Page 79 of Our Sins in Silver (Coven of Sin 3)

I spun around to face them. “How do I look?”

“Fucking beautiful,” both of them answered in unison.

“Are those Vin’s feathers?” Eros asked on the next breath, his expression darkening on the raven feathers adorning my shoulders. “Wearing anything from a dark fae’s familiar form is supposed to be bad luck, Doll.”

“Pft.” I waved him off with a toss of my eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’m my own bad luck, and I seem to be holding my own despite it, so what’s a little more?”

The sadist’s snake bites glinted with his frown, but he held his tongue.

“I better be going. Since you guys aren’t allowed at the meeting, kiss me goodbye. I’ll fill you in later.”

My two mates exchanged a glance, then looked back at me with twin smiles. “Oh. We have our ways of getting all the dirt. Don’t you worry your pretty head about that,” my Deathwish said with a wink.

Before I could ask him to elaborate, he was in front of me, pulling me into his arms for a kiss. His mouth brushed over my lips first, then trailed a path of kisses down the column of my throat to his mark on my shoulder. When I quivered beneath the pleasing burn of the mating mark, he slowed his movements.

“Good luck,” he breathed against the flaming scar. Then he flicked one of the feathers on my shoulder before stepping aside for Corry to have his kiss. “You’re going to need it.”

“Don’t mind him, babe. I don’t know much about the Helsing Guild, but I know they’re a bunch of superstitious twats. There’s a fine line between magical charms that protect against monsters and just stupid superstitious bull.”

Eros growled a warning to his brother but didn’t say anything as the youngblood ducked in to kiss me.

Something flashed behind Corry’s eyes. Something that filled my entire body with ice. It spread through me, branching into everything and freezing my nerves over in an instant. Then dread set in, and goosebumps shot over every last inch of my skin.

I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. I flinched and stepped back with enough force to rattle my dresser as my ass bumped into it.

Guilt shot through me as I witnessed the hurt and confusion unfold on Corry’s face.

But even as I apologized, I couldn’t bring myself to approach the young vampire. Because now that I knew it was there, I could see it flicking like a dark flame behind his hot-blue eyes.

The dark shadow my father had seen that had swayed him into saving Corry’s life that night he lay in the road, broken and breathing his last breaths. The future, drenched in blood. I couldn’t see images, but I could feel it and all the blood that would be on Corry’s hands.

I couldn’t even begin processing that at the moment.

Avoiding eye contact with the youngest prince, I dropped my eyes and muttered a hurried goodbye before making my way across the room. Corry caught my wrist before I could make it out the door.

“Wait. Ruby.”

A braid of apprehension, guilt and dread twined around my heart as I trailed my gaze back to his and locked eyes.

Corry held up my tiara, looking totally lost and taken aback. “Um. Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh. Stupid me.” I held still as he placed the dainty silver tiara on my head. He looked like he might try to kiss me again but seemed to decide against it as he stepped back with his mouth pressed into a flat line.

Shit. I’d offended him. But that wasn’t a shock. Who wouldn’t be offended by their mate recoiling from a kiss? I owed Cor an explanation. Hell. Vin, Eros and Corry would need to hear about everything that happened tonight in Sterling’s den. But now wasn’t the most opportune time to tell them about my freaky mind-magic or that Sterling had hung by his neck from the library chandelier while I danced with my father beneath it. Not so much because the Elders were waiting for me but because I couldn’t get that dark shadow behind Corry’s eyes out of my head.

So with a mumbled goodbye, I hurried out of the room and went downstairs in search of Sterling.

Chapter thirty-five

Lamb to the Slaughter

IfoundSterlingwaitingfor me at the foot of the stairs. His head turned in my direction the second my foot hit the first step. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, he offered me his arm. “I was about to come up there looking for you.”

“I had company.” I sighed, my eyes darting around the packed hall, trying to take in all the faces. The place was in total chaos with the Elders’ arrival. By the clashing scents and the sea of unfamiliar faces, the Elders had brought human servants and members of their respective covens along with them.

As the crowd parted for us, I sensed half their eyes heavy on my tiara and the other half on my new collar of fresh mating marks.

When a chorus of whispers broke out, Sterling leaned toward me, whispering, “Stage fright?”

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