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“Well, I can be scarier than any vampire.” Sky stomped across the room and grabbed Nolan’s wrist as he stepped in front of him. “Is it safe to assume that Nolan will be free if I kill Christoph?”
“What?” Nolan shrieked. The edges of his vision were turning black and the room wobbled.Did Sky really just suggest murder to get him free?
“Yep, that would do it.”And Winter didn’t sound bothered by that idea at all!
People made crazy comments like that all the time, but sweet, tender Sky sounded completely serious about hunting down and killing Christoph Sandor.
The living room spun, blurring in front of his eyes. He didn’t recognize the world he lived in any longer. Vampires, witches, underworld minions, carnivorous plants that ate smelly pickles. How was he supposed to survive in a mess like this?
“Whoa! Nolan doesn’t look so hot.” Fox’s words sounded like they traveled a long tunnel before reaching his ears.
“Here, sweetheart. You need to sit.” Sky tightened his hold on his wrist and gripped his arm with his other hand, ushering him over to his chair. He sat heavily, and the air flowed more easily into his lungs.
Nolan blinked and stared into Sky’s wide green eyes as the witch kneeled on the floor in front of him.
“Are you okay? Do you need some water? Is your blood sugar low? I’ve got some orange juice.”
Just that easily, some of the fog cleared from his brain. The room slowed until it became still. How could one person make everything better? Easier? As if all he needed to do was hold Sky’s hand and let the witch guide him through the insanity.
“No. I’ll be okay. I…this is all overwhelming.”
Sky gathered up both of his hands and vigorously rubbed his palms across Nolan’s fingers, as if trying to warm them. They were icy against Sky’s warmth. When had that happened?
The witch lifted their hands to his lips and he blew into the cavern he formed, warming his fingers more with the hot air.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get all bloodthirsty on you. Christoph is pissing me off, and it’s making me speak without thinking,” Sky grumbled.
“Thank you. I appreciate your concern. I do.”
“What about your father?” Fox suddenly chimed in. They all glanced over at the red-haired witch, who was sitting on the sofa and idly strumming his bottom lip with one finger as he stared off.
“What do you mean?” Winter prodded.
Fox shrugged. “Just that Aiden is not only the king, but he’s really freaking old. He’s got to be older than Christoph. Can’t Aiden heal the wound or at least force Christoph to heal the bite, releasing Nolan?”
Winter wrinkled his nose before snagging Fox’s finger. He leaned over, delivering a brief but brutal kiss. “Don’t play with that. It’s mine,” he mumbled and turned to the rest of them as if nothing happened. “Age has no bearing here. He can’t heal the wound simply because he’s older and more powerful. He could kill Christoph easily enough, but as the king, he’s got to watch how often he does that.”
His mate nodded and hummed. “True. True. Kind of detracts from his benevolent ruler image.”
“However, he can oversee a mediation between Nolan and Christoph. If it’s revealed that Nolan never agreed to be Christoph’s pet or even understood what he was agreeing to in the first place, Father can demand that Christoph release Nolan.”
“That!” Sky suddenly shouted.
Winter nodded. “I get it. You want to call in your favor.”
“Yes!”
“What favor?” Nolan interjected, finally understanding one small part of all of this.
“It’s payment for getting rid of a ghost for a member of his clan. No big deal,” Sky quickly said, but Nolan didn’t buy it. A favor to get in to see a king. That couldn’t be a simple thing to get, and Sky was going to toss that aside?
Winter leaned forward and smirked. “No favor necessary. My father needs to know about this. He wants to get rid of pets, but it’s difficult. The concept has been around for as long as there have been vampires. Most won’t give it up.”
“Yeah, he’s introduced new rules that humans have to agree to be a pet and they have to be told what they will be required to do,” Fox chimed in. “He even wants to come up with a contract for pets to sign, but they’re still working on all the legal language.”
Nolan tightly squeezed Sky’s fingers, a lump forming in his throat. “You think he’ll be able to help me?”
Winter smiled, and for the first time, it seemed comforting and warm. “Yeah, I do.” The vampire and his mate stood. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at Fox, who nodded once, before looking at Nolan again. “We still have a few hours until sunrise. Fox and I will pop by my father’s home and talk to him. With any luck, we can schedule a meeting with him in the next night or two. In the meantime, I’m assuming Nolan can stay here with you, Sky?”
