Page 144 of A Bond in Blood

My knee went right into his groin, and he fell to the ground.

My fists clenched together while I glared at him and the child behind me let out an amused yell, running away from us.

Ulrich’s shadows appeared around him as he leaned up on his hands.

“What the fuck was that?” he spit out.

“You will not humiliate me.” I stood over him, glaring. “I can choose to stop your access to my body at any point. You will not treat me like a conquest you have control over.”

His hair fell across his mask, and he smiled at me. “I apologize.”

He groaned as he stood, the sound filling me with victory. The smile on his face was still bright and teasing, but it dropped as quickly as it had appeared.

His shoulders went rigid, and his body turned from me, facing the sea beyond the dock.

“Ulrich?” I questioned.

He held up his hand, not twisting to meet my gaze. “Quiet,” he sneered.

A hum filled the air. Hot and breathtaking. Terrifying.

Familiar.

“Ulrich,” I begged.

“Silence, princess.”

I startled, twisting to find Olen at my side. With his hands on two curved blades.

“When in the Gods did you get here?” I questioned, my brow scrunching with confusion.

Olen only shook his head, lifting one of those curved blades toward his face while he held one finger to his lips.

“Olen,” Ulrich said quietly, snapping his fingers at his side.

Olen left me, joining Ulrich. Both men kept their backs to me. Almost as though they were protecting me.

“What the fuck, Ulrich?” Olen whispered, just loud enough for me to hear.

“You grab her and run if I give the sign. Do you understand?” Ulrich turned to his right hand, but his eyes glanced at me.

Olen nodded once.

The current in the air grew thicker. Gods, I knew what that was. The warmth.

I’d felt it.

I’d bowed to it.

I stepped to the side, my eyes wide when I watched the mist part for the brilliant white ship cutting across the water.

“Oberon,” I whispered. My hands moved without my control, pulling my easel from my neck. Throwing it and my supplies onto the dock with a loudclatter.

Ulrich’s body rotated to me, and he gripped my shoulders. “Brenna, I need you to be silent. Do you understand?”

“They’ve come for me,” I muttered.

Ulrich’s expression dropped. “We do not know that.”

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