Page 44 of A Kingdom of Death & Darkness
“No,” Christian says firmly like he, too, is thinking of the Commander who hasn’t yet returned the only other person he’d burn this lovely kingdom to the ground for.
Carver tilts his head into my view. His pointer finger smooshes hard into his chest before gesturing to me and then back to himself again while mouthing:Me. You. Backgammon. Tonight.
I smile weakly at him, but the loss of it all is starting to settle over me. All of the staff have gone home for the night. It feels like my men are already gone too.
Seven sets his glass of wine down with slow movements, but the glass clatters against the edge of his empty plate and spills the contents across the white tablecloth. Red liquid bleeds across the table inch by inch.
“Shit,” he hisses. “Apologies, My King,” he utters, and with an unsteady hand, he dabs at the stain furiously with his cloth napkin.
“My King?” Christian echoes with a curl of cruel amusement on his tongue.
“Seven...” I grab his hand in mine, and it trembles in my palm. “You’re shaking,” I whisper.
“Pro’ly starving,” Rorrick hisses and pats his own hard stomach lightly.
“Have you... eaten?” I whisper like it’s a dirty word we shouldn’t talk about.
Thorn’s brows pull together hard as Seven shakes his head back and forth.
I’m suddenly reminded how terrible he felt in the Blood Kingdom when he realized he was literally starving me. And now I’m doing the same to him.
As I stand quickly from my seat, Thorn lifts his big hand in an offering.
“Here,” he says like a command.
His wrist rolls, and a dark blue vein exposes there beneath smooth bronze skin. From beneath thick lashes, Seven flicks his gaze to the King, to his wrist, and then back again.
“Feels like a fae trick,” he murmurs on a gentle laugh.
It’s that scraping sound of uneasy amusement that reminds me of how he spoke to his previous King once upon a time.
Rorrick and Christian both pass one another a silent look.
It’s okay,I send down the mysterious bond I share with all three of them.
The three vampires nod ever so slightly, but no one moves. It’s then that I realize I’m still standing awkwardly at the edge of the table as if I might sacrificially throw myself across it and become the main course they all need in their lives.
But I don’t. I wait. Because in a way, itisa test.
A test for Thorn.
He’s the enemy, after all. The vampire and fae might share pretty words and nice dinners together, but the tension is still there. Their messy history is still there.
Seven wraps his long fingers slowly and carefully around Thorn’s wrist. Thorn’s gleaming eyes dance across Seven’s features while Seven’s attention holds firmly on the Fae King.
Instead of sinking his sharp teeth into the dark vein of the wrist, he studies Thorn’s palm. He’s quiet, and I can practically see the thoughts racing behind his blood-rimmed eyes.
“Do you know what manipulation magic is, My King?” Seven asks, and his other hand parts Thorn’s fingers to study the lines of his hand.
I swallow slowly as I remember the sexy reality break this man gave me in Christian’s bedroom and that... that can’t possibly be what he’s offering...Is it?
Thorn’s gravelly voice is hesitant but assured.
“I do,” he replies carefully.
“Have you ever felt it, My King?” he asks, and it’s then that I wonder what kind of services Seven provided his previous king.
Thorn shakes his head slowly. I can’t imagine a single fae in this realm that would even think to perform magic on the deadly Thorn King.
