Page 70 of The Blood Crown

Chapter 34

Chilled air flooded the corridor, chased by the sound of clashing metal.

Exhausted as they must have been—Karro and Ven were sparring on the Ledge.

Both males were shirtless, live blades in their hands as they lunged for each other. Shallow slices crisscrossed their muscled abdomens and arms—not enough to do real harm, but enough to hurt.

They were out for blood.

She could smell it even from up here. And she wasn’t sure which was responsible for the desire that pounded through her body—the scent of Ven’s blood or seeing him in his element. Chest heaving with exertion. Body glistening with fresh sweat. Eyes focused on his opponent as he wiped a hand across his forehead, leaving a smear of red as the cuts on his knuckles sealed.

Around his neck hung the heavy silver chain, the copper crescent weighting its center.

The betrayal of her old life was still too fresh.

For too long she’d been moved around a board like a chess piece. And he’d been the only person to give her harsh, unrelenting truths—even when he knew it would frighten her. Possibly drive her away. But he’d given her the respect—the dignity—to know the world around her and make decisions for herself.

Only to betray her, too.

Not nearly the same as Bastien. Not even close . . . but he’d taken away her autonomy by not telling her from the moment he realized they were Bound.

And worse—he’d made her feel like a fool.

She cursed herself for that, too.Sheshould have guessed.Sheshould have known.

Ven lunged at Karro, who dodged his strike as if he’d expected it. The two males battled each other, both of them seeming to need to release some of the tension that coiled through their bodies.

A pretty good guess could tell her where Karro’s stemmed from.

And Ven . . .

She’d let him beat himself up long enough.

Her footsteps rang out across the black shelf of rock as she descended the stairway, both dark heads below snapping up to watch her.

“My turn,” she uttered, eyes firmly fixed on Ven.

Karro took one look at the expression on her face and gave a low whistle, wiping a hand across his forehead. Raising a brow, he looked over his shoulder, murmuring to Ven, “Good luck."

He passed her on the stairs as he left, but she hardly noticed him, her attention singularly and unequivocally on the male in front of her.

Ven stalked to the center of the Ledge as she took a final step onto the stone, taking up the space a dozen feet across fromhim. In her periphery, Asher emerged from the corridor, taking a halting step toward the curved staircase that spilled down onto the Ledge.

He must have sensed the tension ringing in the air, because his ginger-colored brows pulled together, voice laced with concern as he began down the stairs. “What’s going on here?”

Karro stopped him, putting a large hand against his chest. “It’s a much more evenly matched fight than you think.”

She and Ven circled each other in a slow dance, her eyes trained on him—something about this moment taking her back to that ballroom in the Allokin's crystal palace. Even then, there was something between them that made Ven feel . . . inescapable.

The cold wind pulled strands of his dark hair loose from where it was tied at the nape of his neck, whipping it across the sharp planes of his face. Gods, she fucking hated how much she wanted to reach out and tuck them behind his ear.

She fucking hated how much she wantedhim.

His pupils dilated, black swallowing up the crimson as his eyes tracked her movement, bringing a rush of heat in their wake as they blazed a trail across her skin. He glanced down to her empty hands, fisted at her sides. “Just magick, then?” he murmured, his muscled chest heaving as he stalked closer.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, the clouds darkening over the snow-crusted ground of the Shades far below as she answered, “Just magick.”

She was no match for him—not yet, anyway. But she needed this.

---