Page 19 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
Alec pats Leo’s shoulder with a small grin. “Oh, don’t be so glum, Callas. They’ll be fine.”
Leo flattens himself to the door in an attempt to put as much distance between him and Alec as possible. He looks as though he’s just been bitten, the lines on his forehead making him look ten years older. “You know you’d never spoken to me before today, right? We’re notfriends.”
Alec’s eyes narrow, and his carefree, post-meal happy glow is promptly wiped from his features by a somber, almost predatory scowl. “You have a problem with me, human?”
“Your brother was a vile monster. I’m glad he’s dead,” Leo growls, his tone sharp and unforgiving.
I raise my palms in the air in a calming motion. “Both of you, please.”
But Alec doesn’t retaliate. Instead, he doubles-down on his meaningful glare, and speaks with such poise and strength that I shudder. “You know as well as I do that, before today, we were all still playing a part.” He brings a hand to his chest. “I was the bodyguard. You were the servant. We might have both despised how we were stuck in these roles, but we played them. Now, we have to be therefor her.” He points in my direction, his eyes not leaving my first-blood. “I’m a vampire. I drink blood. That can’t be helped. These men were young and strong. They’ll wake up in a few hours. If you have a problem with that, you should have left with the witch and her human.” Alec raises his brows like he’s issuing the other man a dare. “Yes, I know they offered.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
Leo’s gaze flies to the ground.
“Thom offered to make Leo part of the deal. He thought we were holding him against his will,” Alec explains.
Unease creeps into my full stomach, and the warm, delectable blood I ingested suddenly feels like a hard rock. “What?”
Leo still doesn’t meet my gaze, the hunch of his shoulder speaking louder than words. The discussion we had yesterday, on the eve of my aborted wedding, is still fresh and raw. Leo’s admission that he hated me for choosing him confirmed my worst fears. He hadn’t volunteered to be my first-blood because he actually wanted the job. Now, I’m starting to understand exactly how he feels—like a discarded water bottle.
My heart breaks in my chest, my stomach in knots, the leftover taste of it suddenly sour and cold. I thought that Leo just needed time, I figured he wanted to take things slow as he adjusted to his new role… I never imagined his disdain for me—for my people—ran that deep.
Chapter10
Doomed
ARIELLE
The Jeep’s tinted windows protect us from the harsh midday sun, my vampire senses dulled by the rumbles of the car motor.
“I feel uneasy, letting him lead us,” Alec whispers below the music, his comment pulling me from the brink of unconsciousness.
As if on cue, Keenan taps the console and tunes in to some classic rock radio station. He’s driving us toward his next hideout—and hopefully our ride back to Europe. Considering what happened in the last few hours, I trust that the angel is on our side, but we still don’t know what kind of reward he’ll expect in return for his help.
His attention seems to be glued to the busy road, but I suspect his supernatural hearing might be as sensitive as ours.
After we stopped to feed, I took a short, unplanned nap, my cheek still numb from the kiss of the glass window. I rub it down to bring some life back into it and stifle a groan. Waking up with the sun at its zenith is about as unpleasant as a bee sting, and my body is begging me to go back to sleep.
“We can trust Keenan,” I answer under my breath,
“I agree, but it still unnerves me.”
“You just hate not being in charge,” I tease him.
His lips quirk. “Touché.”
The urge to nuzzle the space between his jaw and earlobe becomes impossible to ignore, and I lean into him, eager to continue my impromptu nap in his arms. His comforting scent threatens to lull me back to sleep as I rest my head on his shoulder.
The tight muscles in his arms tense at my unexpected display of affection, but my smooth bodyguard and stubborn lover quickly passes his hesitation off as an ill-timed stretching exercise.
I heard his thoughts earlier. He was angry with himself for setting off the necklace, but he better not get any ideas about keeping his distancefor my safety. I won’t allow that kind of crazy talk, and I meet his cautious gaze, trying to convey exactly that.
He glances down at his lap. “I’m going to get you home, my queen. I promise.”
Without giving him the chance to argue, I slip my hand in his and twine our fingers together. “I know you will.”
A victorious grin glazes my lips as he sighs in defeat and pulls me tight into his embrace, knowing he won’t win this fight.
