Page 79 of Soul Forge

“Any idea where they took him?” the ex-captain pressed.

“Not yet.”

“Alright.” Sypher’s fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, something he did when he was forcing himself to calm down. Elda waited for his shoulders to relax, watching the fire start to flicker in his irises again. “We can’t make a move to get him back until we have more information on his whereabouts.”

“I’ll arrange for scouts across the kingdoms to keep an eye out for them,” Gira promised. “King Artan will be more than willing to spread the word, I’m sure.”

“I’ll come with you,” Reiner decided. “If the human king has any fears about sending his scouts out into the wild, I can help allay them.” She turned to Sypher reluctantly. “I may not be a captain now, but I still have sway with the monarchs.”

Elda was surprised Reiner would consider leaving the villa and not dragging her along. Sypher seemed caught off guard, too; he cocked his head, looking between the valkyrie and Elda for a moment before nodding.

“Thank you,” he said eventually.

Yani stumbled, only kept on his feet by Julian’s grip. The Soul Forge turned and frowned, studying his face. Elda saw a flash of stark white eyes, his skin pale and sallow. He looked like he was on the brink of death.

“When was the last time you fed?” Sypher asked.

“Before we left. We’ve been travelling for about five days,” the other passenger answered. The ex-captain stalked across the clearing and moved Elda away immediately, keeping the dagger in front of her, positioning her body to act as a shield if Yani suddenly turned feral and attacked.

“You know you shouldn’t leave it that long, Clover,” Julian scolded, scowling at his brother. “Both of you must be in pain.”

“Getting the message here was important,” Yani asserted, lifting his chin. “I can handle it.”

Sypher arched an eyebrow. “You’re starving.Bothof you are.”

“We can find a donor in the city,” Clover insisted.

“I don’t think he’ll last that long.” Sypher cast a doubtful glance at Yani. He looked like the only thing keeping him on his feet was Julian’s arms around him. “Come with me.”

“You shouldn’t feed both of us,” Clover protested.

“Where else are you going to find another donor before one of you loses it?”

“I could help,” Elda suggested, concern for Sypher’s welfare overshadowing her fear of their teeth. His head whipped around to fix her with a look that made her mouth go dry. Reiner’s eyebrows crept upwards.

“Absolutelynot,” Sypher growled. “Both of you, come with me.”

He stalked away from them, the two newcomers following him a second later. Yani shot a longing glance at his partner before he left. Reiner rubbed a hand across the back of her neck, her expression perplexed.

“Did I upset him?” Elda asked.

“He’s just territorial,” Julian reassured her, his eyes still on the spot where they’d disappeared into the villa.

“What does that mean?”

“It means he doesn’t want other men putting their mouths on you.” He flashed her a sly smile. “He’d rather do that part himself.”

Reiner turned, and Elda expected anger in her expression, but there was just that same odd frown. Her teeth trapped her lower lip, arms folding across her chest. Two fingers tapped against the hilt of the dagger still in her hand as she studied the blush creeping up Elda’s throat.

“Stop teasing her,” Gira admonished, shaking his head at the vampire. “He’s concerned for her safety.”

“And about other men touching her.”

“You’ll need to be concerned foryoursafety if you keep pulling that thread,” the older wielder shot back. “Let him be.”

“Will he be alright?” Elda asked, ignoring their bickering. “He technicallydiedwhen he fed you.”

“I was past the point of sanity,” Julian shrugged.

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