Page 85 of A Kingdom of Monsters

I couldn’t fucking wait.

26

LONNIE

THE KEEP, NEVERMORE

Ipulled my head back from Scion’s throat, licking his blood from my lips.

We were ensconced in some upstairs guest room of the enormous stone fortress belonging to the Lord of Nevermore. The ceilings were low, crossed with dark wooden beams, and the furniture was all sturdy and low to the ground, looking nothing like the tall spindly style more common in the capital. On the wall there was a stylized painting of a brown bear lumbering through a forest. And underneath that, an enormous fire burned in a stone grate. I could swear I’d never been more grateful for anything in my life.

When we’d arrived, I’d been so cold I felt as if my very blood was freezing in my veins. I likely could have conjured fire to warm myself, but admittedly it hadn’t occurred to me at the time. In so many ways, I still thought and behaved like a human. And, in truth, I’d been distracted by Ambrose’s…betrothed? Partner? I wasn’t sure what she was, but everything about her had set me on edge.

Scion had been just as on edge when our carriage finally pulled up in front of the castle. He’d grabbed me and carried me straight upstairs, without bothering to ask for permission or directions from any of the nobles.

Now, he was half sitting, half lying on his back on the bed, propped up against a wall of embroidered pillows. His hands were flat against my hips, holding me in place as I straddled his lap and sucked from his throat.

“Better?” he asked me, looking up through slightly hooded eyes.

“Much.” I rolled my shoulders to demonstrate the healing. Then I leaned forward to lie more completely over Scion’s bare chest, turning my head to press my ear to his impossibly warm skin. I could hear his heart beating steadily beneath me.

“I’d like to fucking kill Ambrose,” Scion growled. “How does he have you alone for an hour, and you get attacked by sirens and nearly freeze to death?”

“I’m not sure that was his fault,” I replied with a yawn. “Anyway, I was on that ship with him for nearly two weeks and he didn’t manage to get me killed.”

“Barely,” Scion grumbled. “Sea monsters, Gancanagh, not to mention that friend of his shooting you with a fucking crossbow.”

“Hmmm,” I murmured, knowing there was absolutely no point in arguing. “I wonder where Riven is now. I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“Probably running errands forThe Dullahan,” Scion sneered.

“You’re determined to hate him,” I commented. “And I get it, but it’s not helping us at all if you can’t get past it. We’ve already lostBael, and you and I can’t find these jewels all on our own. At the very least we'll drain each other the first time one of us has to use more magic than the other can handle.”

I knew all too well that I was giving myself too much credit. It was highly unlikely–impossible even–that I’d be able to use so much magic that it would hurt Scion. But the other way around was more than possible. He’d nearly done it several times already. In any case, he seemed to take my point in stride.

Wrapping his arms around my back, he pulled me even closer and put his chin on the top of my head. “

“I keep thinking that maybe it would have been better if Bael and I just sealed our bond from the beginning,” I mused.

“I don’t see how,” he replied, clearly doing his very best not to sound condescending. “That would just kill us all faster.”

“Probably,” I agreed. “But it didn’t matter in the end, did it? Bael still left to avoid being too happy. If we’d sealed the bond, then you and I wouldn’t be in such constant danger of draining ourselves.”

I hadn’t had much time to consider this since discovering Bael had gone. What with arriving in Nevermore, getting attacked, and meeting that woman, there hadn’t been much time for contemplation. Now though, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d made a mistake.

“How did you heal Bael?” I asked, suddenly remembering the question that had been dancing in the back of my mind since last night.

Scion stiffened, his arms tightening more around me. “From the arrows?”

“Yes.”

“You were there, rebel. It was blood, just as it always is.”

I sat up again, looking down at him and letting his hands fall back to my hips. “I thought only mates could heal each other that way.”

He shrugged. “We’re both mated to you.”

“And Ambrose?”

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