“Traitor,” Raphael grumbled without any heat.
“I like being by the sky. And the ocean.” I cast a secret smile at Raphael, letting him know exactly what I was thinking about. “What really made you push for Raphael to come back this year?” The letter was still in the back of my mind. I had no doubt that Julian had written it, but that still left me with questions.
The brothers exchanged a look. “Someone’s been poking in places he doesn’t belong, looking for relics he can’t use. I was curious if it was just me, or if the western kingdom had faced similar… intrusions. And I did want to meet you, darling Samara. My brother’s new fledgling. To think, he always said he’d never turn another.” Julian shook his head, tsking.
“Things change,” Raphael said.
I imagined my nearly bleeding to death had been that catalyst, but I wondered what had been behind that decision. Raphael had never acted like being a vampire was anything but a boon. He’d acknowledged it was hard for me, particularly, but why wouldn’t he want to create more? Was it the fledgling bond, or something else?
“But not everything,” he continued nonchalantly. “Do you remember the last time you won a match against me?”
Julian narrowed gaze. “I do.”
“When was that?” He managed to sound utterly innocent, but his red eyes sparkled with mirth. I could feel it inside our bond as well, the way he was having fun pushing his brother’s buttons.
“One question per round,” Julian grumbled.
“Must’ve been a long time ago,” he mused.
“I’d have a better shot if you were good for more than one round.” Julian’s gaze flicked to me. “It must be so hard, having a sire who can only last for one round.”
“Your ego probably couldn’t handle losing twice in a row,” I snarked.
He winked at me. “Itisrather large, sweet.”
I giggled, despite myself. But Raphael could feel through the bond he had nothing to be jealous of.
From there, the game unraveled into something that was almost fun.
Julian laughed through the night, to cajole and flirt, but when he finally sank his head onto his hands, I wondered if there wasn’t a look of longing in his eyes as he stared at his brother.
The night ended when Julian had finished more than a dozen goblets of blood mead and slumped against the table.
“Should we get him a blanket?” I whispered to Raphael.
“He won’t catch a chill. Cosette will collect him, I’m sure.”
Still, it didn’t seem right to leave him there. I slipped my shawl off and wrapped it around the unconscious vampire’s shoulders.
I wondered if Raphael would protest, but instead I caught him looking at the scene with a faint smile on his face, and warmth curled in my chest.
He might have tried to kill his brother less than a day ago, but I sensed it—there was true care there. He would have done anything to protect me from Julian, but Julian was still his family.
“We survived.” I wasn’t sure if I meant the dinner or the greater issue of Julian discovering my necromancy. In either case, I could scarcely believe it.
“And we always will.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Amalthea
The trouble with beingan oracle was that one got rather unused to being surprised.
Eka had shown Amalthea none of this. Yes, her visions overall had been… spottier. But something like this surely would’ve warranted a warning.
Thea didn’t waste time with disarming small talk as Quinn led her to the royal wing. The card under her glove burned. But that wasn’t the move, not yet. First she had to understand what had gone wrong, and if she might have another way to fix it that wouldn’t forfeit her only chance at getting the relic. More incriminating was the map. Thea would have to set that up in flames before she let them find it.
The queen’s entry chamber was nearly as large as the throne room. But it was frigid, even with the enchanted cloak Thea had tied around her. Quinn sent her forward, then stood to block the doors behind them.
