by Chloe Adler
“Yes, of course. Will I be able to see my brother soon?”
“Your brother?”
“Rhys.”
The room spins for a moment. I’m so lightheaded I have to sit down on the floor. “Rhys? Rhys is your brother?”
“I thought you knew.” He approaches me slowly, holding out a hand, but I shake my head and his arm drops to his side.
I want to help him but that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with him touching me, and now with the news that he’s Rhys’s brother . . . Why didn’t anyone tell me? My entire body goes cold. Were they trying to protect me or was it a trust issue?
And who cares? This is not news that should have been withheld. They knew Nolan was interested in me. Did they really think I wouldn’t learn of their connection on my own? That it wouldn’t hurt me when I did?
“Iphi?”
“I don’t know, Nolan. We should probably wait to make sure that you’re really free and clear first.” But I know he is. His entire appearance has changed, his demeanor, too. Maybe my current motivation to keep him away from his brother is coming from spite. “How many vampires did you make?”
He shakes his head. “Not vampires. That’s not what they become. I don’t know what they are. But I’m not sure how many. Everyone I drank from turned. Dozens.” His healthy skin grows green again. I’d be worried the spell was unraveling, except it’s simple horror tinting his skin now.
“And where are they? How come more people don’t know about them?”
“A few have stayed in their houses and reported the assaults as animal attacks. Most, though . . . the master takes them for use in his army.”
“And where is he located? Does he have a secret lair?” I’m not sure why I pulled that out but with the word “master” one does think of “lair.”
“No clue.”
He’s not lying. “Right then. It’s time for you to go so we don’t get caught.” Famous last words. I help him to his feet just as the front door to Thorn’s house slams open. Rhys is home, and he’s not happy.
Rhys
Without a second thought, I pounce, throwing my brother to the floor and holding him there.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl. “Iphi, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Get off Nolan. Now!”
I chance a look at her, hands perched on her hips. “I’ll do no such thing. He’s dangerous.” Though he’s not fighting me—he’s completely limp under me on the floor. Because he’s already turned her?
“I’m not anymore. Your girlfriend fixed that. She fixed me,” Nolan pants, gulping in air.
I ease off his chest. Iphi doesn’t look bitten. And Nolan looks fine, not the disfigured wreck in Caspian’s drawing. There are a mess of scars he didn’t have before though. A lot of them. But he’s acting calm. He even makes eye contact with me. It’s his eyes that finally let hope seep in—they’re clear, direct. Not hiding hunger or madness from me. “Nolan? Is that really you? Did you really break the curse?”
“It wasn’t a curse, it was much worse than that. But I’m harmless now. As long as I don’t bite anyone.”
“Which he’s agreed not to.” Iphi crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at me. “Do you want to explain why you failed to mention that he’s your brother?”
I flinch. “I—“ Shit. I run my fingers through my hair. “Iphi—“
She points to her front door. “Out. Now.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
“Fine, then both of you can leave.”
I stall. “Where’s Thorn?”
Her features soften and she runs to the loft, climbing up the ladder. A moment later, she leans down to hand me the sleeping dragon but I have to leave Nolan to grab Thorn.
I glare at my brother. “Why isn’t he waking up?”
“It’s my fault,” his eyebrows draw tightly together, “before Iphi helped with the spell she cast. I’m not sure what I did but . . .”
Iphi steps between us, palms out toward me. “He was being controlled. It wasn’t his fault.”
She’s protecting him? So fiercely, after all the havoc he’s been wreaking? Just more proof of her ginormous heart. “Can you do anything to help Thorn?”
“I could try.”
“It’ll wear off in about an hour,” says Nolan. “Whenever I use that crazy staff, the spells don’t last for long.”
“You came in here with a magic staff? To hurt my girl? To make her a ghoul?” I growl, taking a step closer even though Iph still stands between us. “And then you hurt Thorn?”
Nolan flinches. I don’t know why I’m listening to these lies. My brother already attacked Iphi twice and tried a third time while I wasn’t home to protect her. He may have hurt Thorn with some unknown spell.
“Shhh, Rhys, it’s okay.” Iphi leans in, one hand going to my chest, her voice calm and coaxing. “I already told you. Nolan came to me for help. He never hurt me. He never even wanted to hurt me. He just needed my help. I’m all right. I was never in any danger. I’m not a g-ghoul.”
I know what she’s doing, with her low and easy voice, the soothing hand rubbing my chest and arm. I’m not some stray on the side of the road to be lulled by her charms, but damned if isn’t working.
As if sensing my panic easing, she leans in farther to wrap her arms around my chest, pulling me toward her. She exhales, then cuddles me closer. I lean into her, helpless to resist.
She rubs her face in the crook of my neck. “There, now we can talk like civil—“ She stiffens, sniffs, then springs away.
“You asshole! You call me ‘darling girl’ then come home reeking of another woman’s perfume?” Iphi tears open the door and flees into the night, alone.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Iphigenia
Figures. I don’t know what I was thinking. He was smothering me in waves of guilt. But was it for me or for her?
There’s really no reason Rhys wouldn’t be seeing other women. It’s not like we ever had a conversation about being exclusive. Plus he shared me with Caspian, so if I were to think he was mine alone, wouldn’t I be the hypocritical one?
Then why does it hurt so much? My thoughts are jumbled as I run away from the Grove. I know I should stay and try to talk it out but I’m being led by my emotions and they’re winning.
After a few minutes I stop and talk myself down. Rhys hasn’t pledged himself to me. I don’t own him. Unless I tell him otherwise, isn’t he free to do as he pleases? Of course other women find him attractive and of course he’d be interested in pursuing them. After all, in that department, he probably thinks he has to share me. And maybe he does. Again, another conversation we never had. “There needs to be a lot of open communication and no hidden feelings,” Burgundy said. Epic fail so far.
The snap of a tree branch sets me on high alert. I freeze, but without the light of the moon, I can’t see anything but darkness. The sound of my breathing fills my ears. Forcing myself to stop and listen, my senses heighten. Another snap and then I am flat on my back with a snapping creature at my neck. I’m getting so tired of this position.
I push her away with both hands but I’m no match for her. There’s only a split second to wonder why she can even touch me with my amulet on. She hovers above me, jaw opening, head dropping to my neck. I close my eyes, waiting for the sting of the bite, but my amulet finally does its job.
Whoosh, the air stirs around me and I wrench my eyes open. Rhys and Nolan have yanked the vampire off me and tossed her away as though she were made of cardboard. They turn to her with open mouths, their own fangs flashing in the moonlight.
“Wait! It’s not her fault. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“She was trying to kill you,” Rhys growls.
“Can you restrain her? Bring her to Sheldon so he can run some tests, try and figure out what’s going on medically? Magically?”
Nolan grabs her and Rhys shakes his head at me. “Such a big heart.” His t
one makes it sound like a tragic disease rather than a strength.
I blink up at him. “I can’t help it. She’s a victim, too.”
“This is why I love you.” He kisses me deeply but I bite his tongue.
“Ouch.” His head snaps back. “What was that for?”
My mind reels with the words he’s just spoken, but my flaring anger wins. Is he just trying to distract me from the woman he was with earlier?
“We’ll talk about this later,” I say through clenched teeth.
“I’ve got her,” Nolan calls out, holding the writhing woman from behind in a headlock.
We walk back to the Grove together, Nolan leading with the female in a choke hold.
“We aren’t good?” Rhys reaches for my hand but I pull it away.
“Nope.”
When we reach the opening to our residences, Dominic and Caspian are walking toward us.
“I thought you guys were still at work,” I say.
“Rhys texted and told us to come home. I’m glad he found you. You had us worried.” Caspian hugs me tightly and I throw my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. He pets my hair. At least he doesn’t smell like some floozy’s perfume.
“What’s this?” Dominic juts his chin toward the female . . . ghoul. A word I’m still trying to assimilate.
“She was trying to attack Iphi. Do you guys have any vampire-proof handcuffs?” Rhys asks.
“In the car,” says Dominic. “I’ll get ‘em.” He nods toward Rhys’s brother. “Nolan, man, wow, I’m really glad to see you’re okay.”
Caspian lets me go and eyes Nolan. “What the hell happened to you and how are you basically fine now?”
“For now,” says Rhys. “It may not hold.”
“Probably best to unload everything later,” Nolan says.
“Well it’s really good to see you.” Caspian claps a hand on Nolan’s shoulder and squeezes tight.
Several minutes later, Dominic returns with silver handcuffs and restrains the woman, who is now subdued.
“Where am I?” she asks, looking around. “Why am I handcuffed? Where are you taking me?”
My already bleeding heart opens even more, gushing now. “I’m sorry. No one’s going to hurt you. We’re trying to help.”
Her head spins toward me. “There’s no help for me,” she hisses, the syllables low, sibilant, and venomous, and Dominic hauls her away toward his car.
After Dominic leaves to take the woman to the station, we gather in the Palace again. Thorn’s snores waft through from the loft as the men right furniture and I clean up the remnants of my spell casting.
“Why is Thorn sleeping through all of this?” Caspian asks and I explain what happened with the attack, Thorn’s attempted defense, and Nolan’s staff. “And you wrangled Nolan, too? He was pretty rabid.”
“Right here, man,” says Nolan and I laugh even though I don’t want to.
But Caspian doesn’t even crack a grin. “Will the spell on Nolan hold?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “And it’s not really a spell, it’s an amulet, like this one.” I hold up my silver pendant. “As long as he has it on, he should be safe, but . . .”
The men exchange looks.
“I don’t like it,” says Rhys. “I’m grateful that you wanted to help my brother. I’m grateful that you did help him, but, Iphi, you put yourself in grave danger to do it, and with Thorn out, there was no one to protect you. You could be dead right now. Or worse.”
“Is it so hard to believe that I don’t always need protecting?” My voice rises to a high shrill. I know I’m overreacting—because he doesn’t know how right he is. I don’t think Nolan was sent here to make me a ghoul. But I am so not sharing that insight right now because I’d like to see daylight again before my twenty-first birthday. “Even after all this time together, you still don’t trust my judgment?”
“This isn’t about that,” Caspian says. “Rhys is right, you should have waited for us to have your back.”
“Rhys is right?” I put my hands on my hips. “The man who spent the night with another woman? I was here alone while you two were out doing who knows what.”
Caspian narrows his eyes at Rhys. “Another woman? Why would you do that?”
Rhys lets out an exasperated groan. “I was not with another woman, not in that way. I drove a student home. She needed a ride. When I dropped her off, she threw her arms around me. I set her straight. Nothing happened.”
His sincerity is a clear note in my head, ringing so loud it almost hurts. I can actually feel his heart aching for me. My own anger crumbles in its wake. It must have overridden my access earlier, something that hasn’t happened for years, not since I realized what my gift was and started honing it. Keeping my own emotions in check before I can access another’s isn’t usually an issue. But I’ve been anything but centered since Rhys walked through my door. “I believe you.”
“Because of your beautiful trusting nature,” Rhys says. “But you can’t think with just your emotions, Iphi. That could get you killed.”
I’m not mad anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to back down. This is too important if we’re ever going to work past tonight. “Why are you patronizing me? We love quality A in Iphigenia but quality B has gotta go? I’m an entire package. You’ve encouraged me to be free, to make my own decisions, and stand on my own two feet. But when I do, according to you two, I’ve made the wrong ones? I’m strong but not strong enough to survive without you?”
Rhys stops pacing and clamps his mouth shut. Caspian goes rigid, like I’ve finally shocked some sense into him.
“I love that you have my back, I want that, but I need this to be a team. I’m not some fragile little doll that needs special handling.”
“Of course not,” says Caspian. “We don’t think you are.”
“It’s just that if anything had happened to you, we’d blame ourselves.” Rhys’s dark eyes search mine.
“But our girl took care of herself and tamed the big bad vampire, too,” says Caspian, moving behind me. He presses into my back, wrapping his arms around me. I lean into him, softening.
“Hey, guys?” Nolan says. “I love what you’ve all got going here and I’m not one to judge. Especially after what I’ve been through, but I feel like a fourth wheel. Is there somewhere else I can crash tonight?”
“Of course, bro.” Rhys holds my gaze until I offer him a curt nod. Then he turns to Caspian. “I’ll take him to my house for the night. Be right back.”
The unsaid words “keep your eye on Iphi” are nonetheless loud and clear, but after all the upheaval, it doesn’t annoy me for once. I like having four strong men at my disposal—as long as they respect my ability to take care of myself.
“You tired?” he asks me after Rhys and Nolan leave.
“Yeah, but is this okay?”
“What do you mean ‘okay’?”
“Well, isn’t what we’re doing a bit weird? What happened the other night. It’s all beyond normal societal standards.”
“Rules are just made-up things, Iphigenia. Someone makes them up and imposes them on others, for good reasons or bad. With enough power behind them, the group goes along with it. Especially if there are consequences for not doing so. Who’s to say that the three of us can’t make up our own rules? Who will stop us if we do? Are you interested in both of us? In the same way we’re interested in you?”
I tilt my head down but look up at him through my lashes, trying to hide the heated flush that rushes to my face. “You know I am.”
He takes both of my hands in his. “Then we’ll work it out.”
I turn my face up and stand on tiptoes but I don’t have to say a word. His lips meet mine with an unexpected ferocity. This soft-spoken artist does not hold back. As our tongues meet and dance together, a long sigh escapes my mouth into his. Those firm hands pull me in tighter and just as I start to lose myself in the passion, Thorn emits a loud snore. We can’t help but stop and
laugh.
Caspian leads me over to the couch. Sinking down, he pulls me on top of him, and I happily straddle his lap.
“This way you can lead.” His voice is thick. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing.”
Leaning into his mouth, I probe the hard ridge of his lips, licking across the seam until they curve into a smile and then I lick along the edge of that, too. One strong hand holds my back and the other tangles in my hair.
“You taste like starlight,” he says and then he takes my mouth, hard like before. Biting and licking, sucking and exploring with an urgent need. Our mouths lock together and my consciousness slips into a deeper state. A state without logic. A state beyond measure. My mind can’t grasp what’s happening, can’t make sense of these men, of this man, so instead I let go, letting my body sink into the fervor. A warm, tingling sensation travels downward, coursing along a hidden pathway through the center of my body and settling between my legs.
I’m barely aware of moving his hands from my back to my breasts. Urging him to clutch me there, my own hands resting on top of his, I show him how to touch me. Squeeze here, pinch there, rub everywhere. The sound of the front door opening and closing doesn’t bring me out of our entwined passion. I can’t stop. I don’t want to stop. I moan into Caspian’s mouth, knowing that Rhys is probably watching us.
Caspian’s hands cup my breasts, alternately kneading them, and tugging on my nipples. My head flies back but I keep my eyes tightly shut and pull one of my breasts free from my tight camisole so it spills over the rigid underwire. There are two gasps, one from Caspian and the other from Rhys. Confirmed. He is watching. Caspian’s mouth moves to my chest, taking the freed nipple and licking it, teasing it with just the tip of his tongue. A zing shoots straight down to my core.
“Rhys.” I open my eyes, my head still back. He’s standing motionless in front of the closed door, his eyes on mine. “Kiss me,” I growl, the low murmur pushing out of my throat. Caspian stops tonguing my nipple to look up so I push his head down and he chuckles, cupping me there and taking my entire nipple into his mouth to suck it.