A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(15)

What is wrong with me?

I was supposed to be the strong one with Field and Phoenix down. I was responsible for protecting my sister and her friends. And yet I had little to no courage in front of this succubus. I mentally chastised myself for my weakness and pushed myself further.

“What do you mean?” I persisted.

Anjani took a deep breath before she replied. “The shape-shifters are much more brazen now. They used to only come out at night. Now, they roam the jungles in broad daylight, slashing at whatever crosses their path. And not just them. Other creatures have started coming out when they’re least expected. We don’t know why.”

“What were you doing there, then?” Bijarki interjected, once again standing by the bed.

Anjani scoffed and turned her head to face me, scowling. She was making no effort to even be civil with Bijarki, though, to be fair, if I’d been wounded and tied to a bed by him, I wouldn’t have liked him either.

“The more open you are with us, the quicker we can move this along,” he said.

Anjani rolled her eyes while her arms struggled against her restraints. “Why should I trust you?” she snapped.

“Why shouldn’t we just throw you back out into the swamp and let the shape-shifters finish the job?”

Anjani sighed. Resignation softened her demeanor. She relaxed again as she looked at me.

“I’m a sister of the Red Tribe. I’ve told you already. We’re all succubi, but we barely mingle with our own kind. We stick to our little territory in the northern jungles, we hunt at night, and we keep our allegiance to ourselves,” she said, her tone firm.

“What about Azazel? Has he not approached you?” Bijarki replied.

“He’s sent out his Destroyers to meet with us, but we refused his terms and have kept them at bay ever since. We have no need for his filthy corruption.” Anjani continued looking at me as she answered, as if willfully ignoring Bijarki’s physical presence.

“How have you been keeping them at bay?” Bijarki narrowed his eyes and kept his focus on her. She shifted on the bed, and my hand instinctively reached out and touched her forearm. The second I did, the touch of her skin sent heatwaves through my body.

Anjani stilled and shot me a glare.

I removed my hand.

“We have our methods, incubus,” she continued tersely, her chin high. “Don’t worry. We’d rather die a thousand deaths before turning to his despicable side.”

I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but she seemed genuine and quite proud. I couldn’t help but wonder what an entire tribe of warrior succubi like her could be like. Were they all as devastatingly gorgeous as she was?

“What about your companions?” I asked, following my train of thought. She turned her head to the side, avoiding both Bijarki and me.

“They were my sisters. We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into,” she replied, her voice low and trembling.

“What were you doing around here?” Bijarki was relentless.

“I didn’t know I was here until you grabbed me and ran away from the shape-shifters.” Anjani frowned at me. I was embarrassed to admit it, but her continued, deliberate ignorance of Bijarki filled me with a sense of childish pride. “We had strayed too far south from our camp when the beasts ambushed us.”

Five seconds of silence followed before Bijarki replied, “We’ll have to verify your claims.” He turned and left us.

I watched him stride back to Draven, probably to update him on what Anjani had told us. The suspicion was reasonable, even in my skewed opinion.

But she was on her own and had nearly died in that swamp. I didn’t think anyone would pick a fight with a pack of shape-shifters just to get our attention. Outsiders couldn’t see us or the mansion beneath the protective shield anyway.

I figured the only reason why she’d been able to pass the protective spell in the first place was because I had been holding her at the time, while the shape-shifters had knocked themselves against it, unable to go beyond. Maybe there were exceptions to the shield’s rules, like we’d seen with Bijarki.

She was weakened and drowsy and clearly suffering over the loss of her sisters. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the pain she’d kept to herself for the past few hours.

My hand moved toward her again and gently squeezed her arm in a humble attempt to comfort her.

This time she didn’t object.





Vita





[Grace and Lawrence’s daughter]





It took all the strength I had to not collapse after I finished applying the herb mixture to Phoenix’s head wound. I moved quietly, leaving Serena by her brother’s side with Draven, and sought out the farthest corner of the room.

I found a little stool next to a medicine cabinet and sat down. My legs were jello and my breathing erratic. My pulse thundered in my ears. I closed my eyes for a few moments and tried to regain composure.

I looked over at Serena where she was sitting with her brother, then at Jovi and the succubus, and, before I could stop myself, over to Bijarki, who leaned against a spare bed, watching me. He was beautiful in all possible senses, like he’d been painstakingly drawn to achieve perfection. His broad shoulders were relaxed, his arms crossed over his chest. His military attire accentuated the sharp lines of his jaw.