“You know my mother died when I was very young,” I began haltingly.
Her face still stained my memory, her final sigh of relief as she left me behind… The promise of tears stung the corners of my eyes before I took a grounding breath.
“She was murdered.” My fingers moved to form the words. Zane came over to stand behind my chair and rubbed my shoulders as I aired out the past. “My father always viewed me as a dirty-blooded burden, a disappointment he couldn’t rectify. Since Nemea forbade him from turning me into his proper heir, he didn’t bother to pretend otherwise. It was Razira who stepped up to raise me after that.”
I hated him. Remember when I rubbed down every doorknob with a wool cloth? He would grab them and get zapped,Finn sign.
“You did what?” Zane asked incredulously.
I snorted, picturing Prince Lazreal’s usually unreadable face pulled in a sneer of disgust. The memory of his hair standing on end only made it worse. Finn and I dissolved together into a fit of laughter.
I wiped the tears of mirth from my eyes. “Razira covered for Finn, so my father never learned it was him,” I said, mostly to Zane. “She looked after all of the servant kids when she could.”
Cracking up again, I added to Finn,Remember when Razira gave you a wool scarf on your next birthday?
I miss when she had a sense of humor,he signed back, nodding.
“Wasn’t she the one who taught you how to fight?” he asked.
“Amongst other things. How to fight, how to dance, how to go unseen by the vampires here.” I leaned my head back to look at Zane, relaxing with his fingers easing the tension from my shoulders. “What I’m saying is I know Razira.”
“You used to know her,” he countered.
“I knew her before she was a vampire, just like I know you.” I dropped my voice, looking into his amber-brown eyes. They were not much different than they used to be when they were softer, mortal. “She was tortured too. Underneath everything is still the person I know. I saw her tonight.”
Pain shadowed his face. I reached up to brush my thumb over his cheek, wanting to wipe away the memories I’d just stirred in him. “It’s not like you to assume the best in people,” he murmured.
“I’ve only done it once or twice.”
The apple in his throat bobbed as I traced the bold lines of his face. “How is that going for you?”
“So far, so good.” I smiled up at him. He made a noise low in his throat and bent, pressing a kiss to my lips sideways.
With a sigh, I added, “But we also need to focus on what’s next. We’re running out of time to capture someone for the Trial of the Nemesis.”
“How long do we have?” Zane asked.
“A week. Less now.”
I sent rats to the House of Whispers earlier to scout. It is far away, and they have not come back yet,Finn signed.
“That means we have time to work through my kill list. We’re going after Lorelei tonight.” My pulse quickened at the thought of ending her.
Zane lifted a brow. “Tonight?”
“Yes. No one looks twice at a new Devotion?—”
“Sunshine.” The nickname was weighed with uncertainty. “You’ve just escaped that maze and the Flask’s judgment. Isn’t this too soon?”
I rose, placing my fingers on his chin. “They expect us hidden behind closed doors, consumed by the bond.” I traced his lips as they pulled into a smug smile and leaned in until we shared breath. “Ravaged by desire, not gearing up for battle.”
His amber-brown smolder had my knees feeling weak. “And you would prefer killing this vampiress to being ravaged?”
“No, but it needs to be done.”
Zane inspected me in disbelief. The movement of Finn’s hands drew my attention.We could still stay in this bed and finish devouring one another.Finn grinned and waggled his brows.
Longing flared within me, settling low in my belly with languid heat. I wanted more than anything to sink into the raw temptation of them and never surface. I kept my face turned toward Finn so he could read my lips. “This is our best chance. We strike while they think we’re blind to the world.”
