Chapter 21 How to Bleed #2
I blinked, surprised by the question. The fact that they were asking my opinion, valuing my insight, still felt new and strange after years of being dismissed and belittled by the Harrows.
“I need to know what she knows before I can make a good guess. Does she know you have Eluned? Does she know what happened at the lake? Is she aware that you’re working with Foster?”
“Foster says Amabel knows Eluned is missing,” Koa said. “But she doesn’t know for certain that we have her. She’s been trying to track Eluned’s phone, but it’s been off since we took it.”
“And we’re keeping Foster’s true allegiance quiet,” Casimir added, his chest rumbling against my back. “He’s playing the concerned ally, helping Amabel search for Eluned.”
After they caught me up on everything, I nodded.
“She won’t strike until tomorrow morning at the earliest,” I said confidently. “Amabel is nothing if not thorough. She’ll want maximum time to plan, to get all her pieces in position.”
“So we have today to prepare,” Koa nodded, already shifting into action mode. “I’ll start warding the lake immediately—”
“No, that’s not a good idea,” I interrupted. “Eluned was a flamethrower, but Amabel’s the arsonist who stays to watch you burn, but will never light the fire herself.”
“She’ll come through whichever entrance is least guarded,” Koa translated.
“You want us to let her pick the door.” Casimir understood immediately. “Leave the lake open.”
“With a welcome mat, too?” Zane muttered. “Hell, no!”
“I’m not a leader or strategist or an expert in technology or able to use telepathy to look inside someone’s head, but I lived with Amabel for five years. I know how her mind works—”
I shut my mouth, my confidence faltering. Who was I to be giving tactical advice to these experienced fighters?
“We’re listening,” Casimir rumbled against my back, his face buried in my hair. “You know her much better than we do. Keep talking.”
“Eluned used an illusion of Brumous to lure me to the lake,” I said slowly. “Amabel is even better at illusions than Eluned. I wouldn’t put it past her to incorporate something similar in her attack.”
“Good to know.” Casimir’s thumb found the hem of my shirt and slipped under it, tracing slow circles just above my hip bone that left trails of liquid fire.
“Amabel isn’t a front-line fighter,” I went on, trying to ignore how my body was reacting. “She’s not going to willingly go head-to-head with anyone, let alone three lethal dhampirs. You might be gentle with me, but I know you’re far from it when it comes time to work.”
“Careful, sweetheart.” Zane’s mouth quirked up at one corner. “You’re going to make us blush.”
“Amabel will use subterfuge and trickery rather than risk a direct fight,” I ignored his flirting.
“She’ll want to find a way in that seems safe, that lets her maintain the element of surprise.
She’ll most likely track down this water witch that Foster told you Eluned used.
Amabel will replicate her sister’s plan, but do it better. ”
“So we set a trap.” Casimir was already on my train of thought.
“With what bait?” Koa asked, suspicion in his dark eyes
“Me, of course—”
Zane’s chair exploded backward, silencing me.
“Over my rotting corpse, princess!”
Koa growled, “No. Just no.”
Casimir went completely rigid beneath me, his body transforming from warm comfort to unyielding stone. I felt his breathing halt, then resume with deliberate control.
“Hear me out,” I said, raising my hands in a placating gesture. “I could—”
“No.” Casimir’s single syllable rattled around the room like thunder.
“We’re not using you as bait,” Koa added, his voice a dangerous rumble. “Not ever.”
“Are you trying to give us heart attacks, menace?” Zane paced around the room. “Because that’s exactly how you give three dhampirs simultaneous heart attacks.”
I sighed, recognizing their protective instincts were in overdrive after today’s close call.
Even though I’d expected this reaction, it still made something warm bloom in my chest to see their immediate protection of me.
And I had to admit, I wasn’t really comfortable being the bait.
If my magic was replenished, it wouldn’t even be an issue, but I’d squandered the tiny bit I’d regained on the stupid crawfish.
“Beloved.” Koa crouched before me, calloused hands framing my face. “We spent years learning how to bleed so you wouldn’t have to. Let us handle this.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, raising my hands in surrender. “I’m not the right bait, anyway. All of her focus will be on finding Eluned to either free her or eliminate the threat.”
“She’d kill her own twin?” Zane squawked.
“To keep her from spilling secrets?” My eyebrows flew up. “In a heartbeat. Just remember, Amabel will come prepared. Far more prepared than Eluned. She’ll have backup plans, nasty spells ready, and an ace up her sleeve.”
“Pfft.” Zane waved a dismissive hand, his confidence bordering on arrogance. “We’ve handled more powerful witches than a teenage girl before.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” I warned. “She’s Arabesque’s daughter and an expert at illusionary magic.”
“Actually,” Koa interjected, standing abruptly and moving to a cabinet in the corner, “I’ve been working on something that might help with that.”
He rummaged through a drawer and took out what looked like a pair of tactical sunglasses, sleek and modern with the lenses glowing blue.
“Magi-goggles,” he announced with pride, holding them out to me. “Got the idea from Angelo della Morte. He can’t see magic or power without using a hex stone, which is a pain because they wear out quickly.”
“So Koa decided to play mad scientist,” Zane smirked.
“I integrated magic with technology,” Koa corrected with a superior look.
“Just like with my spy eyes. I made him a pair to see most types of magic, then I thought, why not try a pair that can see through illusions? I only have this prototype right now, but at least one of us will be able to use them and alert the others.”
I examined them. They were lighter than they looked, and the craftsmanship was impressive. The knowledge that they’d be able to see through Amabel’s illusions made me feel better about the plan. It wasn’t foolproof, but it gave them an edge, and me just a little more peace of mind.
“This is amazing, Koko,” I breathed. “You really are a genius. But how do you work with magic when you don’t have any?”
“Remember Emerson del Vecchio told you his wolf pack had a full coven? Well, most of them are Angelo’s relatives. This is my second collaboration with them and, since it benefits Angelo, too, they work for free. Win-win, yeah?”
I nodded, then my eyes widened as I realized something.
“Koko! You and I can collaborate when I get my magic back!”
“I look forward to that very much, sweet girl.” And the look in his eyes made my chest hurt in all the best ways.
“All right, Ko, text Foster what’s up so he can drop a few subtle hints,” Casimir said.
“Foster doesn’t do subtle, but I’m on it.” Koa pulled out his phone.
“So we let Amabel come through the lake, track her into the manor, and spring the trap.” Zane took the magi-goggles from me and hooked them in the neck of his t-shirt.
“Then what? Use her as a hostage? Arabesque would think twice about attacking if we had her precious daughter. Or we may need leverage someday.”
I frowned, not liking that idea at all.
“To me, eliminating the threat as soon as possible makes more sense than leaving a loose end. Keeping Amabel alive just gives Arabesque more reason to make a direct attack. And Amabel is both intelligent and dangerous. Even bound and imprisoned, I can’t trust that she wouldn’t find a way to escape. ”
“I agree,” Koa said. “Clean, quick, no loose ends.”
All our eyes turned to Casimir. His face was unreadable, his green eyes fixed on a point across the room as he considered our options.
While he deliberated, I suddenly became acutely aware of something else, something firm and increasingly insistent against my backside. Despite the seriousness of our conversation, Casimir was growing hard beneath me.
The realization sent a hot flush through my body, and mischief stirred inside me.
Pretending to adjust my position, I wiggled slightly.
His breath hitched, so softly that I barely heard it, but the arms around my waist tightened in warning.
His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek as he fought to maintain his composure.
Well, that’s interesting.
I did it again, a subtle roll of my hips that could be mistaken for a shift of weight. This time, his fingers dug into my sides, and I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard.
“Cas?” Koa prompted, oblivious to the private battle happening in his brother’s lap. “Hostage or elimination?”
I looped my arms around Casimir’s neck, leaning in as if to hear his response better, but using the movement to press my breasts against his chest. His eyes darkened dangerously, and my belly coiled tighter.
“What do you think, Simmy?” I asked innocently, even though there was nothing innocent about the way I was grinding my bottom into him. “Kill her or keep her?”
“I think,” he said, his voice a low rasp, “that it depends on the circumstances of her capture.”
It was a diplomatic answer, neither committing to nor rejecting either option. Classic Casimir, keeping all possibilities open until the moment of decision.
But I wasn’t thinking about Amabel anymore.
I was focused on the heat building between us, on the way Casimir’s breathing had changed from deep and even to shallow and quick.
On the hardness beneath me that grew more insistent with each tiny movement of my hips.
On the power I wield over this dangerous man.
I leaned even closer, my lips brushing the shell of his ear as I whispered, “Is there something you want, Simmy?”
“You, Serafina.” He turned his head slightly, his mouth a breath away from mine.
With deliberate slowness, I pulled him in for a kiss, deep and hungry and filled with promise. His control snapped, one hand sliding up to grip the back of my neck as he devoured my mouth like a starving man.
I dimly registered Zane’s wolf whistle and Koa’s amused chuckle, but they seemed distant and unimportant compared to the inferno building between Casimir and me.
When we finally broke apart, I was breathless and flushed, my body thrumming with need. Casimir’s eyes were dark with hunger.
“So,” Zane drawled, a knowing smirk on his face. “I guess we’re done with strategy for now?”
“Meeting adjourned,” Casimir growled, then stood in one fluid motion, my legs instinctively locking around his waist as his teeth found the juncture of my neck.
The next thing I knew, he was carrying me out of the security room, the world blurring around us. My stomach swooped at his dhampir speed, and I clung to him, a breathless laugh escaping me.
Zane sprinted ahead of us, throwing doors open with his usual drama, while Koa followed close behind, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. My playfulness had clearly ignited something in all of them, in all of us, and my body hummed with excitement at what was to come.
“Bedroom,” Zane announced unnecessarily as he flung open the final door, dropping into an exaggerated bow as Casimir carried me inside.
The now-familiar scent of our shared space wrapped around me, gun oil and dragon fruit dew shampoo and the mate scents that clung to their skin.
It smelled like love.
Like safety.
Like home.