Page 10 of Lifeblood

“No,” he said. “I refuse.”

“I…” Words were suddenly hard to form. My mouth went dry. My stomach dropped. I tried again. “I don’t think we get a choice.”

“What?” Mordred asked as he took in the sight of us. The silence that’d wrapped around the room was like a noose. “What choice?”

Lanced stopped his pacing. Only now was his grin gone. “She means all of us sharing her. You can’t feel it?”

Tristan was taking slow breaths near Lance. His shoulders rose and fell with each one, his eyes closed. “That’swhat this is?”

Gareth nodded, still staring at me. “A mate bond. With multiple partners. Is this even possible?”

“No. And yet…” Mordred trailed off and gestured before him. All the fight he’d had before was gone.

“It’s true,” I said. “This is fate.”

And it was surprising how easy I was finding it to accept it, too. There had to have been a reason fate had kept my name out of the wife lottery for so long. Maybe this was it.

“That doesn’t solve the most pertinent issue,” Gareth said. “One lifeblood will not sustain the four of us, regardless of this unfortunate mate situation.”

Gareth cast his angry gaze on his fellow demon kings. While they were not particularly friendly with each other at the moment, I could sense a bit of sibling rivalry amongst them. They counted themselves as brothers, although I had no idea if that was actually true. I had assumed not, given their differing powers and courts.

But could these demonic brothers share me?

“She will have to,” Mordred said matter-of-factly. “She’s the only one left.”

Anger bloomed hot within my chest. “I’m literally right here, you bastards. Don’t you think you should be discussing the end of my short lifewithme?”

“No,” Mordred and Gareth both said at the same time. Lance’s smirk returned.

It was Tristan who spoke first. “You don’t know what’s at stake, Ava.”

I wanted to argue that they could then tell me “what was at stake” since it seemed so important. But when Tristan had said my name, my entire body had shivered with excitement. He hadn’t even said it withintentionto cause excitement and already my body reacted like this.

Warmth pooled low in my belly. Between Tristan’s voice and Gareth’s anger that admittedly turned me on more than it should have, I wasn’t sure I could handle being mated to all four demon kings. I certainly didn’twantto be.

Four mates. Gods.

“So,tellme what’s at stake,” I said finally, but there was no weight behind it. Tristan had stolen my breath away.

“No,” Mordred said again.

Lance opened his arms wide. “Why not? Seems like she’s now part of this giant circus show. Might as well let her all the way in.”

Gareth opened his mouth to speak, but Mordred cut him off with a raised fist. “I swear to whatever gods remain that if you say one more thing about her beingyourmate, I will kill you myself.”

“Forfuck’s sake.” From the corner of my eye, I spied a blade, small but there, tucked at Gareth’s waistband. I used the moment of his distraction to swipe it from the sheath, clumsily spin it in my bound hands, and run the blade along my palm.

Silver blood poured from the wound and slid down my arms. I hissed as the pain registered and spoke before any of the demon kings could. “I amright.Here. Involve me if this is ourcollectivefate. Or at the very least, send me out of the room if you’re going to carry on as if I’m just property and not the last fucking child of divine lineage standing amongst you.”

Lance pulled in a long breath through his teeth and waltzed into the middle of the fray. He stepped past a stunned Gareth and reached his hands to mine, closing my bleeding palm to stop more blood from pouring out. The moment his skin touched mine, it was like a glorious fire that slid, with no pain at all, along my body. Touching his glittering, rainbow skin felt so good, I had to bite back a traitorous moan.

“Okay.” He fished the dagger from my grip as he locked eyes with me and handed the blade back to Gareth without turning away. “Okay. Let’s all take a breath. No one wants you dead, Ava. At least,mostof us don’t.” He turned to the demon kings. “And if she bleeds herself dry, no one wins. We need her blood.”

“And her power,” Tristan said.

Mordred nodded. “Go on… if Gareth can contain himself.”

A deep, low growl escaped Gareth’s lips, but he nodded as well. “What do you suggest?”

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