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I lifted my head and grimaced. “Old habits and all that.”
Cassandra looked at me, then her gaze skittered across Benedict to Talon and she paled slightly. “I’ll be available should you need anything else, Lyric.” She offered our queen a smile and all but ran back to the Domum.
“Mate,” Jocelyn said with a sly smile, sliding into Benedict’s arms and leaning up for a kiss, which he returned.
Huh. Maybe living forever didn’t feel so…pointless when mated. All the assassins seemed not only content, but deliriously happy with the females in their lives. Even Hawke smiled every now and again.
“Cassandra again?” Benedict asked, keeping his arm around his mate’s waist after pulling back.
“She’s been helpful with the nobles,” Lyric answered. “As much as the usuals at court have grown accustomed to having a human queen—”
“You’re no longer human,” Benedict argued.
“Be that as it may, some of the nobles who have been taking shelter with us since the attacks increased take direction from Cassandra easier, and honestly, I really don’t mind delegating.” Lyric shrugged.
“I worry that someone who betrayed you once will do it again,” Talon said, folding his arms across his chest and staring at Cassandra’s retreating back.
“She was more petty to me than treasonous,” Lyric reminded him. “It was her father who betrayed us. Betrayedyou.”
“She has brothers,” Jocelyn said quietly, moving to the queen’s side. “The king may have killed her father—with good reason, of course—but she wouldn’t do anything that risks the lives of her brothers.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see,” Talon remarked. “Trust me, there’s a reason the most beautiful creatures in the animal kingdom hold such allure. To entice and trap their victims.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lyric promised as she headed toward the house with Jocelyn at her side.
A laugh escaped me, coming out like a snort before I could stop it as the females walked away.
“Seriously?” Talon asked.
“You think Cassandra’s pretty, my brother.” I grinned, giving my brother shit even though I’d already had the thought.
“Fuck off.” He flipped me the bird and followed the queen.
Benedict stared at me, his brow furrowed in thought.
“What is it truth-teller?” I asked.
“You’ve said that twice about Talon,” he mused. “That he’s your brother.”
“They all are.” I cocked a brow at the assassin. “Zachariah, Dagon, even Saint.”
“Just don’t forget that we are, too.” He backed up a few steps then turned to walk into the residence. “Oh, and since Dagon and Saint didn’t exactly leave their plans outlined, you’re free the rest of the night,” he called back over his shoulder.
I checked my watch. It was a little after midnight, and I was free? I should take the time to feed, but sinking my fangs into one of the human necks inside the Domum wasn’t appealing.
I knew exactly where I wanted to be.
* * *
Driving was definitelythe best part of living in this century. The engine of the Range Rover purred as I followed the map on the glowing screen, taking the turns the computer told me to.
I would have much rather wended, but our powers were limited to the places we’d been before, and I’d certainly never been to this particular location. It was a neighborhood deep within human territory with houses that I knew wereCraftsmansdue to Dagon’s fixation with HGTV while we were coming out of stasis.
Finding the address I’d retrieved from an online database, I parked down the street so I didn’t scare Grace.
I just wanted to walk by her house to make sure that nothing was amiss. She was so full of life, so intent on living to the fullest that I couldn’t stomach the thought of her being hurt, or worse, her life being cut short.
Shoving the key into my pocket, I walked the uneven pavement of her neighborhood, taking note of where the roots of trees had lifted and cracked the cement with their growth over the years. The night was soft as a lover around me, the sound of crickets making me smile.
