A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(17)

“What do we do next?” I asked Draven. He straightened at the sound of my voice. Bijarki, on the other hand, gave me a once-over and kept his mouth shut. We still didn’t like each other very much.

“We need to keep this group safe. We’re not sure of the succubus’s intentions, regardless of what she tells us,” Draven replied.

“What has she told us, exactly?” I still had no idea who she was.

“She calls herself Anjani of the Red Tribe,” Bijarki answered.

I squinted at him, letting my short fuse show. I had very little patience for cryptic short sentences at this point.

“Is that supposed to mean anything to me?” I retorted.

Bijarki pursed his lips.

“The Red Tribe is only somewhat known in the north. They’re all female warriors, with little to no contact with the rest of their species,” Draven replied. “She says they’ve been resisting Azazel’s Destroyers, but I have to see for myself.” He sighed. “Or better yet, Bijarki will have to see for me.”

I looked at Draven, then at Bijarki, whose gaze lowered to the ground. I wondered whether he was feeling sorry for the Druid or just pained by our shared handicap with Draven being visually impaired at such a dangerous time. I tried to drown out how guilty I felt, still bearing the responsibility of his blindness in my heart.

“So far she’s been quiet and tied to the bed. I’m not sure she’s much of a threat right now,” I said.

“Nevertheless, her statements need to be verified. She said she strayed too far from her camp with her sisters when the shape-shifters attacked and that she didn’t know about or see the mansion until Jovi brought her in,” Draven said.

“How do you plan to verify anything she says?” I asked.

“The fire. Bijarki can look into it for me.”

Bijarki stood silent next to him. I was under the impression that I intimidated him a little bit, judging by the way he avoided looking me in the eye and took a step back every time I came near him.

Good.

Draven’s head cocked to one side, and my heart throbbed for a brief moment. “How are you feeling?”

I quickly dismissed his concern, as it didn’t feel appropriate in the presence of the incubus. “I’m fine. I’m not the one who got hurt this morning. I’m the one who wants to do something about all of this. What about the sleeping Daughter?” I shifted quickly, hoping to catch him off guard.

“That’s something we can discuss another time,” he shot back, and I felt my resolve fizzle.

He placed his hand on Bijarki’s shoulder and squeezed twice before they made to leave.

“Wait. Where are you going?” I shouted after them, irritation tainting my voice.

“I told you. The fire.” His reply echoed from across the room.

I let out a long sigh as they left, and found myself without a plan. Draven didn’t want me around while he had Bijarki for support, and that annoyed me a surprising amount. I couldn’t sit by my brother’s side either. My helplessness would scratch away at my soul, since I couldn’t do anything more to help him. I had to find something else to do.

Maybe read more from Elissa’s diary.

My gaze fell on Jovi and Anjani. I saved the thought of Elissa’s diary for later that night, as I had doubts I’d be able to sleep. I walked over to get a closer look at the succubus.

She seemed submerged in a deep sleep. Her skin shimmered like Bijarki’s, but there was something feral about her that I found troubling and fascinating at the same time. I had a feeling that the entire species would be able to make me feel that way—fascinated and scared simultaneously.

I watched her for a while, wondering about her, about how she’d come to cross paths with us, and about her intentions. Had she really just stumbled upon us in a desperate attempt to save her own life? Or had she been sent to infiltrate our group? A multitude of other questions flickered through my mind; some I had reasonable answers for, but others left me blank.

Jovi had cleaned her up well, and her wounds were covered in one of the Druid’s weird-smelling herbal remedies. He still stood by her side, his hands resting on her forearm and his gaze fixed on her face.

He had some scratches of his own but nothing as serious or as deep as Field or Phoenix or Anjani.

“You okay?” I asked him.

He looked at me, concern furrowing his brows. “I’m all right. How are you holding up? How’s Phoenix?”

I shrugged, unable to think of a more eloquent gesture to explain how I felt. “Draven says it will take a while for him to wake up,” I replied.

Jovi's heavy sigh rolled from his chest. He looked pained as he glanced at my brother lying in bed somewhere behind me. “This is all my fault, Serena. I am so sorry. I just couldn’t let her get killed by those monsters.”

It hadn’t occurred to me to blame him. I would have done the same in Jovi’s place; I would’ve done my best to save someone about to get torn to shreds by shape-shifters.

“Don’t be stupid, Jovi. This isn’t your fault,” I replied.

A few moments passed as he digested my response. He glanced down at Anjani. I noticed the glimmer in his eyes, and I wondered about his attachment to the succubus, since he hadn’t left her side.

“What is it with you and her?” I asked, perhaps a little more directly than I had intended.