The Viper's Nest (Kit Davenport #4)(49)

Once I’d located a simple red bra, I threw one of River’s shirts over the top and rolled up the sleeves. My wardrobe was almost half full of men’s clothing these days, as apparently they all had a fetish for seeing me in their shirts. Not that I was complaining; men’s shirts were comfy as hell.

“All right, let’s do it. Do we have coffee?” I asked Caleb hopefully as the three of us made our way downstairs to where my other four guardians waited in the den.

“All over it,” Wesley offered, holding a steaming mug out to me, and I beamed. My guys were actually just the most amazing, thoughtful people. “It’s Irish... seeing as it’s the middle of the night.”

My eyebrows shot up, and I took an experimental sip of my coffee, which was indeed laced with whiskey. The rich blend of smoke and honey mixed with my coffee rolled across my tongue, and I moaned my approval. Yep, Irish coffee was a win in my books.

“You ready to do this, Kitten?” River asked me seriously, his golden eyes flickering over his shirt on my body and pausing at my chest, where I hadn’t bothered buttoning the fabric over my bra.

Giving him a reassuring smile, I nodded. “Absolutely. Are you guys?” I turned to Cole and Vali, who were standing awkwardly in the middle of the den with their arms folded and mirror frowns creasing their brows. “You guys look... really worried. You don’t have to go through with this, you know? You can say no.”

“Not happening, Vixen,” Cole rumbled in his gravelly voice. “I just want you to be sure. We can’t...” He sucked in a breath, his jaw set tightly. “We can’t feel whether you’re sure or not.”

“Huh.” I cocked my head and flicked a glance at the twins. “Who’d have thought you’d all get so used to it in such a short time. I would gladly take the wall down, but I don’t know how successfully I can put it back up again and think it’s best to keep it in place for now.”

Vali gave me a small smile. “That’s understandable, Regina mea. We just worry. But if you’re sure...”

“I am.” I said it as firmly as I possibly could. All this “Are you sure?” was giving me a headache. It wasn’t like I was the kind of girl to be pressured into anything I didn’t want to do, after all. “Come on, step up. Who’s first?”

There was already a large area already cleared in the middle of the den, so I walked over to it and parked my ass down. “Uh, wait. Do either of you still have the spell thing?” I looked to Caleb and Austin—because clearly there was no way in hell I could remember it from weeks earlier when Austin and I had bonded.

“Got it.” Caleb pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. Unfolding it, I scanned the unfamiliar words again and found them a little less daunting, thanks to Austin’s merciless magic lessons involving their language.

Cole and Vali both joined me on the floor, and when I raised my eyebrow at each of them, Vali smirked and Cole glowered. “Let me guess, Vali first?”

The response I received was just a broader grin from the Romanian, and I nodded. Clearly they’d sorted this out in advance, and Cole was still sulking about losing whatever the bet had been. Fair was fair though, as he’d won the one to take me flying.

“Nervous?” Vali asked me quietly as I handed him the spell and my hand trembled.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “And excited.” Our gazes met, and I could clearly see he was feeling the same way.

“Let’s get it done, then,” he coaxed, breaking eye contact to read the spell as Wesley handed him a small knife. Hesitating, I remembered the part where he needed to drop blood into my bloodstone ring, which was what bound us together, and I glanced up at Caleb sitting on one of the sofas.

“I’ll be fine,” Caleb reassured me. “Promise. If not, Austin can take me.”

Satisfied that he knew what he was doing, I indicated for Vali to begin.

Meeting my gaze with a nervous-looking smile, Vali sounded out the foreign words carefully, then waited while I recited my part before stabbing his thumb.

Same as it had the last time, my ring absorbed the droplet of blood and the rune circle flared to life around us. Vali’s wild, hot dragon magic flooded through me with the force of a tsunami, heating every facet of my being and then building higher, like gasoline on a bonfire.

As the burning inside me reached the point of excruciating pain, Vali’s lips pressed to mine. His mouth opened, and his tongue slipped in to meet and dance with my own., Vali’s kiss acted as an outlet for the overwhelming sensation that I was being burned from the inside, until eventually the heat subsided to a small fire, warming me but no longer burning.

“Holy shit,” I choked out when the magic finally settled to a bearable level and I pulled back from Vali’s scorching kiss. “Was that what it was like for you? When you first changed?”

He gave a small shrug, his eyes full of regret and apology. “I don’t know what it is that you felt, only that you were in pain and I knew what I needed to do. But, if it’s anything like what I went through, then I cannot apologize enough.”

“It’s fine.” I shook my head. “It was fine once you kissed me.” I glanced to Austin, and he gave a tiny head nod to confirm it was the same for him—that he’d just known what to do to soothe my pain.