Page 134 of Craved

“Agreed,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Swear it,” I said, hard-voiced. “Swear that you will never hurt Rafael Kral or his brothers by word or deed.”

The room went silent. We all watched as she brought her hand to her heart.

“I will never harm Rafael, Zaquiel or Gabriel Kral by word or deed,” she said. “Your sons are safe from me,” she added with a look at Karoly.

He inclined his head.

It was done. We’d won.

Elation filled me.

“As for Montreal,” Rafe said, “we’ll see about that, too. You’re not my prima, Victorine. For the time being, we’ll live in New York. As Zoe said, you’ll have to prove we can trust you.”

She turned her iciest glare on him.

He responded with his best cocky grin.

Stalemate.

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. Frankly, my money was on my mate. Beneath that handsome face was a tough-as-nails core.

Karoly interrupted the standoff. “A toast,” he said to my mother. “To our spawn. May their mating be fruitful.”

Victorine lifted her glass. “Santé.”

Rafe and I touched our glasses to theirs.

There was a low rumbling from the man guarding the front door. We all turned to look.

A long, lethal dagger gleamed in the guard’s hand. He morphed into Tomas Mraz and streaked toward us.

28

RAFE

It was like Tomas had tossed a grenade onto the table. The room exploded in a whirlwind of sound and motion.

Father and I dropped our wine glasses and leapt to our feet, our chairs clattering to the floor. Father pulled a dagger from beneath his suitcoat. I grabbed my switchblade and released it.

Zoe was on her feet now, too, and reaching for her dagger. In a blur of motion, Victorine darted around the table and yanked the dagger from her daughter’s hand.

“Get the hell out of here,” she yelled at Zoe in French.

Tomas zeroed in on me, that death’s-head grin on his blunt features. He feinted right and came in low, the dagger aimed at my abdomen from the left, a smooth move I’d see him do it a thousand times in practice sessions. If he’d have connected, I would’ve been impaled on its long silver blade.

But muscle memory took over. I threw myself to the right, taking Zoe down with me. We rolled over and leapt to our feet. I pulled out another switchblade and tossed it to Zoe.

Tomas stalked toward us. “Stand down, Princess,” he told Zoe without taking his cold yellow gaze from me.

I didn’t dare take my eyes from Tomas, but I heard the snick as she released the switchblade. Unlike Victorine, I didn’t bother telling Zoe to save herself. I knew she’d die for me—as I’d die for her.

So I’d have to make sure we both survived.

“You go left,” I muttered in sub-vocal tones. “I’ll go right.”

Another move I’d learned from Tomas. When it’s two against one, split up and divide your opponent’s attention.

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