Page 95 of Fated In Blood

“You help rid this world of Tyrell and you’ll be rewarded. But know this—Blake Marten has earned my loyalty a hundred times over, and pissing him off…” I paused. “Will only get your ass handed to you. Besides, we don’t have time for this.”

The cocky bastard just grinned. “Is our vicious little friend part of the plan?”

Keep your shit together, I warned.If we fuck this up, we’re both dead.

Blake’s expression remained carefully blank, but his voice was sharp as nails. “Thatvicious little thingwas trained by Silas himself. She nearly put Collum in the grave before she even fully transitioned. The Silverwoods have been hunting her for twelve years.”

Fuck, that was too much, Blake. What are you thinking?

Draven straightened in his chair, shifting from indolent fool to hyperaware predator in a second. “And she’s managed to stay ahead of them that entire time?”

“Most of that time, yes. And kept her sister safe, until Tyrell took her.” While I suspected Tyrell’s involvement with the Silverwoods wasn’t a coincidence, I wanted to see Draven’s reaction. As usual, he was a dick about it.

“They make quite the pair.” Draven’s teeth flashed in a cruel smile. “Did you see the portrait?” He made a show of stroking his chin, a mockery of Tyrell’s nervous habit.

“I expect now that the bastard has found his queen, all he needs is a kingdom.Yourkingdom, Riordan. So what will it be? I break the oath and Tyrell breaks you, or do we honor our original agreement? Ten million, I believe, in exchange for my services?”

“Lives are on the line, an entire kingdom at risk, and all you care about is the money?” Blake snarled. “Slither back to your hole and rot for all we care, we don’t need you.”

“Five million now, the rest when Tyrell is dead,” I agreed, pushing off the desk, ready to extend my hand to this asshole. This was a shit deal, but the only arrangement that offered us a chance of success. Andsurvival.

And I doubted Tyrell would give us an easy death.

“Shake and we’ll have an agreement,” I prodded, waiting like a fucking wanker with my hand in the air.

But Draven didn’t budge, his eyes flicking between me and Blake. “Or…we can make a new bargain. One that will cost youfar less, Graves. Give me the Silverwood heir and I’ll kill Tyrell for free.” As if he knew exactly the effect his words would have, Draven looked over at Blake.

“From what I’ve heard so far, Evangeline Silverwood is nothing but trouble.” He licked his lips. “I expect by now you’re anxious to have someone take her off your hands.”

39

EVANGELINE

Iwoke to a dog’s desperate whining and the sound of paws furiously digging only a few feet away on the other side of the azaleas. The left side of my face was smashed into the damp ground, the ends of wood ferns tickling my nose.

“Hey.Hey. I think he found something.” Fear froze me in place. I didn’t recognize the voice, so he had to be one of the mercenaries for hire. “The mutt’s going fucking crazy over here.”

Go away. Go away. Go away.

“It’s probably just a squirrel or something. Get him away from the fucking gardens before he tears them up.” Another unrecognizable voice, from further out on the lawn. “Make him obey, or I will.”

I’d passed out and tipped over onto my side, probably the only reason they hadn’t spotted me immediately. The handle of the dagger jabbed me in the stomach, but the globe hummed happily in my pocket like it didn’t have a worry in the world.

“I’m fucking trying, but he won’t listen. He really fucking wants whatever this is.”

My gums throbbed like they were on fire, weakened muscles spasming, my stomach demanding to be filled, preferably withmouthfuls of sweet, warm blood. I squeezed my eyes closed, surrounded by the guard’s musky sweat and the fruity oil he used in his hair. His pulse pounded wildly as he wrestled the dog away, while cursing, the air dripping with his scent.

A moan very nearly slipped out and I jammed my fist between my lips, willing myself to maintain some fucking control. If it was dark, if I wasn’t so goddamned weak, I would have already been tearing at his throat like a feral beast.

Oh my God, I was totally going to get myself killed.

Death by lack of impulse control.

What a way to go.

The sky was brightening overhead, the morning sun glaring off the windows. I’d slept the entire night away. I was about as rational as a starving animal and as weak as a kitten. The ground beneath me shuddered.

And now…now I was so incredibly fucked as a cavalcade of heavy vehicles rumbled up the drive, doors slamming, an army of boots crunching across the gravel before they clomped hollowly onto the front porch. No one spoke, but they didn’t have to. Silas, Dante, and the soldiers were back, and my chances of getting out of here alive had just vanished.

---