Page 54

I was layingon the sofa with my head in Mercy’s lap when Warren came up from the basement, covered head to toe in blood. I screeched and tried to sit up, but Mercy pulled me back down, brushing her fingers through my hair.

“Warren, why the fuck are you walking blood through my carpet? Go get changed.”

Warren ignored Mercy and walked over to me, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “How are you feeling, Queen?”

I swatted him away, the smell of blood flooding my nostrils and making me feel queasy. He perched on the edge of the coffee table, winking at Mercy as she growled at him.

“Better, thank you. But really sore. Like someone beat the shit out of me, hourly, with steel toe boots on.”

“Shit, Cece, I’m sorry. You’ll be happy to know that the greasy little fucker who tried to end you is no longer with us.”

I had to laugh at the eager smile on his face, his expression a stark comparison to the gore covering his skin. Mercy shifted behind me, helping me up into a sitting position so that she could reach over and smack the side of his head without hurting me.

“That could have waited until you were clean, you dumbass! You can clean the carpet yourself.”

Warren sent a withering look her way, standing up and brushing a dried flake of blood onto the floor at her feet. “I think not, Mercy darling. You have more money than sense, get one of your minions to do the dirty work. Anyway, I came up here to say something.”

Lifting one of her perfectly arched brows, Mercy motioned for him to go on. “Yes?”

“We’re starting training once I’m clean, since Cece is feeling better.”

Both of them turned to me and I suddenly felt anxious with the intensity of their gazes on me. I glanced at Mercy, hoping she could see the fear in my eyes, and was surprised when she leaned forward and placed her lips softly against mine.

While I was still navigating whatever this was between us, I was always taken aback by her occasional tenderness. When she sat back and placed her hand at the back of my neck, I found Warren watching us with a smirk.

“What do you say, Queenie? Wanna learn how to kick some undead ass with your favorite vampire?”

Mercy coughed and Warren flipped her off. “You’re fucking her, which forfeits you from being ranked.”

“Fair enough,” Mercy said with a smile in her voice, sending shivers down my back as she circled the back of my neck with her fingertips.

I groaned and stood up, wrinkling my nose at Warren. “Let’s do it, I guess.”

“That’s my girl!”

* * *

Warren draggedme out into the gardens to train, stating that it would be easier to concentrate if I wasn’t worried about the other Known watching. It made me extremely appreciative of my new friend, grateful that he was able to pick up on things so easily. I hadn’t even realized that was a huge part of my anxiety until he mentioned it, relief hitting me in waves the further we walked away from the house.

Once we had reached an open clearing in the expansive gardens, Warren spun around and scooped me up in his arms, laughing into my ear as I shrieked and batted at him.

“Put me down!”

Obliging with a chuckle, Warren dropped me to my feet and imitated me as I stood with my hands on his hips. “The fuck was that?”

“Training, duh.”

“Be serious.”

“I am! You need to realize just how easy it is to be caught off guard, and then start to pick up on the signals.”

My brain buzzed as I tried to keep up with him, listening to him explain how there would be ways to tell if a vampire was close, or going to move.

“How the hell am I, a lowly human, supposed to pick up on the tells of literal superhuman creatures? It’s not going to happen,” I sighed, defeated.

Warren shoved my shoulder, a little harder than necessary, even if it did wipe the growl from my face.

“Listen, it’s not going to be easy. But you need to learn this stuff, Cece.”