Vameer
Rune relaxes back into unconsciousness. And I exhale. “I need a holiday.”
“She will like France,” Volik says, reminding me I promised Uncle we’d visit soon.
“I know this means she’s vampire. As close to invincible as we can be.
” I look at the horns on Rune’s head. The black looks so pretty surrounded by her shiny red hair.
“I wanted this for her.” I swallow. “But the cost…” I swallow again.
“I feel like I’ll be afraid of taking her anywhere.
Forever.” I rub my thumb back and forth on the bare skin of her arm as I continue to hold her close. “I may just live here with the druid.”
The druid grunts his disagreement.
Volik tips his head back, looking up. “This place is protected?”
Dread nods.
“No one can get through the barrier?”
Dread shakes his head.
“So we are safe here?”
Dread sighs. “Yeah. But then again, no one should’ve been able to find me either.” He gives me a pointed look.
I shrug. “I didn’t know it was meant to be unfindable.”
Volik smirks. “He should have told you.”
I nod seriously.
The druid sighs again. “You’re not living here, Interfector.”
“I don’t know…” My gravito lifts me from the indent in the earth and carries me and my mate to the closest tree. Keeping Rune hugged to my chest, I lean back against the trunk, mirroring Dread’s position. “I could get comfortable here.”
Dread shakes his head.
Volik is looking up again. “Druid.”
“Yes, Vampire?”
Volik lowers his gaze to Dread’s. “Do you have any booze in your house?”
My brows lift. “I like where your mind is going, brother.” I look at Dread. “Well, Druid?”
He just stares at us.
Volik shrugs. “I could go look for myself. Or I could stay here and ignore the curiosity I have about your home.”
The more I think about it, the more I want this to happen.
It’s been so long since I’ve been drunk. I’m not even counting the century I slept. Before that, the times were few and far between. Rarely have I ever been safe enough to let go.
I should hardly feel safe, considering we were attacked this very night. But I’m confident that if anything came for us, this druid could handle it.
“Volik will give you extra venom,” I tell the druid.
Volik huffs. And Dread narrows his eyes.
I fight the urge to smirk, wondering if he’s going to out the fact that I have my own venom now.
Instead of answering, Dread sighs. Then places his hand on the ground beside his hip.
“Is this a yes?” Volik asks.
Dread’s eyes glow as gold spreads from his hand to the ground beneath him. “Do not wander.”
The gold beneath him turns black. He drops through the portal. The portal disappears.
“Clever,” Volik says, then has his gravito carry him, like mine did, to the tree beside mine.
I hum.
Dread is more than clever. He is startlingly impressive.
But I won’t tell anyone what Dread did. Not even Volik.
And not because I don’t trust my brother. But because you never know when ears might be listening. And I may have been on the verge of dying, but I know what I saw. And I know it’s a secret that risks the druid’s life. So I will bring it to my grave. Because he saved Rune.
He saved My Heart.
He saved me.
So his life is mine to protect now.
No matter what the battle, I will stand beside him.
My hair snags on tree bark as I turn my head to look at Volik. “The one who did this. Who hurt Rune.” Volik meets my gaze. “It was King Tosa.”
His brows lift.
The forest glows gold.
And Dread steps out of a portal before us, a bottle in each hand.
He drops one in each of our laps, then walks back to his tree a few paces away.
Volik reads the label. “Rum?”
Dread sits without a reply.
Volik lifts the bottle, tiny sparks of magic within shining in the moonlight. “Rum is great.”
I keep my arm behind Rune’s back and bend my opposite knee, using my thigh to keep her legs pressed against me.
Holding the bottle in my free hand, I bite the cap and twist the bottle, opening it.
After spitting the cap into the grass beside me, I take a drink.
The magic tingles as it slides down my throat.
And after my second swallow, I tell them what happened.
Every detail. Every question I have.
Consuming a third of the bottle by the time I reach the end.
“He smiled.” Anger colors my words. “He saw my mate bleeding, smiled, and walked away.” I drop my head forward. “I let him get away. He nearly killed her, and I…”
I squeeze my eyes closed as the terror of that moment presses against my heart.
“Vameer,” Dread snaps. “Do not harm my trees.”
I blink my eyes open and see the tall trunks bending toward me.
I release my gravito, and they sway back, correcting themselves.
“Lo siento,” I sigh and drop my head back against the trunk. “This is all my fault. I should’ve seen the signs. But we were busy talking. And I wasn’t thinking. Haruto is…”
“Goofy,” Volik supplies.
I huff and nod. “The door unlocked when I approached. The lights were low instead of bright. But I thought it was just him being him. I noticed the truth too late.”
Volik makes a grumbling sound. “Almost too late. You both live.”
I lift my bottle toward him.
He taps his to mine. “To living.”
I bring my bottle to my lips. “I hope Haruto is living.” I tip it back.
Dread’s eyes flash a dark gold. “He lives.”
Volik holds his bottle back toward me. “To friends with magic.”
We drink, and Dread lazily taps his fingertips together, creating tiny golden sparks.
“Iwanna meet the big wolf.” The stars spin above me in the sky.
“You mean the Alpha of Argus Pack?”
“Da.” I smile, mimicking my brother. “I liked his violence.”
Volik hums. “He is a nice wolf.”
I snicker at the word nice. Thinking of the video of that wolf ripping the vampire’s arm off.
“I am speaking the truth.” Volik points at me, then tips to the side.
Laughing, I take another drink of my magic rum, then I remember another detail from that video. “Brother.”
Volik pushes himself upright. “Da?”
My cheeks hurt from smiling, and I press the cool glass against my face. “Was Versailles the first time you went that fast? I keep forgetting to ask you.”
He grins. “Da. Before you fight the druid, I would like to race.”
My eyes widen, and I look at Dread. “I forgot about the fight.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not fighting a drunk vampire.”
“Afraid you will lose?” I lift my arm and flex my bicep, forgetting about my booze until rum splashes over my shoulder. “Merde.”
Volik snickers.
I hand my bottle to my gravito, call on my Fire Touch, and press my hand to my chest.
The rum soaking into my robe ignites in a poof of fire.
Then I look at my sleeve. And I start thinking about the sleeve of my shirt beneath my robe.
Then I notice how tight everything feels.
I shake my head. “I don’t like it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s too much fabric,” I tell my brother.
My gravito carefully wraps around Rune, turning pink as it lifts her, cradling her body in the exact same position.
With her in the air, I roll out from under her, stand, and yank my robe off.
I drop it on the ground, then work my way down my shirt buttons, pulling the material free from my pants.
“What the fuck is he doing?” Dread asks with a sigh.
“Undressing,” Volik replies evenly.
I start to chuckle. Then I start to fall as I try to free my arm from the sleeve.
A cloud of red gravito presses against my hip, pushing me back upright.
“But why?” The druid doesn’t let it go.
Volik makes a sound of thinking. “Probably too much time as a soldier. He forgets that nudity is frowned upon.”
Grinning, I finally peel my shirt off. “I don’t fight naked.”
“Thank the gods,” Dread deadpans.
“The fight!” Volik spreads his arms to point at both of us.
My fingers fumble with the closure on my pants. “The fight will be after the race. Remember?” I bend over, furrowing my brows, to see what I’m doing.
“Right,” Volik says with absolute confidence.
I finally get the pants open and start to push them down my legs.
“Must we be naked for the race? I do not think Nix would like it if I was.”
“You two are not supersonic jumping around the globe naked. And certainly not while you’re shit-faced.”
My pants pool around my ankles as I look at Volik. “When did druids get so boring?”
He shrugs and turns to Dread. “How old are you again?”
A laugh booms out of me. “I like that you’ve found your humor, brother.”
Volik tips his bottle at me.
I kick my pants off my feet.
“Vampire, if I see your dick next, I’m portaling you to Antarctica.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t worry, Druid. I am leaving my drawers on.”
“Drawers.” Volik tips over again.
“Lo siento. Boxer briefs.” I do my best to enunciate the words. But they come out a little slurred.
Free of the material, I roll out my shoulders and push my hair back out of the way.
“Why is everything red?” Dread asks.
Volik answers. “It is his favorite color.” Then he dissolves into laughter, knowing damn well he’s the reason I’m stuck with this as my only set of clothing.
Then I look at Rune’s beautiful red hair. And decide it is my favorite color.
Wanting to have her back in my arms, I drop to the ground, roll back underneath her, then pull her to me as I settle back against the tree.
The gravito around her dissolves, and she makes a soft humming sound as her cheek rests against my bare chest.
Remembering my bottle of rum, I grab it from where it’s hovering and take another swallow. “I accidentally sank a pirate ship full of rum once.”
“How accidentally?” Volik asks me.
“Truly. I was angry about… I don’t remember. And my hands got too hot while I was moving barrels.”
A handful of my gravito turns white as it forms a tiny explosion before me.
I nod. “Like that.”
“She is all vampire now.” Volik nods toward Rune. “So she will take the information better than Nix did. You must tell her.”
“I know.” I close one eye while I focus on keeping my heart steady. “Dread, I would like more rum.”
Instead of arguing, he disappears. Probably happy for a reason to get away.
Volik asked me a simple question, but it led to me telling him everything our parents ever told me about mates. And everything else I’d heard while traveling. Like the supercharged feeling after drinking your mate’s blood. And how their taste is special, in more ways than one.
Gold flashes, and the druid is back with us. “You’ll have to share this one. It’s the last of what I have made.” He tosses it underhand toward me.
I lift a hand and yank it into my palm with gravito.
“It is just us,” Volik says evenly. “If you wanted to let go, you could.”
I blink at him. Then I see he’s talking to Dread.
The druid lifts a brow. “We can’t all be drunk. Plus, you two have almost finished that last bottle.”
“Nyet.” Volik shakes his head slowly. “Let go of your magic, Druid.”
Dread’s brows drop. “What do you mean?”
Volik taps a finger to his ear. “I can hear it.”
I tilt my head, trying to listen.
The druid makes a face. “What—”
“Shh.” I shush him. “I’m trying to hear.”
“Hear what?” The druid sounds way too sober.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
“The magic,” Volik whispers too.
“What does it sound like?” I lean forward, still hugging Rune.
“Sounds like a dense beehive.”
“Dense?” I ask, not understanding.
“Da. Kind of like…” Volik hums and purrs at the same time. “A normal druid.” He pauses. Being dramatic.
I snicker.
Dread sighs.
Volik starts over. “A normal druid.”
I snicker again.
Dread shakes his head.
“A norm—”
“Quit saying normal like that.” I drop back against the tree, chest shaking, on the verge of one of those uncontrollable laughs.
“Fine,” Volik heaves out. “A regular druid.” I snort. But Volik keeps talking. “Sounds like a single bee inside a box. But this druid does not sound like that. He sounds like a dense beehive. Lots of bees in a box.”
We both turn to look at Dread.
He stares back.
“Well?” I ask.
“Well, what?” He lifts his hands and drops them to his lap. “You didn’t ask a question. And I’m not made of fucking bees. So…”
I grin, imagining if he was.
“So.” Volik doesn’t let it go. “I want to know how powerful you are.”
I nod, agreeing with my brother.
What I saw him do was beyond rare. And I already knew it would take a lot of power. But… I hear it now.
I hear the bees.
“Can you release them?” I tilt my head as I listen to the compressed buzzing magic that’s seeping out of the druid. “Can you open the beehive?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Would you idiots quit talking like I’m full of bees.”
“No.” Volik leans forward. “Release them, Druid. Let the bees fly.”
That itch to laugh forever scratches at my throat. “Come on, Dreaded One.” He snaps his attention to me. “We are friends now.”
“And friends show friends their bees.” Volik is leaning so far forward he has his elbows on the ground.
The start of a laugh bubbles in my chest. “Sit back.” I swipe a hand in his direction. And my gravito presses against Volik’s chest, making him sit up.
Volik shoves at the cloud.
It turns red.
“Favorite color.” He snickers.
With his guard down, I add force, slamming him back against his tree.
He lifts a hand to retaliate, but Dread stops him.
“Fine. I’ll show you.”
“The bees?” I ask.
Volik presses a hand over his mouth, but his whole body is shaking.
“I’ll let my magic out, but you need to finish that bottle.”
Volik and I both sit up straight.
I glance at the half-full bottle in my hand. “Why do we have to finish the rum?”
Volik smirks. “This is when he says I could tell you, but I would have to kill you.”
Dread shakes his head. “You watch too many movies, Vampire.”
My brother narrows his eyes. “How do you know that?”
The druid holds his gaze. “I could tell you. But I would have to kill you.”
Volik grins.
“If anybody could…” I stage-whisper to my brother.
Volik nods his agreement. The druid who makes vampire killers would be the most qualified to use one.
I lift the bottle and take three large swallows. Then I hand it to Volik.
He chugs the rest, sets the bottle in the grass, and holds his arms out. “Release the bees!”
Dread rolls his eyes. “How are you two the most feared beings in all the world?”
We both grin.
Dread closes his eyes and inhales.
His chest remains still as he holds his breath.
One heartbeat. Two.
His eyes open. They’re glowing so incredibly bright I have to squint. They’re almost white.
Then he exhales.
And it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.