A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(24)

I looked at the incubus, who was visibly annoyed, rolling his eyes and pursing his lips.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We do not take kindly to the males of our species,” Anjani smirked from her bed. “We have very little respect for them.”

“Oh, I see,” I murmured, nodding. Then I remembered Draven’s insane idea. “You’re insane if you think I’ll let you wander off into the jungle like the blind bat that you are right now!” A range of emotions overwhelmed me from anger to frustration to helplessness. He showed little regard for his own safety in his spur-of-the-moment decisions.

“I’m going with Bijarki and Anjani. I won’t be on my own,” Draven replied. “While I appreciate your concern, it’s unnecessary.”

Wow.

I wanted to say more, but the tension in his jaw made me realize I had just disrespected him in front of a stranger. The succubus watched us with renewed interest, the shadow of a smile on her lips.

“Bijarki, I need you to prepare everything we need for our travel tomorrow.” Draven addressed the incubus, ignoring me.

Bijarki nodded with a frown. He didn’t seem too happy about the arrangement either, but, unlike me, he didn’t object. Instead, he and Draven turned to leave.

“Wait,” Anjani interjected. “What about me?”

“What about you?” Bijarki shot back.

Anjani shook her restrained arms and flinched from the shoulder pain. She’d probably forgotten about the wound.

“Oh, that. We’ll set you free in the morning when we leave,” Draven replied and left, following Bijarki’s lead up the stairs.

Anjani struggled against the bed, growling and hissing and cursing in words I didn’t understand, before she resigned herself and let out a long, painful sigh. I was left standing next to her, lacking purpose or any idea of how to sneak myself back into the Druid’s good graces.

How was I supposed to know he’d be so sensitive?

Guilt crept up on me. I had been too abrupt and loose with my words, calling him a blind bat and snapping at him the way I had. But he did have a habit of causing me to blow my lid.

Me and my stupid mouth.





Serena





[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]





I was the first one in the basement to wake up in the morning. I’d sent Aida and Vita upstairs to sleep in the relative comfort of our bedroom. Jovi stayed to watch over Anjani. I’d pulled one of the spare beds closer to Phoenix’s and spent some time trying to fall asleep, lying on my side and watching my brother.

Once I managed to drift off, my dreams were a mixture of horrors and wonders. Draven was deeply embedded in my subconscious. I kept seeing him talking to me and smiling at me, which made me feel good, even happy. But then the poisoned spears of Destroyers shot through the moving picture of him, and I witnessed my brother and my friends get tied down and thrown into rusty old cages. I saw the same sequences over and over, and each time their violent ending threw me back into consciousness with a jolt.

To say that I’d had a difficult night would have been an understatement. I sat up and stretched, still sore from my nap on the floor in Draven’s study. I looked over to find Anjani in deep sleep. Jovi had pulled another spare bed next to her sometime during the night and was snoozing on his belly.

I stood up and moved to my brother’s side. He was still unresponsive, but his breathing was even. I caressed his cheek with the back of my hand, just enough to get a feel for his temperature. He seemed okay, not too warm or too cold.

Last night’s abrupt ending and Draven walking out with Bijarki and leaving me behind rushed back into focus. They were going to take Anjani back to her tribe, while I was stuck here, hoping they survived the trip and returned in one piece.

I pursed my lips. No, no, no. He’s not going anywhere without me.

I didn’t fight that thought, mainly because I had to keep myself close to Draven and uncover all the secrets he kept beneath that brooding mask of his. I looked down at my brother and chewed my lower lip.

I’d have to leave Phoenix here. I was of no use to him anyway. All he had to do was wake up and be okay. Aida and Vita would be around for him. He’d be safe, while Draven would soon be out in the open with who knew what other dangerous creatures lurking in that jungle.

I went upstairs, mentally preparing myself to resist Draven’s impending opposition to my joining the expedition. Knowing him, there was no way he’d let me come without a fight. I didn’t have much of a choice either, since his Royal Stubbornness was dead set on reaching out to a tribe of warrior succubi he knew very little about.

I reached Draven’s bedroom upstairs and didn’t bother to knock. I found him sitting up in his bed, his muscular chest and broad shoulders bathed in the morning light. The runes on his skin had faded substantially, now mere shadows the color of burnt coffee. He turned his head toward me.

“I could hear your heartbeat rushing up the stairs, but there was no way I’d be able to make myself decent in the time it took you to get here,” Draven said with a half-smile.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen your bare chest before,” I quipped and mentally prepared myself to inform him of my decision to join him on the trip.

But then I stilled, watching as he moved his head around slowly. He parted his lips. The tip of his tongue gently passed over his upper teeth, and heat burst at my very core. The image of him half-naked and licking his lips deleted my thoughts entirely. I was unable to move, my eyes fixated on his pink tongue sliding along his upper lip.