A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(5)

I kept spiraling down that dark hole, deeper and deeper into my insecurities, while Field’s kiss stayed at the top of the hole, shrinking in the distance.

“Are you okay?” Field’s voice startled me out my thoughts.

I looked over to my right and found him at the far end of the attic, standing and watching me with concern etched on his face. His turquoise eyes found mine, and my heart tumbled and fluttered at the same time, torn between the memory of our kiss and the subsequent doubts of his intentions toward me. After all, he hadn’t been specific in how he felt about me. He’d just kissed me.

The floor seemed to vanish from underneath me as he took a few steps forward.

“Yeah. All is good,” I said, barely hearing myself.

I decided to raise that barrier between us again, just until I could understand how he really felt about me. I straightened my back and gave him a polite smile. How could I get him to tell me what I needed to know? Asking was the only straightforward solution, but the closer he got to me, the faster I felt my courage slip away.

“Why am I having a hard time believing that?” he asked, his head cocked.

“I don’t know. I told you, I’m fine. Just working on my visions. Nothing to see here,” I mumbled and looked away, bringing my knees to my chest defensively.

Field wasn’t one to quit so easily. He sat in front of me, crossing his legs while his gaze searched mine. There was a playful flicker in the tropical blue-green of his eyes. Clearly, he didn’t understand my struggle.

Why should he, anyway? These are my demons, not his.

“Seriously, Aida, what’s going on?”

I tried to be brave, but doubt had chipped away at my self-confidence, leaving me naked and vulnerable and fearful in front of a man who had the power to crush my heart with a handful of words. The swing in my mood from one hour to the next had taken its toll on my resolve.

“I’m fine, Field.”

“I haven’t seen you at all today.”

His voice was low and smooth, making nerve endings in my entire body tingle.

“Well, you’ve been out a lot,” I replied, unyielding.

“And you’ve closed yourself off in the attic. Have I done something wrong?”

I sighed and shook my head. Why punish him for my insecurities? It wasn’t fair.

“I’ve just… It’s hard to explain,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He bent forward, leaving just a couple of inches between our faces. He kept watching me, his eyes looking for something in mine. His gaze shifted to my lips.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Try me.” He smiled gently.

I stilled as he drew his face even closer, our lips nearly touching. I wanted to feel him again. I needed the courage he unknowingly gave me. I needed the hope he instilled in me. I needed him to kiss me and hold me again, enough to smother that stupid doubtful voice in my head that had ruined my morning.

“They’re back!” Vita’s voice made both of us jump. She popped her head into the attic, enough to notice how close Field and I were to each other and to realize that she’d interrupted an intimate moment. “Sorry, just wanted to tell you that Serena and Draven are back.”

“It’s okay,” I mumbled and stood up.

It clearly wasn’t the right time for me and Field. It would have to wait until later, until I’d gathered the courage to ask him how he really felt about me. As I walked over to Vita, I heard Field’s footsteps behind me. I wasn’t even brave enough to face him.

Damn my insecurities.





Jovi





We all gathered downstairs as the sun moved closer to noon above us. Field, Aida, and Vita descended from the attic, while Phoenix and the Daughter came from the banquet hall. Anjani was already standing outside by the porch steps. I joined her quietly as we watched Serena, Draven, Bijarki, and Hansa come in through the protective shield from the northern jungle path.

Their expressions were dark and solemn, and a bunch of swords, shields, crossbows, and various other weapons clanged from the horses’ saddles—far too many items for a group of four people. Something was wrong.

Draven was the first to get off his horse.

“What happened?” I asked, not just for myself but for Anjani as well.

Her frown said more than she ever would in words and, judging by the way she looked at her sister, she seemed to understand more than I did.

“They’re dead,” Hansa replied in a low, husky voice.

“What…what do you mean?” Anjani took a step forward.

“The Sluaghs betrayed us,” Draven answered when Hansa wavered. “They brought Destroyers with them and raided the Red Tribe. None of the succubi there survived. They didn’t stand a chance.”

“I am so sorry, Anjani,” Serena added as she got off her horse.

It took a few moments for the information to sink in. I heard Vita and Aida gasp somewhere behind me, but my attention was focused on Anjani. I couldn’t see her face from that angle, but I could tell from the way her shoulders dropped that she was about to react to the news of her sisters’ deaths.

“Twelve of our sisters might still be out there,” Hansa said, avoiding Anjani’s gaze. “The rest are dead.”

A long moment passed before Anjani collapsed. She fell to her knees, bending forward in a heart-wrenching wail that pierced through the silence and echoed all around us. My stomach burned at the sight of her crying. I couldn’t stand it.