Page 111 of A Kingdom of Monsters

He shook his head. “If I am, I doubt that’s proof of it, rebel. I think it’s simply that I’m not trying to hurt you. Only combative magic doesn’t work on you.”

“And you?” I asked, turning to Ambrose. He was the one I was the most curious about, given that our mating bond was newer. I wasn’t sure how a seer might draw on other’s powers the way Scion or I did, but perhaps there was some benefit to him as well.

Ambrose scowled, though not as if he were mad at me. More as if he were thinking very hard and struggling to find an answer.

“I need to meditate,” he said finally, shaking his head. “I can’t wait until Bael is back with us so I can see again.”

“Any idea when that will be?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head, no. “Sorry, love. Even if I knew I couldn’t tell you. It might shift things.”

I sighed, saying nothing as he wandered over to a nearby tree to meditate. I knew he was right, but I was starting to get seriously annoyed with whoever was pulling the strings of our future, and not understanding why only made things worse.

That night,I slept on the grassy bank between my mates.

Or rather, I tried to sleep. For some reason, I couldn’t. I envied Scion, who was sleeping soundly to my left, one hand on my hip and the other under his head like a pillow. I wondered if the army had trained him to sleep anywhere, because he always seemed to be more comfortable than the rest of us.

On my other side, Ambrose was also lying awake.

I rolled onto my side to look at him, finding him staring up at the sky with an intensity that implied he might read some secret message among the stars.

“What are you looking at?”I asked so quietly I was practically mouthing the words.

He shook his head. “Just working through some things. The future is complex, and I’m not used to being around other people so often.”

I frowned slightly offended, and leaned back.

Likely seeing my movement, he turned on his side as well to look at me. “I didn’t mean you…at least, not all the time.” He grinned. “What I do takes a certain amount of alone time to think without distractions or making others feel like you’re ignoring them.”

Ah. That, I could understand.

“So you’re ‘alone’ now, so to speak?” I asked.

His smile widened. “Something like that.”

“oh, I suppose I’m disturbing you. Sorry.”

I made to roll over again, facing Scion, but Ambrose grabbed me and pulled me back. I found myself tucked under his arm, pressed into his side. Our faces were suddenly very, very close.

“You’re never disturbing me, love. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have you at all.”

Ambrose leaned over, capturing my mouth in a slow, languid kiss. Warmth filled me from within, curling my toes. Then, he angled his head, bringing his hand to my cheek, and the kiss turned hotter. More possessive. He sucked my bottom lip intohis mouth and I whimpered, letting him steal the sound from my lips with his own.

My body was loose and coiling at the same time. I could feel my temperature rising, and my pulse beating insistently in my core.

A sound behind me made me go stiff.Shit.

I bit my lip. I wasn’t good at this sort of thing. I had never been the most tactful person, and now I felt we were walking through a battlefield every time the three of us were alone together. It had been difficult enough before, but now that I’d chosen both of them how could I navigate the path between their feud?

Breaking away from Ambrose’s kiss, I rolled back over, explanations already rising to the tip of my tongue. I was expecting to see Scion looking at me with fury in his hypnotic eyes. I expected him to storm away, or perhaps demand that I choose between them—something I didn’t even want to try and think about.

What I did not expect was for him to be watching me, with something like interest playing across the lines of his too-handsome face.

“You’re awake,” I whispered, feebly.

Scion’s lip curled and his eyes flashed with dangerous humor. “As are you, rebel.”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but then I caught the heat in his gaze. He was watching me–more specifically watching my mouth–with that single minded focus that used to scare me, but now made heat pool in my core.

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