “You seriously didn’t think to tell me that the woman we’re falling for is a human weapon?”

“I figured you wouldn’t take it so well. You know, pretty much the way you’re taking it now?”

I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Actually, with what we’re up against, her unleashing this part of her couldn’t have come at a better time.”

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