Would she even reach the end of the competition before the cat started the dark slide into madness? She’d already curbed the instinct to claim her mate for months. How much longer could her feline half endure the distance wedged between her and Lucan? Days? Weeks?
A cool tease of sun-kissed ice caressed the back of her neck. A moment later Lucan materialized in the room as though he’d sensed someone talking about him.
“See.” The huntress laughed, and lowered her arms just long enough for Briana to strike.
Wood met wood as Nessa pivoted at the last second, her leg swinging around in a vicious roundhouse that nailed Briana in the chest.
Momentarily stunned, she tightened her hand around the staff and managed to regain her balance. And then Nessa was on her, the huntress’s staff jammed against the back of her neck where a strike with the right amount of force could take out Briana’s central nervous system, leaving her incapacitated.
Nessa stepped back, helping Briana up.
Nessa’s staff connected with hers. “If I was a bigger person and dancing on snow covered mountains in hell I might actually feel bad long enough to offer him a vein.”
Focusing on the fight and not the hunger that continued to gnaw at her, she brought her staff down, catching Nessa behind the back of her heel.
The huntress stumbled but bounced right back to her feet. “I’m not the only one thinking about it.”
From the corner of her eye, Briana watched the enchantress approach Lucan. “Does it hurt?”
Lucan didn’t even spare her a glance.
“When you drink from someone?”
“If I want it to.” His eyes darkened, the wraith rising close to the surface. Likely in attempt to discourage the conversation.
The enchantress didn’t seem to take the hint. “Maybe we could work out an arrangement. We both have needs that need to be met.”
Blood for sex?
Briana’s feline half raked its claws, snarling when the distraction landed her on her back. She hadn’t even made the conscious decision to shift forms before her skin tingled with the change, bones and muscle realigning.
She sprang at Nessa.
Taken by surprise, Nessa hit the mat, pinned in place by the massive paws. Worry flashed in her eyes. “B?”
She snarled, much too close to sinking her teeth into her friend’s neck. Horrified, she backed off, bolting for the door and pausing just long enough to snap hers jaws at the enchantress.
The other immortal jumped, but wisely didn’t retreat behind Lucan, as though she knew that was all it would take to set Briana off.
Lucan didn’t come looking for her until she’d returned to her room and shifted back to her human form. Damp from the fight and the cold sweat she’d broken into when she realized how close she’d come to attacking her friend, she jumped in the shower.
By the time she’d finished, her aggression had abated, but not the feverish rush of blood pumping through her.
She’d only just turned off the water when she heard Lucan enter her bedroom, but she took her time drying off. Taking a calming breath, she emerged from behind the decorative partition that served as another illusion for a modern bathroom, complete with a ceramic tile shower big enough for an entire sports team and a massive tub.
“Isn’t it feeding time?”
Lucan’s gaze never left her face, but she could swear she felt it caress every part of her not hidden by the towel. “Maybe that’s why I’m here.”
Her insides trembled, thinking about the alley and the trace of fear that had coursed through her when his teeth had brushed her neck. More troubling though was the hot, tease of excitement that simmered low in her belly.
She picked clean clothes from the wardrobe stocked with everything in her size. “Sorry. Not interested in being your blood buddy.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You know that’s not what I want.”
She honestly didn’t know what he wanted. He’d told her numerous times that she was better off keeping her distance, and yet he continued to keep a close eye on her. Because he still felt like he owed her brothers?
She folded her arms, waiting.
“I wanted to check on you, that’s all. You didn’t seem like yourself in the training room.”
Had he come to that conclusion before or after she nearly ripped out her friend’s throat? “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought you did.”
It was easier to believe that than have him stand there, his expression understanding, while guilt churned in her stomach. There wasn’t a single thing okay about what she’d almost done to Nessa and she couldn’t handle talking about it to him of all people.
“You looked like you did in the parking lot, with the redhead,” he added, as if she’d forgotten.
She kept her back to him. “And?”
He blew out a breath. “I should go.”
Although he looked and sounded as frustrated as she felt, she didn’t try to stop him. “Maybe you should take the enchantress up on her offer.” She made herself face him. “Unless you want to wait for the bloodlust to take over.”
“You wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
She cocked her head. “What happened to me being the easiest to hurt?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Right.” She didn’t wait for him to clarify, and he didn’t volunteer. She turned away, then changed her mind, needing to know one more thing. “Why did you keep it? The Blade of the Black Heart.”
She’d assumed he’d returned the sword to Constantine when she’d left it behind, not wanting any reminders of her and Lucan’s time together. She hadn’t seen the weapon since that night—until Lucan had held it to Vaughn’s throat in the courtyard.
“As a reminder.”
“A reminder of…” she prompted, when he didn’t elaborate, the cat’s aggression prickling her insides.
“What I’m capable of.” About to leave, his fingers curled around the open door. His eyes, though, remained watchful, his body coiled like he was about to stride across the room and pull her into his arms.
She just didn’t know what he planned to do when he had her there.
And then he was gone, the door sliding shut, leaving her with only the tears she refused to cry.
Alone in Pendragon’s, Tristan stared at the glass in his hand, both halves of him aching for his mate. Kennedy had talked him into letting her look into Briana’s disappearance alone, insisting she’d get further with her family without him glowering over her shoulder at her brother the whole time.
As if it was Tristan’s fault her brother was an ass.
“You’re understandably stressed, but rearranging Dolan’s face for him won’t help us find Briana,” she’d said, then with a kiss that was more to distract him than placate him, she’d vanished.
He hadn’t wanted to let her go any more than the first time she’d crossed the veil, after she’d bargained with a Fae to save his life. If he’d known how that was going to turn out… He slumped on the stool knowing he still would have done everything exactly the same.
Whatever it took to keep his mate safe.
Pouring another drink—his fourth if he’d been keeping track—he almost dropped the bottle at the fierce rub of the cat along the inside of his skin. He pivoted, and then Kennedy was in his arms. Legs looped around his waist, she nearly strangled him with her embrace, her mouth finding his.
