Page 81 of Blood

Slowly, making sure not to exacerbate any of his injuries, I crawl into bed with him. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me flush against his chest.

“Am I hurting you?” I whisper, my lips directly against his neck. I feel more than see him shudder at my words, goose bumps peppering his skin.

“You can never hurt me, Violet. Never.”

And then, in a moment plucked straight out of a fairy tale, the princess falls asleep in the arms of her handsome prince. It’s a moment too perfect to last.

Any second now, the dragon will descend and drown the world in fire.

But for now...

For now, I sleep in the arms of one of the men I love.

CHAPTER 28

VIOLET

I bounce on my seat at the head of the war table, restless anticipation scuttling directly underneath my skin, like an infestation of beetles. I try to appear nonchalant and impassive as my mates and the Fomorians discuss battle tactics, but I can’t rip my gaze away from the cups of water lining the table.

As I watch, Athena brings one to her lips, taking a tentative sip before lowering it.

“Only those in Zeus’s inner circle are acting of their own freewill,” Vin insists for the one hundredth time today alone. Frustration lines his handsome face. “The goal should be to incapacitate, not kill. Most of the monsters are innocent, a victim of that damn rune.”

“We’re risking our own soldiers, boy,” Ares retorts with a growl, his hand gripping his glass of water tightly. “You can’t possibly suggest that we merely knock these bastards unconscious. That’ll put us at a severe disadvantage. The enemy won’t hesitate to kill.” He takes a gulp of water, rubs his mouth clean with the back of his hand, then reclines in his seat. His hard, granite-like eyes volley from face to face before locking on me. “You need to control your men, Violet.”

A scowl distorts my face before I can stop it. Screw civility. No one gets to disrespect my mates.

“You need to control your mouth, Ares,” I retort coldly.

Balor, sitting beside his father, rolls his eyes heavenward. “Violet, stop being a petty bitch and just—”

“Balor, my dear, what exactly are you incest-uating?” I ask sweetly, batting my eyelashes.

He glares at me. “Knock that shit off.”

“Make me, asshole,” I retort. Balor opens his mouth, as if he plans to do just that, but Vin slams his fist down on the table, startling us all.

“Enough. This bickering will get us nowhere. Does anyone have anything prudent to say?” A muscle in his jaw begins to twitch like a ticking clock. Out of all my mates, Vin looks the most haggard, and that’s saying something, considering Frankie got the shit beat out of him only a few days ago. I make a mental note to force Vin into bed as soon as this meeting adjourns.

Iris, one of the quieter Fomorians, tentatively lifts her hand into the air.

She’s a pretty woman, with light brown hair, soft features, and full red lips. However, there’s something about her eyes that always gives me a pause. They just appear...empty. Bereft. Half the time, I swear she’s not seeing anyone, despite being in the same room as us.

In a voice that’s both musical and eerie, Iris whispers, “Sometimes, I lie down on the sand and pretend to be a starfish. Then, when people walk by, I ask them to throw rocks at me.”

Um...okay?

Iris blinks and smiles innocently—those dull, empty eyes traveling over us all.

“Thank you for sharing, Iris. I’ll, um, make a note of that.” I scratch at my wrist hard enough to draw blood.

“It looks as if my potion is working,” Frankie murmurs, his husky voice sending delicate tremors through my entire body. I can’t help but remember the night before when I “nursed” him back to health, as I’ve been doing the last few days. Who knew the poor chap just needed me to sit on his face while he ate my pussy? The things I do for medicine, I tell you. Perhaps I should write a thesis on it. Doctors everywhere will pounce on my cure-all solution to any and all ailments.

I clear my throat and shake my head simultaneously, hoping to disperse some of the cobwebs clogging my mind. Now is not the time for my libido to get rather inappropriate ideas.

Besides, I have a rat to...unrat-ify? Yeah. I have a rat to unratify.

I fold my hands on the top of the table and smile serenely at the group of Fomorians. “Do you guys have anything you'd like to add to the conversation before we call it quits for the day?”

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