Page 65 of Clash of Kingdoms

I woke up to the shift of his body.

My eyes opened to see him leave the bed and grab his clothes from one of the drawers. He was quiet, so quiet it wouldn’t have woken me up, but the second his warmth was gone, I felt cold. I looked outside, seeing that it was pitch dark, sometime in the middle of the night.

He pulled his shirt over his head then moved for his trousers.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a raspy voice.

He stilled before he continued to dress. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

“I can’t sleep without you.”

“I’ll be back shortly.” He pulled on each one of his boots before he stood up again.

“What are you doing?” I repeated.

He straightened then looked at me, and his annoyance was undeniable. “I need to speak to Kingsnake.”

“Now?” I asked incredulously. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“And the night isn’t our preferred time for sleep,” he said. “Go back to bed, baby.” He leaned over the bed and came to me, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’ll be back before you wake up.” He walked out and quietly shut the door behind him.

I lay there and listened until his footsteps were no longer audible. I was disappointed he’d left, but there was something else that bothered me. Something just didn’t feel right. He’d slipped out in the middle of the night before, but he never told me where he was going. I left the sheets and walked to one of the windows, which had a partial view of the main doors that led to the castle.

I stood there and waited, my heart racing more and more, afraid I would see him walk through those doors. Minutes passed and nothing happened, so I assumed he’d gone down the hallway to Kingsnake’s bedroom so they could drink and talk about all the horrible things they’d seen in battle.

But then I saw him walk out…and leave the castle.

FIFTEEN

AURELIAS

I walked through the kingdom, torches aglow along the streets and the alleyways. It should be a quiet night, but once the soldiers had returned to HeartHolme after the battle, everyone was stirred up. There were people on the street at this time of night when there normally wouldn’t be. Citizens retrieving food and medicine.

It was a long walk to her house in the village, a small but handsome cottage just a few streets from the pub I’d visited when I’d first come here. That was how I’d met her—Annabella. She was interested in me, but I’d told her I was unavailable.

But I’d also told her I was hungry.

Long story short, we developed an arrangement. She allowed me to feed, and I compensated her with vampire silver, something that would fetch her a fortune once the war was over. She was also compensated in other ways, but that was her prerogative.

I arrived at her door and knocked.

It was the middle of the night, so I didn’t expect her to be awake, but she opened the door almost immediately, as if expecting me.

She looked me over, and the relief that swept through her was like a heavy wind. “You’re alright.”

I gave a slight nod. “You’re up late.”

“I thought you might come by…if you survived.”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

As I stepped inside, she moved into my body to hug me.

We’d never done this sort of thing before, so it caught me off guard. I allowed it but didn’t reciprocate. I gently pried her hands off me then shut the door to her cottage. The famine was so acute that I couldn’t feel my hands or my fingers. That battle had been intense, and since I had more strength than several men put together, I’d had to work much harder to compensate for their weakness. All the blood I’d ingested before I left was spent on that battle. I’d continued on nothing, and the only reason I could be with Harlow afterward was because my need for her was the only thing stronger than my hunger. But once she went to sleep, my needs came back to the surface.

Kingsnake and the others had fed the instant they returned, but I didn’t have that opportunity.

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