Page 59 of Nightmare's Dance

“Your highness,” she said. “How may we serve you?”

“We require a suite of rooms, fresh clothing, and a guide.”

The busty blond nodded. “Right away, Shadow Prince.” She smiled at him coyly, and I did my best not to let the jealousy raging through me show.

Nic glanced at me and put a hand over mine. Oops, I’d dug my fingers into his arm.

She handed Nic an old-fashioned key, dragging her fingers over his in a way clearly meant to entice. “Your guide will be by in a few hours. Clothing for those who need it is already in your rooms.”

“Thank you,” he said.

My vision went red, but Nic led me away before I could explode. “It’s their nature, Spark. Ignore it.”

Geraint’s agonized expression at Nic’s use of my nickname cooled my rage. Damn it all, anyway.

We squeezed into an elevator that had every appearance of being modern and in the enclosed space I could smell just how amazingly we reeked. Nic, maybe not, but the rest of us were sweaty, bloody, wolfy, and dirty. I felt gross, and I had no desire to look into a mirror. Even the broken ones on one side of the elevator walls.

The car dinged, and the doors slid open. Geraint slipped out ahead of us, glancing both ways down the hallway before stepping aside and letting Nic and I come out of the elevator.

The hallway was deeply carpeted, and the fixtures were shiny and expensive. I didn’t hear any sounds and guessed the soundproofing was also fantastic. I wondered if the succubi and incubi actually lived in these rooms, or if this really was like a hotel for the beings that lived in the boundary lands.

Nic led us to a room, opened it with the key, and gestured for all of us to go inside.

I stepped away from him, doing as he instructed.

“We should be safe here,” he said as he locked the door behind us. “Pick a room, for the love of all that is olfactory, take a shower, and meet back here. We have a great deal to discuss.”

Robby went to the closest room. Geraint headed to another, and I counted doors. There were only three rooms.

A quick glance at Nic let me see him twist his lips in annoyance. “As I said, assumptions. Perhaps you should take this time to speak with your knight.”

“I don’t even know where to start, Nic.” I hated how lost I sounded.

“Perhaps you should remind him how you feel about him and go from there.” Nic’s voice softened.

I looked at Nic, confused. Aren’t I supposed to be practically married to him? Why does he want me to remind Geraint of my feelings?

“I have no claim on you, Ember, no matter how I might feel. Your heart is your own.”

“Okay.” Why didn’t that sit well with me? Did I want Nic to claim me? I shivered at the thought, so yeah, pretty sure I wanted that. The memory of his lips on mine heated me up all over.

I’d get over it. Geraint was more than enough for me. He always had been, and he always would be.

I turned away from the prince and went to the door Geraint had chosen. I knocked quietly, then entered. The rooms were set up like standard fancy hotel rooms with attached baths. The shower ran in the other room and the remains of Geraint’s clothing were on the floor by the bathroom door. He hadn’t shut it. I shed my clothing and dropped it on the pile of rags that had once been a nice pair of pants. Steam filled the bathroom, and I stopped just on the other side of the door. My knight stood with his back to the stream of water, head hanging down, water slowly cleaning off the blood.

“Geraint.”

He jerked up, eyes wide. “Spark,” he breathed my nickname as if it were the air that gave him life. His gaze roamed my naked body.

“Are you okay?” We hadn’t had even a second alone to talk.

“I am in surprisingly good condition, considering how I felt when you rescued me.” Confusion colored his voice.

“Oh, Nic and I healed you somehow. You were in really shit shape.”

“He healed me?”

“Yeah. With my help. Guess you’ve been in the conscious realm too long, and we had to filter the essence through me to get your body to recognize it.” Or at least that is what I thought we’d done.

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