Page 76 of Vows Forged in Blood

I push myself away from the table and crawl into his lap, suddenly desperate to erase those memories, to prove that he’s safe and whole and alive in my arms. He wraps his arms around me, understanding exactly what I need, and rests his chin on the top of my head as I snuggle into his warm chest. He strokes my back lightly.

“Your Keeper and guard are on their way here now. Wesley and Nova as well. They will arrive shortly.”

I pull back to look at him, confused. “Are we…staying here?”

“For a time, yes. The Revenants will not be attacking again any time soon after that defeat, and,” he brushes hair away from my face, almost reverently, and it makes my chest clench, “I need time with my mate, away from a war camp.”

My lips curl into a smile and I shift in his lap to wrap my arms around his neck. I kiss him softly, sucking gently on his bottom lip and I can feel him shoot hard beneath me again.

“Mmmm,” I murmur against his lips but then other needs make themselves known. “Ah, hold this thought. I have to be a pesky human with pesky human needs for a few moments.” Then I remember. “Speaking of, why oh why, did you already have a privy in your bathing chamber?” I ask with a quirked brow. “I thought princes didn’t entertain humans?” I give him a pointed look.

He rolls his eyes. “That was added very, very recently at the discreet request of my most faithful but overzealous First Lieutenant who chaps my ass at every turn…but I suppose is actually very thoughtful and deserves to be thanked.” So Elias has known for a while then. Interesting.

“And the staff didn’t think anything of such a request?”

“It is not their place to question the requests of a prince—whom I’m sure Elias said the request was actually coming from.” I mull that over and he sets me off of his lap. “Go on then, human. Do what thy will.” He gives a very haughty wave of his hand and I can’t help but laugh. Gods I love this playful side of him. I turn and stroll towards the bathroom, accidentally dropping my robe in the process. I smirk when I hear him growl behind me and shiver a bit at the thought of what he might do when I emerge again.

Chapter 38

ALARIC

Elias and I go through some business while Dahlia naps. I was worried that perhaps I’d been a little too…zealous in these first few days, but despite her mortal body’s need for rest, my mate is damn near insatiable. I have an errant thought, imagining the possibilities if she were a vampire, her strength and stamina closer to my own, and shudder before I scowl, pushing the thought firmly away. That is an impossibility and I refuse to entertain it, even for the briefest of moments inside my own mind.

“And all of the funeral rites have been performed?”

“Yes, it’s all been taken care of. The wounded have all healed, and replacements for those lost are on their way to the camp now. I put Bracken in charge in my absence.”

“Good. And scouting reports?”

“No movement from the Revenant stronghold. Looks like Kilgren is sulking with his tail between his legs after the defeat. Once he stopped all his raging of course—reports say he killed fifty of his own men in an incoherent rampage after he saw you appear back on the field. He must have really thought this wasto be it, he was going to finally break through and claim a victory against you.”

“He would have,” I say seriously, absently rubbing the heel of my hand over the spot where the arrow had pierced me, “if not for Dahlia. Everything could have turned out so differently. It could have meant the end of…everything.”

“I know,” he says somberly, sipping his blood. “I know, Alaric. I think about it far more than I’d like to admit. Don’t ever fucking do that to me again, by the way.”

I smile at him and incline my head. “I shall do my best.”

“Speaking of our fair Dahlia…” He waggles his eyebrows and I roll my eyes. “Come now, you can’t deny how different you are since finally claiming your mate, brother. It’s…astonishing, really.”

I exhale roughly and run my fingers through my hair, remembering Dahlia’s fingers pulling at the strands earlier as I feasted on her on the edge of the tub in our bathing chamber. My lips curl at the memory.

“It’s…I can’t explain it, Elias. It’s like I am finally whole after having a piece of me missing my entire life. Not just any piece, the most important one.”

“I’m happy for you.” He takes another sip, swirling crimson around his goblet. “And what does Sebastian think of all of this?”

My lips press into a hard line. I open my mouth to speak but whirl as the doors to my study fly open and I see Sebastian himself striding into the room as if we’d summoned him by simply speaking his name. My stomach clenches: I hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon after receiving my correspondence. I honestly don’t know what he’ll think about any of this. The laws of matehood are some of our most revered, but Dahlia being human throws quite a kink into things. I have a good idea of what he’ll want me to do, but I will refuse and Idon’t want there to be a fight. It’s a fight I will have if need be, but I don’t want it.

“Sebastian thinks that this is fucking insane,” my brother says in answer to Elias’ question, shrugging out of his coat. Alora, the head of my staff, is at his heels, taking his coat and looking at me apologetically.

Elias and I both rise to our feet, inclining our heads to my brother. Sebastian claps Elias on the shoulder first in greeting before turning to me.

“Heard you almost left us forever, brother.” His voice is tight with emotion.

“It was closer than I’d like to admit, yes.” He nods and I can see the tension at the corners of his mouth, uncomfortable with the thought.

“Well, let’s not do that again, shall we?” He pulls me into a bear hug, nearly cracking several ribs, and I squeeze him back fiercely. He pulls back after a few moments and studies me before adding, “Especially now that you have a mate to look after.”

Elias clears his throat and sets his glass down on the table before gesturing towards Alora.

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