My knees collide with stone.
The very human sound is snipped like a blown candle flame, but still the wail echoes in my mind, joining a chorus of phantom cries that ripple up from my internal chasm.
Not real. All in my head.
But that initial sound ...
There’s a Vruk down there somewhere, and Rhordyn needs to know.
I stumble to my feet and stagger inside, snatching my robe off the bed on my way past. I’m nearing the bottom of Stony Stem when Baze’s voice chisels the air, and I stop short of the doorway to the fifth floor corridor, back pressed against the wall.
“It’s an entire pack. Shattered a hole in the fence and tore through that small village on the outskirts of Lorn. The sprite said it was over before anyone even knew it had started.”
There’s a responding grunt that’s like an ice-pick chipping off parts of me, and I slide into a slab of shadow I doubt will cloak the scent of my pheromones, but it’s worth a shot.
I hear a lock clanking, a door dragging open, heavy footsteps that still too quickly. I don’t have to peek around the corner to know where they are. There’s onlyonedoor opposite the base of Stony Stem—the lonesome one that has borne the unsuccessful brunt of my hairpin too many times to count.
“Fuck. You didn’t tell me it was this bad.”
“It’s not your concern,” Rhordyn says, his voice nothing short of lethal.
Something inside me goes deathly still.
“Rhor ...”
“No.”
Baze clears his throat, and even from here I can feel tension stiffening the air. “Well, why don’t you as—”
“Donotfinish that sentence, Baze. I refuse to take more than the bare minimum. End of conversation.”
I peel off the wall, arching like a flower seeking the sun.
Baze is emerging through the doorway, eyes heavy as though he hasn’t slept in days. Rhordyn appears next, wearing his signature black pants and a loose button-down rolled to his elbows, hair pushed back from the chiseled structure of his face.
The vision of him has hot blood rushing to my lower abdomen; has me biting my lips shut to trap the mortifying moan that’s sitting on my tongue.
He begins to push the door closed, and I stretch a little further, squinting, trying to see what lies within the hollow of darkness that’s swiftly disappearing.
He pauses, chest expanding, head snapping to the side. A growl rumbles out of him, almost tangible, and he slams the door shut—his muscles seeming to press against the confines of his shirt.
Baze curses below his breath, and I dart back, fusing with the puddle of shadow.
“You go,” Baze snips. “I’ll deal withthat.”
“Not a single fucking finger,” Rhordyn grits out, and something about the cut of his tone has that fire scalding me with a whole new level of heat.
My lids flutter closed and a dewy bead darts down my temple. My fingers itch to reach between my legs and press into the source of wetness I can feel slicking my inner thighs.
“You forget I rather value my cock,” Baze replies with a jovial tone that sounds forced.
There’s an awkward beat of silence, the clank of a lock sliding into place, before footsteps assault the rock and taper off. When I can no longer hear any sign of life, I peek around the corner, squealing when I see Baze reclined against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles, arms knotted over his chest. A lounging predator with a bemused expression on his face.
“You scared me!” I shriek, hand slapped across the hammering organ in my chest. “You should try breathing louder. I can’t tell you how much it would benefit my nerves.”
“You’re supposed to be in your tower.”
I peep down to make sure all my bits are covered before mirroring his stance, stifling a moan when the action brushes my pinched, tender nipples. “I heard sounds. In the forest.”
