Page 66 of Incurably Cupid

I nodded and glanced over at Mesmer, who looked grumpy—one, because someone had woken us up when we’d been so snuggly together, and two, I think because Mordecai had touched me? I wasn’t sure. The feelings I sensed from my cupid powers weren’t always clear.

I froze, going completely still.

I didn’t feel emotions like that from my cupid powers.

I stared at Mesmer wide-eyed.

“What?” He looked around the room as if he could find the reason for my freak-out in the darkened corners somewhere.

“I can feel your emotions,” I said. Then I shook my head.Focus, Indie. Not the time.I scrambled out of bed and grabbeda pair of black leggings, a dark red shirt, and brown ankle boots, then ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. “Hurry, Mes! We have to go!”

By the time I’d changed and pulled my pink hair back in a low ponytail, Mesmer was ready and waiting for me, holding Leo in one hand and reaching for my hand with the other.

“You can feel me now?” he whispered as Mordecai led us to King Draven and Consort Mia’s suite.

I nodded. “You were grumpy because you wanted to cuddle more with me this morning.”

At my words, his expression turned grumpy again. “The first time I get to hold you as my mate, and people barge in to cut my time with you short.”

Mordecai, who could hear us, snorted. “Sorry, Mesmer, but it’s to save your consort and king’s life,” he said sarcastically.

Mesmer nodded. “An acceptable reason.”

He was so cute in his grumpiness that I wanted to giggle. But since I never giggled, I just gave him a fond look and squeezed his hand. When we got close, Mordecai pointed out the door down the hall, and he and I blinked with Mesmer into the suite.

King Draven sprang out of bed faster than I could blink and had a dagger pressed to my throat. When he saw who it was, he lowered his hand and ran his other hand through his dark curls.

“Why are you three in my and my wife’s private bedroom at three o’clock in the morning?” His voice, rather than Mesmer’s furious growl, was icy cold. I mentally winced.

“They’re on their way, Draven,” Mesmer said, getting straight to the point. “They’ve boarded the boat.”

King Draven’s expression turned glacial. His chocolate gaze shifted back to me. “You promise this will work? That you will keep her safe?”

I glanced from him to the cupids that kept appearing in the room, hiding themselves in the ether, and then back to him.“Your Highness, there are no fewer than twenty cupids here now, with more on the way. This plan will succeed.”

Mia was sitting up now, having woken up during the commotion. She looked afraid, and I felt my heart soften towards her. She must be experiencing all the emotions in the room, in addition to her own. I understood that she could feel the cupids’ emotions, whether they were enmeshed in the ether or not. That must be overwhelming at times, especially since she wasn’t a blank slate to begin with; she had her own constant emotions to contend with.

King Draven nodded and returned to bed with his wife, pulling her trembling body into the protection of his arms and murmuring what were likely very sweet words to her.

Mordecai and I moved to stand in the shadows opposite the king and consort, touching Mesmer to enmesh him in the ether with us and hide him from others’ view.

We settled in to wait.

King Draven and Consort Mia had closed their eyes. Mia was attempting to regulate her breathing so she appeared asleep.

All was quiet.

Mesmer, long accustomed to these types of campaigns, didn’t so much as twitch at the stillness and the energy of the room.

More cupids kept silently appearing. They kept the path to the bed wide open, mirroring what Mordecai, Mesmer, and I were doing by staying on the periphery.

We didn’t even hear the guards stationed outside go down, but we all heard the lock of the door disengage. The door opened slowly, and I caught a glimpse of downed guards outside the room before vampires began pouring in. The balcony glass doors shattered, and more vampires surged in from the balcony.

King Draven was up and fighting before I could blink, taking down vampire after vampire. Mesmer and the other cupidsrushed to help, while I blinked next to the vampire reaching for Consort Mia and dropped him with my sleep powers.

“Mordecai, grab the consort and take her through the ether to Steadfast! We’ll meet you at the U.”

Mordecai nodded and scooped the terrified consort into his arms before he blinked away, leaving me smiling ferally at the vampire at my feet. I touched him and said, “Return.”

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