Page 36 of Cruelly Fated
The man extended a ringed hand in greeting. My pulse skittered.Was I supposed to take it?I glanced at Valor, uncertain, and felt his hand tighten possessively at my hip.
“This one is not an offering,” he said. “She comes to my den tonight.”
The gargoyle clapped his hands together, a corner of his lips lifting. “Very well, very well…” His eyes began to shimmer with more Lunax blue, his head lolling back in a haze. “I’m enjoying my high anyway—but I’ll be dreaming about those legs wrapped around me.”
I glanced at Valor again, waiting for my cue.
He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. “I’m going to put on a bit of a show for him, give us an excuse to stand here while you do your thing.”
The gargoyle slurred, eyes hooded and mouth twisted in a euphoric grin.
Valor clicked his tongue and smirked, lifting the curls from my shoulder. I tensed at the heat of his lips brushing bare skin of my neck. The gargoyle slumped lower into the couch, spreading his arms over the backrest, his legs wide. His pants tented.
Fae gods…this was way more than I signed up for.
I winced when Valor’s incisors pricked my skin, but he quickly soothed it with vampire venom. We’d have a conversation about him biting me later. Right now, I had a task before me. I forced a steady breath. When the gargoyle’s Lunax-glossed gaze locked on mine, I pulled him under like a pro.
Mist coiled around me. Just like with Rhylan—only this time, the fog burned with an intense, electric blue. I spun in place, listening. Grunting echoed nearby. I followed it, then froze at the unmistakable moan of a woman in pleasure. Nope. Not that memory.
Golden light broke through the blue behind me. I turned and ran toward it. A cavern opened before me, rough-hewn and vast. The gargoyle landed just ahead, leathery wings folding behind him with a snap. I stepped forward.
“Show me where you hid evidence from the attack on the dragon king’s estate,” I asked.
A grin tugged across hisstone-chiseled face. He actually looked eager. Without hesitation, he clasped my hand, and I jolted at the solid pressure of his grip. Somehow, I could feel it.
He led me through a labyrinth of tunnels. We took several turns and passed countless side chambers until we reached a rounded vault door, tall and wide enough for a human to walk through. I peered over his shoulder as he punched in the code, and the locking mechanism released with a hiss.
The gargoyle lowered the handle, and the door eased away by a smidge, when something inside me snapped. A wave of red overtook my vision. I staggered back, catching myself against mossy rocks.
What was happening?
A sick, crawling weakness spread through my limbs. I fought the sensation, trying to stay anchored in the memory. The vault was halfway open now. Just a little more and I’d see the contents…
A flash of searing heat lit up the side of my neck as if someone had poured molten iron onto my skin. My grip slipped. I skimmed down the wall, gasping, clinging to the fading threads of consciousness.
The blue mist rushed back in.
And then everything turned red.
Valor’s alarmed face swam into focus. Blood smeared his lips and dripped down his chin. I couldn’t feel my legs. He was the only thing holding me up. I blinked at him with questioning eyes. My heart pounded. I pressed tingling fingersto my neck. They came away slickened in blood, too much blood… My mouth parted in a soundless scream, and I collapsed into him.
Sixteen
ALLIE
“He’ll fry your ass the moment he’s out,” a deep voice muttered from somewhere nearby. Or was he right beside me? My body trembled and I felt groggy and cold, like I’d been dragged through something violent and left to recover in its wake.
Something rough and wet slid across the side of my neck. I winced, but then the searing pain dulled. I exhaled in relief, even as confusion thickened around me like fog.
Pacing footsteps echoed in the space.
“Her blood tastes like the finest delicacy I’ve ever had,” the voice murmured again. “Sounds like the most beautiful song when it rushes into my body… It’s so, so—”
“Addictive?” a familiar voice suggested.
A pause followed. “I don’t know how that’s possible… But she’s an even bigger complication Kyon doesn’t need right now.”
Kyon. His name jolted my memory. I was at a party with Valor, spying for the dragon prince, and then the vampire… He bit me!
