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Yet in the same way Fulton was uneasy, Griffin kept his eye on Fulton. If the mastyr indicated in the smallest way he was going into the fortress, Griffin would be on his ass. The moment Fulton got near Sandra, he’d be all over her. He’d heard the gossip, but that wasn’t how he knew what would happen. He could feel it in every bone of his body, the blood rose call on him, to get back to her, to be with her. And every mastyr would feel this way once they’d gotten close to Sandra.
As Griffin used his bread to clean up the last of the beans, he leaned his head back to stare up at the night sky. As he did, he began to see something he’d never noticed before, a strange mist high in the air hung over the entire camp.
Without having to be told, he knew he was seeing the actual physical structure of Margetta’s spell, the one that had disguised the Ancient Fae’s army from anyone passing nearby. He’d never seen the mist before. But he knew his ability to do so was another indication his recent engagement with Sandra had changed something in him forever.
Because he hadn’t been paying attention to Fulton, the kick came out of nowhere, stunning him. Fulton made it a good one too, knocking Griffin’s tin plate from his hands as his heavy boot landed on Griffin’s jaw. He flew back several feet.
Griffin levitated swiftly in response and knew Fulton was winding up his battle energy. He felt his own rise in response. It hummed to the surface and flowed in waves down his arms, more powerful than Griffin had ever known before. Without a shred of doubt, Griffin knew he could kill Fulton right now if he wanted to.
But if he did, he jeopardized his own life as well as Sandra’s. It was well known she’d fed him and his sudden increase in power would be talked about everywhere.
However, he couldn’t keep taking Fulton’s beatings, especially not tonight. He needed to be in top form.
As soon as Fulton released his battle energy from the palms of his hands, Griffin met that energy. His blue Guardsman power crashed into Fulton’s red power, the color a sign that Fulton had given himself to Margetta and would soon have a wraith-mate.
A crowd gathered and wraiths flew above the battle, shrieking loudly. The shouting started, an Invictus roar that brought more and more of the wraith-pairs close to watch the fight.
But the moment he felt Fulton’s power begin to thin, Griffin dialed his own down, matching him. He had to do his feigning act again, powering down in stages and acting like he was dead on his feet.
Once Fulton had drawn in his battling power, he came at Griffin with his fists. He let loose with a powerful right. Griffin took it hard on the chin, his head bobbing back. But he answered with a right hook then a low punch to Fulton’s stomach.
Fulton doubled over. Griffin chopped the back of his neck and shoulders and Fulton fell to the grass. Griffin could have followed up with a series of painful kicks to his ribs, but instead knew he needed to pretend he was in a lot of pain from the blows Fulton had already delivered. He bent over at the waist and held a hand to his face. He sent healing energy to his jaw and his cheek.
Fulton was on his feet and leaped on Griffin’s back, punching him in the side of the head. Griffin started spinning fast and threw Fulton onto several wraith-pairs. The crowd was hopped up, so they simply threw Fulton back in Griffin’s direction.
Fulton levitated, catching his forward momentum and dropping down once more in front of Griffin.
The air however began to crackle, as a new entity arrived, one with more power than both vampires combined.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Margetta’s voice rolled over the crowd. Turning, Griffin saw that the Ancient Fae had arrived, looking dressed for a ball.
Silence fell hard and fast, along with a heavy dose of fear, and the crowd began to dissipate quickly. Margetta would be happy to punish the bystanders as well as those brawling.
With only Fulton and Griffin left, Margetta waved her hand back and forth between them. “What are you two doing? You’re supposed to be training my army.”
Fulton snorted. “Something’s off with Griffin. He’s not himself and I don’t trust it.”
Griffin had to play this smart. If Margetta figured it out, she’d make it impossible for him to get back to Sandra. Hell, she’d probably give Sandra to Fulton. A mastyr bonded to a blood rose, and under Margetta’s control, would be a huge boon to her army, even more than if the mastyr was Invictus bound to a wraith.
Margetta drew near Griffin. He forced himself to stay calm, though he nearly lost it when she sniffed his skin. “You smell familiar to me. Like … ” Her expression softened. “Well, well, well, you smell like sage, like a certain kind of soap one of the house slave uses.”
He knew she was referring to Sandra. Sweet Goddess, the woman’s scent was all over him.
Margetta smiled. “She told me she has a new soap. So what I’d like to know is how you happen to have her soap on you?”
The images of having made love to Sandra, and catching what he now knew to be her blood rose scent of rosemary and sage, rolled through his mind.
Would Margetta figure it out?
Goddess help Sandra if she did.
He decided to tell her a partial truth. “I fucked the woman, okay? I was in the fortress and it happened. She said she’d feed me after Fulton here gutted me earlier in the evening, and I took advantage of her. I wouldn’t call it rape, exactly. But we were in her bedroom and I used her shower after the fact. She has a soap in there. Maybe that’s what you’re smelling.”
At that, Margetta chortled. “Finally, the woman got laid. I knew she seemed different. I’ve been telling her for years to take a lover. Guess she was waiting for you. Of course you snuck one in under the wire; Sandra’s going to be wraith-bonded just before dawn. I’m planning a special ceremony because she was always a favorite.”
She turned tow
ard Fulton. “And no more attacks on Griffin. I’ll be getting you both bonded off to wraiths in the next couple of nights.”
