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“At the ball,” Scathanna said, a wicked gleam in her dark eyes.
“Ball?” I asked, twisting in my seat for the first time to look at Carnon.
“Oh, was it a surprise?” Scathanna said in mock apology. “I’m so sorry. You should be the one to tell her, of course, my King.”
Carnon pursed his lips, eyes flashing in anger at Scathanna.
“Tomorrow night,” he agreed, lifting me gently and standing behind me, one hand on my waist and the other on my upper arm. I resisted rolling my eyes at this show of possessiveness. “I will instruct Lucifer to show you to your rooms.” He turned to Herne, voice still stiff and formal. “Will Cerridwen be joining you?”
Herne nodded.
Carnon remained tense, looking at his friend unsmiling. “We will all dine together tonight,” he said, nodding to the others. “Lucifer will provide details.”
“I look forward to it,” Tyr replied, fixing his eyes on me. They were a bright green like Carnon’s, but without the serpentine slits. “I hope your lady will do the honor of sitting next to me.”
Carnon said nothing, and the room seemed to wait for me to respond.
“It would be a pleasure,” I said flatly.
Tyr grinned, and I couldn’t help noticing that he, like most male demons, was very attractive. He had a strong jaw like Carnon’s, with well shaped lips. He was less broad than Carnon, but it spoke to agile grace rather than weakness.
Carnon rumbled a low growl and propelled me from the room, Akela following on our heels.
“My King,” came Scathanna’s voice from behind us as we exited the chamber into the hallway. Carnon turned me, and Scathanna scowled at his hold. “Might I have a private word?” She glided elegantly toward us, and rested a hand on Carnon’s arm in a proprietary gesture that had me bristling. Carnon looked down at her delicate hand with a raised brow, then back up.
“Later, my Lady,” he replied, sounding far less fierce than he had in front of the other Lords. “If you’ll excuse us.”
“What was that about?” I hissed as he guided me back toward his chambers, his grip on my arm still firm.
“Nothing,” he said, dropping his hand when we reached his doors and leaving my arm cold. “At least, nothing you have to worry about.”
“Nothing?” I asked in disbelief. “I believe I should be worried if my betrothed plans to bed another female.”
Carnon turned, a smirk gracing his face for the first time since the meeting. It loosened something in me and made warmth curl in my gut. “Jealous, Red?” he purred, taking a measured step toward me again.
I wrapped my arms around my bare waist and glowered. “No,” I replied evenly. “But if you want me to play along with you here, you owe me the truth.”
“Scathanna is a nuisance,” he replied, waving a hand dismissively and turning away. “And a viper. That’s all you need to know for now.”
“Do you have a history with her?” I asked, following him as he proceeded to the balcony. A bottle of wine and two glasses had been delivered, and he popped the cork, pouring out the red liquid. Bloodberry.
“Yes,” he said, not looking at me as he poured. His admission quashed the warmth that had pooled and instead filled my veins with an icy rage I couldn’t understand. He turned, offering me a glass.
“It was a long time ago, Red,” he said more gently, clinking his glass against mine. “But she likes to imagine I’ll fall back into her bed at some point.”
“And will you?” I asked, taking a sip as I watched his forked tongue flick over the rim of his glass.
His gaze was heated when he looked at me, that smirk returning to play about his lips.
“There’s only one person’s bed I want to fall into these days,” he said, closing the distance between us. “And I think you know that, Elara.”
“Shame that she doesn’t reciprocate then,” I said, trying to act like what he said didn’t turn that warmth into a blaze inside me. He grinned a little more widely, a hint of fang appearing above his bottom lip. The necklace inexplicably warmed between my breasts.
“Hmm,” he said, leaning in as closely as he could without the blood bargain, back in effect now that we had returned to his room, killing him. He whispered, breath caressing the shell of my ear and causing goosebumps to run down my arms. “I think that perhaps she does.”
Chapter 10
Carnon insisted I spend the afternoon practicing my magic, leaving me several pieces of fruit of different sizes to practice withering and reviving.
