Page 120 of The Incendiary

“They need to know what’s coming,” he answered, his voice solid and unaffected by the blonde’s mouth on his neck. His hooded eyes lingered on me.

“One of Molochai’s beasts? That must have been quite the challenge for a little thing like you.” Micah leaned a little too close.

I forced a smile. “I’ve seen worse.”

“Have you, now?”

I clenched my fists under the table. Should I tell them that I watched the man they feared most snap someone’s neck? That he single-handedly slaughtered an entire band of Insidions like it was second nature? Or should I admit that Molochai himself had tied me naked to a tree and invaded my body with his corrupted shadows? This entire gathering felt like a test.

“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime,” I taunted, eyes darting between them. “Maybe I won’t. It depends on how soundly you wish to sleep at night.”

Either my retort was vague enough to dull their interest or my threat didn’t land, because their conversation shifted to someone’s recent visit to Peradine. A few minutes later, they were discussing what they did after hours, and I tried and failed to block them out.

“I had her bucking underneath me by the time we were done,” one of the men laughed from across the table.

“You know what they say about women from certain seaside cities,” said another. “Always eager to warm a man’s bed.”

I grimaced. Was being a degrading idiot a rite of passage here that I hadn’t been made aware of?

I didn’t care much about what people did for pleasure in Peradine, nor did I care for its reputation, but I had every intention of going there for the enchanted tome I discovered in the library. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’d need it.

“Enough of that,” Elias warned them. He whispered something in the blonde’s ear that made her smile and giggle.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” she crooned, then slid off his lap. She sneered at me as she passed. I took it as a hopeful sign that the evening was nearing its end. I was getting drowsy.

“As of this morning, we’re down a horse, Commander,” someone mentioned.

He frowned and rubbed at his chin. “What happened?”

“Hendrix’s brown stallion. Infection in its back leg. Abram said he’ll do what he can, but it might be lost.”

An uneasy sensation settled in my stomach. Would they kill it? Put it out of its misery? If I could save Shera from near death, I could heal a horse’s infected leg.

“Let me take a look in the morning,” replied Elias.

“I bet Fera rides like a natural. Don’t you, Fera?” Micah grinned at me. “Maybe you’ll let me take you for a ride?”

I blinked a few times, in shock over what I’d just heard, then bit the inside of my cheek to keep from scowling, or worse. If they tried anything, I’d blast them into a wall, burn their hands, or freeze their balls off.

“Don’t be a disgusting ass, and don’t fool around with your peers during assignments,” Elias muttered in half-hearted annoyance. “You know the rules, Sharpe.”

“And shame on you all for speaking that way with a lady present.” Alec Gerard, two spots down, gave me an unnervingly kind smile. “And about her, no less. I give my apologies on their behalf, Fera. And I regret that you and I haven’t been formally introduced.”

Whether or not Gerard’s kindness was well intended, I returned it with a forced smile of my own. Elias tossed back his drink with an air of annoyance. Now that Alec Gerard paid me attention, he cared?

“I prefer men capable of more than floundering on top of me like a spineless fish,” I remarked, aggravated by Elias and not caring whose egos I damaged. “None of you would even know what to do with me.”

Granted, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, either. My experience in this life was lacking. I had been so desperate to give myself to Gavin in Brinnea, in part because I had no doubt he knew exactly what he was doing with me. I’d trusted him.

The memory of his mouth and hands on me had me clenching my thighs together. Five months later, he still had the same effect on me. But thinking of him took me somewhere safe and warm. I didn’t want that feeling here.

I cleared my throat through the awkward silence and looked at Elias to approve my departure. “It’s been lovely meeting you all, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be turning in for the night.”

Elias gave me a firm nod, and I moved fast. I groaned when a long, muscular arm prevented the door from closing.

“Fera.” It was Alec Gerard. “Walk with me?”

The men had already gone back to chatting, laughing, drinking, and gambling. Except for Elias, who was burning holes in the back of Alec’s head with his eyes.