Page 43 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness
“Evie and I need to break for the night for a critical ritual.” He threw me a dark look. “We have a potential solution for the blood onyx scarcity. Continue to discuss avenues for magickal supplies, and I’ll weigh in as soon as possible.”
At this, I smiled, remembering fondly poisoning and thwarting Kylo after he obliterated my trust.
“I’ve developed a new poison,” I elaborated for the room as Kylo and I stood.
Blade and Harmony exchanged a brief, quiet laugh, and Kylo shot them an irritated frown.
It was new, this feeling of usefulness that didn’t leave me feelingused.The eyes on me weren’t hungry to take; they were hungry to give as much as receive. We were in this together.
The closest I’d gotten to this experience of power was when I was working for Celeste’s and planning on opening my own witchy shop. But then the born stolethatfrom me too.
Kylo finished his goodbye as we moved to the doors.
“Good luck,” Harmony said with a wink.
Blade offered us a lazy salute.
Kylo and I departed as a unit, just as we had entered. The crowd outside had moved into huddles of vampires scattered around, deep in conversation. Their energy was rowdy, the low rumbles of thunder before a downpour.
It was a solace to see so many bodies ready to defend this city.
As was the unflinching confidence in the man at my side.
“One small step after the other,” Kylo murmured. “That’s how we’ll take the realm.”
“You’re good at making it all sound easy.”
Kylo chuckled. “Things tend to run smoother that way. Focus on the difficulties, and you’ll be sure to encounter every single one. Assume ease, and you might find it. Much like magick, I’d imagine.” Kylo’s hand found the back of my neck, his thumb stroking softly as I shivered. “It won’t all be easy, angel. Everyone here knows that. But we’ll get it done because there’s no other choice. This is the path. Only way out is through.”
The spell room awakened to our presence, and my stomach turned over remembering Idris’s corpse on the wood floor.
“I don’t want to do this here,” I said as I stopped in my tracks.
“Baby, we only have a couple hours…”
“I know. But I need to work under the new moon. I need to feel the world around me—the wind, the earth, the sky. I need to see the stars.”
Kylo nodded. “Okay. Tell me what you need. Let’s move.”
I tugged his head down, kissing him softly, briefly.
“You love that I can’t saynoto you,” he said darkly, gripping my hair in his fist.
I smiled.
We exitedthe underground through a hidden passageway beneath Kylo’s estate. I’d wanted to go somewhere more natural, like the woods on the outskirts of town, but Kylo’s agreeableness had a limit.
Getting held up by the born would guarantee my demise. It was best we stay within the turned-controlled neighborhood where my magick could be concealed.
Where I truly wanted to be was my garden, my own magickal space I’d carefully nurtured for a decade. But I couldn’t put Mena in danger either.
I picked out a spot underneath a canopy of trees. I immediately discarded my shoes so I could feel the grass and soil beneath my toes.
“This is where I like to read,” Kylo murmured.
“It’s so sexy you know how to read.”
Kylo lifted a single brow.
