Page 97 of Vervain

“I’m usually more composed,” he growls. My body jolts as the wall tiles crack under the pressure he exerts against them. Then, after a heated breath, his arms slacken, and I slide into Serun’s lap. Pearly red eyes come into focus, and he leans in, his hands sliding up my back, lifting my gown and gripping my tattoo. “My eternal consort,” he purrs.

My breath comes out in shudders against his bloody mouth. “You’re going to stop, aren’t you?”

“Heh…” he grunts a laugh and leans back, resting his palms against the floor. “You’re a quick learner, kamai.”

“Is it because you’re a virgin?”

His eyes widen a fraction, and he tilts his head back and arches his chin. “Kin nire zuta ko till gie hon ko bonbe sen ga, kamai,” he says, his smirk broadening maliciously.

“No Daryun,” I demand.

“Come to my deathbed when we return to the Undercity, and I will show you what this means. Until then…” He grips my hips and lifts me off him. “You need to eat, and we need to rest.”

Lust shatters, and my stomach grumbles, signalling my hunger.

We leave the bathroom and hear Olivia muttering complaints in the darkness. “Penumbra and I are sleeping over here tonight if you two are going to fuck.”

I scan the dark, finding her sitting in the furthest corner, glaring at us.

“I forgot how loud humans pant,” she says.

I bite my lip and make my way over to the bag to find something to eat.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

AMBUSCADE

Saya Claymore

A clattering sound causes my ears to prick up. I rise from my resting place on Serun’s chest and stare at the door Olivia barricaded. Fingers curling around the fabric of Serun’s shirt, I lean further towards the door and turn my head to focus my hearing in one ear.

Another clatter, as if something was knocking around cans. A rat, maybe?

Exhaling my held breath, I rest my head back on Serun’s chest when a snort comes from the other side of the door. I sit upright.

“Find anything, Scout?”

Fuck! I touch Serun’s face, my thumbs swiping underneath his eyes. “Nightwalker, you need to wake up.”

Nothing.

I shake his shoulders, my focus snapping to the door, then back to Serun’s corpse. “Serun, please wake up!”

Still nothing. He is out like a light. The sun must be up, and whatever spell it has on nightwalkers isn’t going to fucking do anything. I don’t know where Penumbra is, or if they only appear when Serun is awake.

I’ll need to do this myself.

With a click of my tongue, I slide away from Serun, grab his arm, and drag him towards the bathroom. I grunt at how heavy he is. It is literally like dragging a damn corpse.

Fucking nightwalkers.

I give one last pull until he is in the bathroom before I scan the dark again. Olivia is on the other side of the storage room, sleeping in a tipped-over crate, curled up like a ball.

“Is something in there, girl?” a gruff voice says.

My hand goes to my pendant, gripping it tight, remembering the people I’ve lost. Determination burns in my mind, and I run to Olivia. My ears bend back at the shake of the doorknob, but I don’t stop. I grab Olivia’s arm, drag her out of the crate, and pull her up on my back like I used to do with Cole. She’s heavier than he was, but she isn’t Serun.

I run across the storage room when a loud bang shudders the door. By the time I reach the bathroom with Olivia, the door splinters and metal clinks on the ground. I slump her down beside Serun before closing the door, then crouching over him protectively. I reach up, grip the handle of my sword, and slowly slide it from its sheath. My heart pounds but resolve blankets my mind.