A Court of Bones & Sorrow (Lunaria Realms #2)

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Samara

In what felt like the first time in ages, the moon smiled upon us. We’d gotten lucky. I slipped the three pieces of smooth, black stone into my pack before securing it on my back.

“Let’s find the others and get out of here.”

Emil nodded while Ary just scrutinized me from where he waited a few feet away.

The Tepes Heir had found us less than a mile from the remains of the human settlement. He’d claimed to be checking to see if the wraiths had returned while his rangers investigated a nearby monster nest, but I had little doubt he’d been waiting for us.

If he’d truly thought the wraiths would have made an appearance again, he would have kept his rangers with him. Ary was a cocky bastard, but even he wasn’t crazy enough to tackle wraiths on his own. No. Ary suspected something was going on and that I was involved somehow. He could have easily sent that letter to House Salvatore or Laurent, both of whom were just as close as House Harker.

He’d sent it to me as a test. I needed to figure out what to tell him, and I needed to do it soon. We needed more allies, but I couldn’t afford to trust the wrong person.

Ary wasn’t the only addition to our search party. Nyx had found us while we’d been saddling our horses at House Harker and had insisted on coming. Vail had grumbled something about having to inform Adrienne, and then we’d set off.

Currently, Nyx and Vail were keeping an eye on the area around the old settlement in case the wraiths or some other beasts came prowling. I’d told Draven to stay with the horses because they were a tasty snack to most things that went bump in the night. To my surprise—and suspicion—he’d agreed. Unfortunately, none of us could tell the Tepes Heir what to do, so when our group had split up, he’d trailed after me and Emil.

“Shiny,” a deep voice purred. “I like shiny things.”

A golden-haired man nimbly leapt down from a tree that had grown out of the wreckage of collapsed building. He rose to his full height—which was easily over six feet—and cocked his head, his cat-like green eyes catching the moonlight, which caused a sheen to roll across them.

Emil had his swords free in a moment and pointed at the newcomer. His jaw hardened, probably in annoyance at not detecting the Velesian but it’s not like I could blame him. Velesians had an uncanny knack at being undetectable in the woods. They were even more adept at sneaking up on others than Vail or Draven.

While Emil and I might have been caught off guard, it did not escape my attention that Ary didn’t appear to be least bit surprised to see the handsome Velesian, who was currently smirking at all of us.

“Bastian,” I said evenly. “What brings a member of the Alpha Pack to Moroi territory?”

“Just helping out our neighbors on a little friendly hunt” He grinned and two dimples formed in his cheeks, escalating him from handsome to charming… and a little wicked. “After al l, the monsters don’t really care about the borders between Moroi and Velesian lands.”

My gaze cut to Ary. “Funny how you never mentioned the Alpha Pack being here in your letter.”

He shrugged. “Like Bastian said—just a spur-of-the-moment hunt is all.”

Spur-of-the-moment hunt my ass. The Alpha Pack usually stayed in the far north of the Velesian realm. While Ary was definitely on more friendly terms with the Velesians than many of the Moroi—thanks to his lands bordering theirs and the fact that he did love to go hunting with them—it wasn’t like Bastian would have just happened to be in the area.

According to Rynn, the big meeting being hosted by her pack in Fervis territory near Lake Malov wasn’t happening for another week. She would have mentioned if she’d heard of any of the Alpha Pack members coming sooner than that. Which meant they hadn’t told her . . .

Bastian let out a low, raspy laugh. “So suspicious, Samara. I can practically hear you sussing out all the reasons for me being here in that pretty head of yours.”

“Really?” I drawled. “Then you know the loudest thought in my head right now is me lamenting over the fact that I have to deal with you instead of Cade.”

Cade was the leader of the Alpha Pack and the one I preferred to deal with. He was direct and to the point. It was refreshing, albeit a little frustrating at times because once he set his mind on something, it was difficult to steer him away from it.

Bastian was his second-in-command . I didn’t know if it was his feline nature—he was an ailuranthrope, a panther shifter—that made him so aggravating to deal with or just his own personal nature.

But the fact that Bastian was here meant two things: there was something going on in the Velesian realm to draw the Alpha Pack south, and Ary was suspicious enough about other Moroi and what was going on in our own realm that he’d chosen to bring the Velesians in on it.

He must have had a better relationship with the Alpha Pack than I’d been aware of for Bastian to join him on this adventure. None of that mattered for the problem at hand though, and I could have punched Ary for complicating things so much.

The amused grin on the other Moroi’s face told me he knew exactly how I was feeling and found my pain entertaining.

I couldn’t tell Bastian—and therefore the Alpha Pack—about the stones or what was going on. Not yet at least. The Moroi Houses were all about keeping their secrets. Half of our trade deals were sweetened by offering an exchange of information. But the Velesians prided themselves on being more open about things.

If I brought the Alpha Pack in on this, they would feel compelled to tell the rest of Velesian packs. We already knew there were Moroi working with Erendriel, so there was no reason not to suspect some of the Velesians were as well.

And even if I could convince them to not tell the rest of the packs, that would present a problem down the line. Because sooner or later, it would get out that the Alpha Pack had known about Erendriel, Queen Velika, the truth about the wraiths . . . and hadn’t told anyone.

Tensions between the Velesians were rising, and that could very well be the final blow that caused a war to erupt amongst the packs.

Rynn was promised to the Alpha Pack. She would be in the middle of it. I would sooner bring the wrath of the Alpha Pack down on me than put my friend in jeopardy .

“You’ll have to admire my pretty face another time, Bastian,” I said smoothly. “This is Moroi business.”

The easy-going grin slid off his beautiful face. “You sure that’s how you want to play this? You want me to return to Cade and tell him I saw you skulking around this old human settlement—where wraith activity has been spotted—and that you collected something from it?”

Tension bled between all of us, but I kept my expression even. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Bastian shook his head. “You’re making a mistake, Samara. Thought you were smarter than this.”

Doing my best with the shitty options presented to me, furball.

“Duly noted.” I flicked my gaze towards the forest behind us. “Time to leave.”

He looked at me for a long moment before shrugging and turning around to stride towards the trees. “I’ll give Rynn your regards,” he tossed over his shoulder.

Before I could curse him, Bastian shed his clothing, shifted into a sleek black panther form, and took off through the trees.

That hadn’t been a physical threat towards Rynn—he would never harm her, nor would any of the Alpha Pack. For all intents and purposes, they were good people. Well, as good as anyone could be in Lunaria. But that didn’t mean they weren’t cunning and devious at times.

Bastian’s dig had been a reminder that they had a claim on Rynn.

I’d have to tell her about this encounter when we made it back and hope I hadn’t just made her life infinitely harder.

“Interesting way of handling delicate political situations.” Ary started walking towards me. “Not sure that’s how I—oww!!! Motherfucker!”

He clutched his nose and backed away as blood flowed down the lower half of his face .

“I’ll do more than break your nose if you ever ambush me like that again,” I growled.

Vail chose that moment to stalk through the few buildings that still stood, Nyx right behind him. The two of them joined our group, and Vail’s grey eyes took in Ary before glancing at Emil, who I’d shoved aside to punch the Tepes Heir.

“Ary here thought it would be a good idea to invite Bastian to visit this settlement.” A wry smile played across the older Moroi’s lips. “Samara was giving him feedback on that.”

“Interesting,” Nyx said. “I don’t recall Drudonia teaching us that providing feedback involved our fists, but I did skip out on my lessons early.”

“What did you tell the Alpha Pack?” Vail asked the Tepes Heir harshly.

Ary used the back of his hand to wipe more blood away before directing a hard stare at Vail and then me. “Wasn’t much I could tell them, was there? You lot haven’t told me anything. All I know is that there is something weird going on with the wraiths and you all know more about it than you’re sharing. We all need allies. With the way things are going with the other Houses, I personally think the Alpha Pack is looking like a better choice every day.”

We all glared at each other for a long moment before I sighed and stomped over to Ary, who eyed me warily. “You’re not wrong.” I gripped his nose before jerking it into place. “Come with us back to the outpost, and we’ll tell you what we can there. We’ve already stayed here too long. The wraiths will be back.”

The five of us headed in the direction of our mounts.

“Where’s your horse?” Vail asked.

“Had to give it to one of my rangers,” Ary replied. “I wasn’t lying about them dealing with a monster nest. A pack of howlers grew too large, attacked us yesterday, killed two of our horses, and seriously injured a couple of us. ”

“You can have Samara’s mount. She’ll ride with me.”

My head whipped towards Vail. “Oh, I will, will I?”

“Yes.” He bared his teeth.

“Gods, you didn’t bring Zosa did you?” Ary interrupted.

I tore my gaze away from Vail. “No, I wasn’t sure how much we’d be riding at night and I didn’t want to risk her.”

Relief flickered through Ary’s face. Apparently, the idea of riding my hot-tempered mare was more intimidating than traveling in the wilds of Lunaria at night.

As the horses came into view, concern flared in my chest. Draven wasn’t there.

“Where’s the prince?” Nyx asked.

Moons fucking damn it all. I slid one of my throwing daggers free from my thigh sheath as I searched the trees around us but saw no signs of Draven anywhere. Was this the moment he betrayed us?

My heart said Draven would never hurt me, but my brain offered up a myriad of ways that he could. I shifted on my feet as the forest around us took on a more ominous tone.

Ary’s light violet eyes shone brightly even in the dark. He glanced at all of us before asking, “Are we going to search for him or . . .”

“You’re welcome to look,” Vail replied, “but we’re getting the fuck out of here.”

I balked when Vail and the rangers moved in the direction of the horses. What if Draven had gone to investigate something and had been attacked? What if he wasn’t betraying us but was actually out in the woods injured?

“Samara,” Vail growled, “you promised you would leave when I told you to.”

“I know, but?—”

“Don’t make me force you to leave him.”

My fingers tightened around the blade as I focused on taking steady breaths. I couldn’t fight Vail. He’d just laugh at my attempt and throw me over his shoulder. Plus, I didn’t want to argue with him. I had promised to follow his orders, and I knew he was right, but . . . I anxiously scanned the woods again for Draven but saw nothing.

“Alright,” I said weakly and stepped forward only to be shoved back by Emil.

Three wraiths materialized around us, one between me and the others and two on either side of Vail. They’d clearly determined him to be the biggest threat, because neither of them wasted any time in their attack.

I screamed as their shadows stretched into towering, beastly forms, resembling nothing that had ever walked this land and only existed in nightmares. At least, that’s where they belonged. The two wraiths struck out at Vail, letting the foot-long talons that tipped their monstrous hands materialize for a brief second.

Nyx moved faster than I could track and struck at the wraith on the left. Their gold and silver blade sliced through the wraith’s wrist, and it screamed as the magic within the sword burned through its momentarily corporeal flesh.

I didn’t see if Vail had managed to block the attack from the other wraith because the one in front of me snapped into the shadowy form of a serpent and lunged forward.

Another scream ripped from my throat as I slashed at the wraith, but my blade passed harmlessly through its shadow before hot, fiery pain tore through my shoulder as the wraith bit down.

Even through the pain, I still managed to stab at its eyes with my dagger, but my strike had been too slow, and the wraith was already nothing more than shadows again.

“Samara!” Nyx screamed from where they were still battling one of the other wraiths. Emil had joined them, and Ary was helping Vail.

Which meant I was on my own .

Twin rivers of blood coursed their way down my shoulder. I blocked out the pain before carefully gauging how much mobility I had, finding I could still move it easily. For the second time tonight, I’d gotten lucky. The snake’s fangs had only punctured me, which meant, while it was painful, it was still a relatively minor wound.

The wraith shrank down into an amorphous form before becoming something more humanoid, the shape sharpening enough for me to make out delicate features . . . and tapered ears.

Fae.

A masculine chuckle filled the air as he raised his hand to his lips. The blood on my shoulder felt hotter as I watched him draw his fingers away and study them before looking at me. Then he cocked his head and smiled.

“Din tros.” The words slithered into my ear, and the breath I’d just taken froze in my throat.

The words were mangled and corrupted by shadows, but I’d understood them well enough. He’d just called me forgotten queen in Seelie.

The wraiths weren’t the Unseelie. They were the Seelie.

More whispered words flowed from the wraith’s mouth faster than I could process, then his form stretched upward until he was once again a serpent, this time with a crown of horns extending from behind his head.

My dagger felt so small in my hand as I prepared myself to dive to the side and avoid those jaws that were considerably larger than the first time he’d bitten me.

The wraith struck impossibly fast, and I barely managed to leap aside. The dagger left my fingers a second before his tail slammed into me and sent me hurtling through the air, further into the forest and away from everyone else.

An eerie shriek filled the night air, and I felt a brief moment of satisfaction at knowing my aim had been true before I slammed into a tree.

Something crunched in my back, but I forced myself to my feet and held my hand up. A pulse of magic and a second later, my dagger flew through the air to my waiting palm. Blood so dark that it was almost black coated the blade.

Shadows wound through the trees and snapped back into the giant snake, the eye I’d ruptured already good as new. This time, I had nowhere to go. The underbrush on either side of the tree was too thick. I held my dagger up defiantly as the wraith opened its mouth, displaying long fangs dripping with shadows.

“Spitka e chof.” The whispered words wrapped around me. Come with me .

“Not a fucking chance,” I snarled as pain wracked my body. Only pure rage and adrenaline kept me standing.

A high-pitched wail back towards the others announced the death of a wraith. One down, two to go. I just had to survive a little longer.

Just as I readied myself to try to dive forward to run past the wraith, a dark form fell from the trees to land at my side.

“Where the fuck have you been, Draven?” I snapped.

“These weren’t the only wraiths,” he said tightly. It was then I noticed he was covered in blood, some the dark purplish-red of the wraiths, but most of it was definitely his.

“ Mikin ,” the wraith hissed.

Draven dove towards it, but the snake burst into a shapeless shadow before quickly disappearing into the trees. “FUCK!” he shouted and whirled to slam a fist into the trunk behind me.

I jumped, and he froze before slowly lowering his hand to his side and unclenching his fingers. The rage that had been on face a second before vanished, and now he just looked exhausted .

“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the others. “He’ll be back with more help.”

Thoughts raced through my mind as we ran back to Vail and the rest of our party. I’d read that word before— mikin —but the translation was escaping me. Then it hit me, and I almost stumbled.

Traitor .

An hour later, the six of us were behind the relative safety of an outpost’s wards and gathered around a table in the far corner of the tavern. Well, Vail was in a room upstairs, passed out in a healing sleep. He’d managed to kill the third wraith, but not before the damn thing had nearly disemboweled him.

Draven had thrown a fit when I’d slashed open my wrist and practically shoved it against Vail’s mouth while tracing the healing glyph in the blood that coated his stomach. I hadn’t even hesitated. Despite all the complications between us, all the pain and confusing animosity, Vail had been hurt, and all I’d cared about was making him better.

Even with the strength of my blood coursing through his veins, Vail had barely managed to stay conscious on the ride here. As soon as his head had hit the pillow, he’d passed out. Nyx and Emil had assured me he was fine and would be ready to leave by the time the sun rose.

We all sipped our honey ale as the local residents eyed us curiously. It wasn’t unusual for the House Heirs to visit outposts, but it definitely wasn’t a common occurrence for the Moroi Prince to stay at one.

The charming mask Draven usually wore as his public persona was nowhere to be seen, and the grim expression on his face was doing an excellent job of keeping everyone away. Only the barkeep had approached us, and that was only to drop off some food and ale.

Ary took a long drink before setting his glass down and sliding a small, wooden square with the glyph for silence to the center of the table. He sliced his index finger open on his fang and let the blood drop onto the glyph.

“This glyph doesn’t store much magic. We’ve got ten minutes.” His gaze locked on mine. “Tell me what the fuck is going on, Samara.”

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Nyx and Emil stiffen, but it was Draven who spoke. “You don’t give her orders, Tepes,” he said in a quiet voice that promised all kinds of violence.

Ary didn’t back down, and I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “My best friend’s husband was in one of the outposts that fell to wraiths. The three of us grew up together. Nicholai was like a brother to me. These attacks aren’t random. The wraith last night was searching for something.” He leaned forward from where he sat directly across from me. “Something you found tonight.”

I couldn’t tell him everything, not with Draven here, but Ary wouldn’t let this go. I had to give him at least some information, and then we could tell him everything later when it was safe to do so.

“You’re right,” I said, choosing my words carefully but quickly. “They’re searching old human settlements for relics of the spell the humans used to turn themselves into the Moon Blessed. All the outposts that have been attacked have been ones built on those old towns and villages.”

The muscles along Ary’s jaw flexed. “Do you know how they’re getting past the blood wards?”

“No.” I forced myself to not look at Draven.

“Like passing through a waterfall,” Draven said suddenly .

“What are you talking about?” Ary shot Draven a confused look.

“A curtain of water falling, drenching anyone who passes under.” The odd cadence to Draven’s tone had me looking to him, only to find him staring blankly at the table. “But if someone was to hold an outstretched arm through the water, another could pass underneath it to avoid the deluge.”

Ary, Emil, and Nyx stared at him. The rangers didn’t bother to hide the suspicion on their faces, but whatever Ary was thinking was behind a mask of cold indifference.

“That actually makes sense,” I said slowly. “We’re used to passing through the wards, so we don’t feel it anymore, but there is a thin veil of magic rising from where we root them in the earth. Draven is suggesting”—my gaze darted to him to find him staring intently at me, as if urging me to continue my line of thinking—“that the wraiths aren’t breaking the ward nor temporarily disabling it. They’re finding a way to block the upward flow of magic in one specific place and slipping through.”

“They can’t interact with the wards at all,” Emil pointed out.

“A Moroi could,” Ary said, his voice hardening in understanding. “You think a Moroi is helping the wraiths. That’s why you’re being so secretive about all of this.”

“Yes, but we don’t know why someone would help them.” I kept my tone even, but I didn’t look away from Draven either. It had to be him. He was responsible for letting the monsters in. “Why would a Moroi turn on their own people? There were children in those outposts. Who could do something like that?”

The tension in the air increased until I could practically feel it on my skin. I didn’t say anything else, just silently begged Draven to tell me I had this all wrong. That he wasn’t responsible for the slaughter of thousands of innocent Moroi .

“A monster,” he finally said, still never taking his eyes off me. “A well-trained monster.”

I let my fangs slide a little further out of my gums. “Even a monster can refuse.”

“Maybe they did.” He flinched as if a phantom pain had raised up his back.

Hope and dread warred in my soul. If he had willingly helped the wraiths kill our people, I would never be able to forgive him for it, but if he’d refused . . . what had it cost him?

“How many times did the monster say no?” I asked quietly.

Draven opened his mouth to speak only to snap it shut with a hiss before he rubbed his temples. Ary’s expression remained locked down, but Nyx and Emil continued to eye him warily. I just waited. Finally, he dropped his hand away, his eyes dark and bleak. “Who knows what monsters say or do? Does it matter? They’re still monsters at the end of the day.”

“Drav . . .” I trailed off, unsure what to say.

“I’m tired.” He rose from the table. “I’m going to rest for a bit.” Then he stepped away before pausing and turning his head slightly so I could just make out his profile. “I’ve never really liked waterfalls. Refused to go through them nine times. Turns out your body can still be used to block the water even if your soul is unwilling.”

A sharp pain struck my chest as he walked away without another word. A well-trained monster . Maybe he wasn’t so much well-trained as he was beaten down.

“What in the moonsdamned fuck have the lot of you been up to?” Ary stared after Draven, a hint of frustration leaking into his expression.

I pursed my lips together. We’d have to trust others eventually, and Ary had already seen too much tonight.

“Emil and Nyx will fill you in.” I looked at both of the rangers. “Tell him everything. I’m going to check on Vail.”

Nyx shifted uncomfortably. “You’re sure? ”

“Yes.” I smiled at Ary. “If you betray us, I’ll make you beg for death, and even then, I won’t give it.”

An actual smile blossomed on the Tepes Heir’s face. “Honestly, threats like that are the only reason I both like and trust you.”

“You’re seriously fucked up.”

He smiled wider. “It’s more fun that way.”

“We have two rooms, Samara,” Emil said. “You should go rest in the other one after you check on Vail. If you’re okay with it, Nyx can sleep on the floor in your room. The rest of us can stay with Vail. I don’t think he’ll wake, but in case he does, somebody should be there.”

“I’ll stay with him.” The words rushed out before I could think better of it. Nyx arched an eyebrow, and Ary laughed under his breath. “Fuck you both,” I muttered.

“Is that an actual offer?” Ary cocked his head and then let out a sharp exhale when Nyx elbowed him in the gut.

“No,” I said wryly. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

I walked away from the table. If Ary had anything else to say, I couldn’t hear it thanks to the silencing spell still surrounding the table. After a few conversations with the locals to assure them that everything was fine, I made my way upstairs and slipped into the room where Vail was sleeping. I made it two feet from the door before I froze at the form sitting in the chair in the corner.

“Figured you’d sleep in the other room,” I said to Draven before continuing to the bed to check on Vail. He was still fast asleep and barely stirred when I lifted the sheet to peek at his chest. An angry, pink scar snaked its way down his body, but considering he’d been holding in his intestines a couple of hours ago, this was nothing. He probably wouldn’t even have a scar in the morning.

I brushed some loose strands of hair away from his face before tracing the jagged scar that ran across his right eyebrow down his cheek. He’d gotten it protecting me from the wraiths the night our parents had been killed. I’d been too panicked to heal it properly, and by the time we’d been rescued days later, it had been too late to do anything about the scar.

I could bury the emotions from that night deep inside myself, but Vail was reminded every time he looked in a mirror.

“I knew you’d come here,” Draven said. “You’re rather protective of those you love.”

My fingers went still over Vail’s skin. “I don’t love him.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, tros .”

“I’m not a queen,” I snapped. “We going to talk about that wraith calling you a traitor?”

Draven sighed. “Nothing has changed. There is still so much I can’t tell you, and you still shouldn’t trust me even though I can swear to you that I’m doing everything I can to keep you and Kieran safe.”

“I believe you . . . but I don’t know what to do with that,” I said honestly.

“Two years ago, you came to the Sovereign House.” Draven paused like he was remembering it. “After a rather stuffy dinner, Demetri fucked off with some of the courtiers, and you and I went up to the rooftop to stargaze.”

“I remember.” We hadn’t done anything except stretch out on a blanket and talk, but it’d been nice. By that point, my marriage had become so rigid, it hadn’t even felt strange to me that Demetri had decided to spend the night catching up with some courtiers rather than with me. I hadn’t seen Kieran in over a year, and the only chats I’d had with Rynn and Cali were via shadow magic.

Lonely. I’d been so fucking lonely.

“What if, for the rest of the night, we just pretend we’re back on that rooftop?” Draven asked. “I think we’ve both earned a few hours of peace. ”

“And you won’t tell me anything else, right?” When he didn’t answer, I sighed. Fuck it. I was tired, and I had already intended to stay in this room.

I stalked around the bed to where Draven was lounging in the oversized cushioned chair and eyed it. There was plenty of space for two people if he’d just move over.

When I opened my mouth to tell him that, his hand snapped out and grabbed my arm, pulling me forward. I yelped as I tumbled into the chair, but he smoothly maneuvered my body until I was lying snuggly across his lap.

I should have jumped off and shoved him aside to make room. That was definitely what I should have done. Instead, I instantly relaxed against his body like he was home and I’d been away for too long.

Then the asshole ruined it by tugging the corner of my shirt down off my shoulder so he could inspect where the wraith had bitten me. “For the tenth time, it’s fine,” I hissed as I slapped his hand away and pulled my shirt back up. He’d been fussy about it all night, even after I’d cleaned up the blood and changed into a clean shirt. “Puncture wounds always heal fast.”

Draven just nodded numbly, still staring at my shoulder. The wraith that had attacked me had gotten away, no doubt to report back to Erendriel. I had no idea if that meant Velika would be informed as well. She and Erendriel were clearly allies, but that didn’t mean they shared knowledge freely. Draven probably knew more specifics about how their relationship worked, but it was clear he wasn’t going to tell me, or maybe couldn’t tell me was more accurate.

I thought back to that peaceful night we’d shared under the stars and let my eyes drift closed. My body was tapped out thanks to the amount of blood I’d let Vail drink. Ary had offered to let me drink from him, but Draven’s growl had practically made the walls vibrate, so I’d turned him down to keep a fight from breaking out.

“Do you need to drink?” Draven asked quietly.

My eyes flew open, and I blinked up at him. “Are you reading my mind? Is that a thing you do?”

He chuckled darkly. “You just snuggled your face into my neck and inhaled deeply. Pretty sure you licked me.”

“I absolutely did not.” I thought about it and the fact that I was tucked in against his neck. “Okay, I did smell you, but there was no licking.” I grinned at him. “Trust me, you would know if I licked you.”

He groaned, and I felt something very hard pressing into my backside. Then Draven’s light purple eyes fell on Vail, sleeping only a few feet from us, before he squinted down at me. “How quiet can you be?”

“According to Kieran, I’m a bit of a screamer.”

“Not helping, Sam.” He leaned his head back against the chair and took a deep breath.

So I leaned forward and gently kissed the side of his neck before slipping off his lap. Instantly, he shot forward and grabbed my wrist. “Where are you going?”

“Bed.” I gestured to the large mattress Vail was sprawled on. “It’s not like I haven’t shared a bed with him before, and I’m not going to be able to sleep in that chair.”

“Wasn’t really planning on sleeping,” Draven muttered before ushering me forward so he could stand as well.

When he followed me over to the bed and stood there expectantly, I crawled into it and arched an eyebrow at him. “Something you need?”

“For you to move over.”

“What?” I dropped my gaze to a sleeping Vail before looking back at Draven. Did he really mean to sleep with me when I was in bed with Vail? The chair wasn’t big enough to sleep in, but I’d assumed he’d just sleep on the floor .

Draven leaned down until his lips were almost touching mine, and my breath caught in my throat at the intensity in his eyes. “Fucking you tonight isn’t an option, because when I do, I want you to be able to scream until the walls shake.” Then he kissed the corners of my mouth as I trembled slightly. “You should know that Kieran and I are a bit . . . competitive. If he makes you scream, I’ll make you scream louder. If I make you come”—his hand slid down my body until he cupped me between the thighs—“then Kieran will make you come harder.”

I clamped my legs around his hand as heat pooled between them. “Now who’s not helping?” I growled.

His mouth crashed against mine as his fingers rubbed against the seam of my pants, creating a friction I’d been desperately craving.

Just as suddenly as he kissed me, he broke it off and shoved me further across the bed before sliding in behind me. Then his arm wrapped around my waist to tug me back against his chest. “I can’t fuck you tonight, but I can ensure that you dream of me,” he whispered into my ear, “while sleeping in a bed with him .”

“Jealous?” I rasped, glancing at Vail to find him still asleep, but there was a crease between his brows now.

“He’s not good for you,” Draven said smoothly as his grip on me tightened.

“And you are?”

“No.” The arm around me pulled back a little. “I suppose I’m not.”

A gap formed between my back and his chest, and fear shot through me at him leaving. My hand clamped down on his arm, and Draven went still. “Stay.”

Time stretched as the word hung between us. Finally, Draven settled back down beside me, and the knot that had been forming inside my chest loosened. He let out a long, shuddering breath and nestled his face into the back of my neck.

We lay like that until we both fell asleep. At some point in the night, I woke to find that Vail had rolled over and I was plastered against his chest, his arm wrapped around me. Draven was still tight against my back, his arm draped along my hip.

Nestled between two people who could very well be the death of me, I should have felt at least a hint of alarm. Instead, I just drifted off to sleep and dreamed of starry skies.