Page 524 of Shadowblood Souls
Rollick hums to himself. “I have a couple of potential allies I could put out feelers to. But let’s not count on that aspect.”
Then he claps his hands with a definitive air. “You’ve all been straining your heads over this for a while. Take a breather, get refreshments if you need them, and we’ll reconvene in half an hour—at which point we should have final confirmation that this is definitely the location we’ll focus our first attack on.”
A few grumbles pass through the gathered shadowkind as they drift off—either visibly or vanishing into the shadows. My friends head out of the room too, but I take the opportunity to move closer to the table so I can study the map up close.
Even if Balthazar is arriving at this mountain base now, he’s never stayed there for very long the other two times Riva traced his presence there. But he seems to stop by once every couple of days.
When we have a solid plan, we’ll stake out the place and simply wait for him to return. If we’re really lucky, Sorsha will be able to blast him away with her phoenix fire before he eventouches down—if he’s arriving by something as obvious as a helicopter.
But somehow, knowing Balthazar—and knowing that he’s seen the kind of firepower our new friends are capable of—I doubt it’ll be that easy.
A figure pops out of the shadows next to me with a wisp of a crisp floral scent, like roses that’ve been singed. Pearl clucks her tongue as she takes in the map. “This maniac really likes his mountains, huh?”
I automatically take a step to the side to give myself a little more room. But the succubus has a decent sense of personal space despite her methods of feeding—she doesn’t show any sign of offense about the distance I’ve added between us.
With her bouncy curls and bubbly personality, it’s hard to think of her as part of the same crew as Rollick’s other shadowkind allies. I do my best to keep my tone neutral. “Are you going to be joining in the attack too?”
She shrugs carelessly and grins at me. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ve already been prowling around the towns closest to the mountain to see if I can find any employees to seduce some secrets out of, but no luck so far.”
As she looks at me, a sly gleam comes into her eyes. “So, you finally sorted out your issues with Riva, huh?”
My face flushes so hot my cheeks must be blazing scarlet. “I, um— We’re getting there.”
Are we that obvious? But then, this is a being whose life revolves around sex—I guess it makes sense that she’d pick up on a shift in that part of our dynamic pretty easily.
Pearl’s smile is all eager approval. “That’s great. I know that the physical part of human relationships isn’tquiteas essential as it is for me, but most people do seem happier when it’s working out. And you all deserve to be happy.” The gleam turnseven slyer. “If you need any tips for continuing to ‘get there,’ feel free to hit me up. You guys should be treating Riva right.”
At her offer, I think my face might burn right off. My gaze darts around the room, which to my relief appears to be empty. Hopefully we don’t have a whole audience of hidden shadowkind listening in.
As I grapple with my embarrassment, it occurs to me that there is one thing maybe I should ask Pearl about. If anyone would have a clue what the hell was going on with my anatomy during the act, it’s a shadowkind with her level of experience.
I stare down at the map, feeling too awkward to meet her eyes. “There was one thing that was kind of confusing when we… actually got together.”
The succubus props herself against the side of the table and cocks her head. “Tell me about it, and I’ll see if I can shed some light.”
I’ve gotten started on this path now—might as well dive all the way in. “When I was… finishing, I partly shifted, and my, um…” I motion hastily toward my groin. “It got this bulge right at the base of the shaft. For a minute or two it was like I was stuck inside.”
I brace myself in case I keel over from the horror of saying that out loud, but I seem to have survived the admission.
Pearl taps her finger against her lips. “Hmm. I have heard of that sort of thing before. You’ve got a wolfish thing going on when you shift, right?”
I grimace. “Yeah. Not like an actual wolf, more like a wolf-man in a movie. I’ve still got the human body, but my face gets all wolfish with the muzzle and fangs and stuff, and I sprout fur there and on my neck and arms.”
Pearl nods with a knowing air. “That’s probably it. There’s this canine thing—comes with the territory for werewolves and so on. Happens with actual dogs too, I think. You get that knotthere so that you stay in place for a good long while. To increase chances of the mating being successful.”
I’m puzzled enough that I manage to look at her again, blinking. “Successful?” Getting intimate with Riva felt like a pretty huge success even before that happened.
Pearl’s current smile is definitely more of a smirk. “For making babies. At least, when it comes to the actual animals. Shadowkind can’t have kids anyway.” Her forehead furrows slightly. “I guess we don’t know about shadowbloodsyet.”
I open and close my mouth a few times before I recover my voice. “Um, we definitely weren’t trying—that wasn’t something?—”
Thankfully, my heightened hearing still works even in my flustered state. I pick up on the footsteps heading our way in time to clamp my jaw shut, moments before Riva steps into the room.
She takes in me, Pearl, and the otherwise empty room. “Where did everyone go?”
Pearl pushes off the table to amble over to Riva. “Rollick called for a refreshment break. They’ll be back in a few minutes. Your wolf-man and I were just having a little strategy chat.”
The succubus shoots me a wink over her shoulder and slips out the door.
