The danger, here, might be him.
A throat cleared from outside, and Reaper slid into view, one shoulder peeling off the wall as though he had been there some time. Which, damn him, he likely had.
Drake stiffened, temper sparking swift and hot. “What the devil are you doing eavesdropping?”
Reaper shot back, “What are you doing dallying when we should be clearing out?” His gaze flicked pointedly between them. “Save the flirting for another hour.”
“Who’s flirting?” Drake snapped.
“I am not flirting,” Violet shot back at the same instant.
Their eyes met.
Reaper chuckled. “Then I digress. You are most certainly, unmistakably,notflirting.”
Violet snorted. “I would never flirt with a brute.”
Drake snorted in response, and the compulsion caught him unaware. It was beneath him. Bloody undignified. And it earned him a glare. A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him. Devil take it. Not again.
Not. Again.
He swayed, catching himself on the edge of the table.
Violet’s brows furrowed, threading with concern. “Drake?”
“What’s wrong?” Reaper asked, stepping forward.
“Nothing,” Drake bit out, blasting an oath at his body. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine,” Violet said flatly. She turned on Reaper. “He fainted earlier.”
“Damn it,” Drake snapped, trying hard to push the haze aside. “I did not faint.”
Her brow arched. “Collapsed and lost consciousness? Forgive me, Lord Strong, but that is called a faint.”
He swore softly. “The pain got the better of me.” Amongst other things. He suspected he was still not thinking straight at the moment.
“Is it getting the better of you now?” Violet asked, her fingers circling his elbow. Did she know what she was doing?
“Frère.”
“Leave it, Reaper,” Drake growled. “I’m fine.”
Another figure appeared in the doorway. Knight. “There are scouts outside,” he informed.
Reaper’s face twisted, half turning to Knight. “Didn’t we deal with them all?”
Knight shook his head once. “It seems a nest has been unleashed. Quite the enemy you have courted.”
“Then shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?” Violet asked, concerned.
Knight’s gaze flicked to the room, to Drake, to the door. “It’s best to defend from a position of strength. We know nothing of this house.”
Drake flinched at the jab. “We return to the tavern.”
He straightened, intending to move. One step. That was all he managed. The room tilted sharply, the edges of it blurring as though someone had struck the world at an angle. Sound dulled. The candlelight dimmed. Irritation at his body’s failure chafed at him, but even that frustration came sluggish. He blinked once. Twice.
Drake cursed.
