Page 83 of A Curse So Cruel
Raith and Galen freeze, staring at me, and it’s Thane who speaks first. “It’s blood.”
“Blood?” I repeat in disbelief. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“It’s blood from soldiers of the Xalgrith, to be specific,” Galen answers, his eyes glittering. He lifts my hand, and I only just manage to stop him from slipping my portal ring from my finger.
I frown at the guys. “Wait. The dark entities smell like cum?”
“Only when they bleed,” Raith rumbles with a lopsided grin.
“Where the fuck did she get that?” Knox asks again, indicating to my portal ring.
Geez. He’s really not gonna let that go.I peer at him innocently. “From Galen’s chambers.”
Knox turns his dark gaze to Galen.
“After I took it from our mate,” Galen clarifies, giving me a chastising look. “I couldn’t very well let her get away from us, now could I?” His deflection is flawless, but it doesn’t stop me from believing that the man took it because he has his own motivations.
“And where didsheget it?” Thane growls, looking just as pissed off as Knox.
All four of my mates peer at me, and I shrug. “Does it matter?”
“It fuckin’ does when you’re plannin’ on leavin’ us,” Raith points out.
And that’s when I remember what assholes these guys are. “And what else was I supposed to do? I was chosen as thesacrifice, remember?” I try to shove Raith away, but he doesn’t move. The guy is a wall of muscle, and he simply grins harder.
“If you’d stayed in the room like we’d asked, that wouldn’t have happened,” Galen says matter-of-factly.
“Oh yes, and why should I have done that?” I retort. “So you could make me disappear like your past mate, or so that you can torture more students?”
All four of them blink, looking genuinely surprised.
“And let’s not forget that none of you protested when the queen chose me as the Token,” I add, pouting a little.
There’s a moment of silence before Thane’s expression softens. “You don’t understand,” he rumbles. “The queen’s visit was unexpected. We couldn’t let her know what you mean to us.”
“What I mean to you?” My voice cracks, and it’s only then that I realize how truly hurt I’d been feeling.
“Yes, treasure,” Galen purrs, pulling me firmly against him. “We thought you knew by now.”
Raith closes in on my other side until I’m sandwiched by their warmth, and I realize it’s the first time since they left their damn rooms in the academy that I can finally breathe deeply.
“You’re ours, sunshine,” Raith adds, brushing his callused hand over my shoulder. “And we’ll figure this out, but we couldn’t explain to the other students that you were restin’ in our rooms. It was easier to let them believe you were missin’.”
“Clearly poor judgement on our behalf,” Galen adds.
My lips tremble. “But Satine,” I murmur. “I found her in a cell, and I thought…”
“It’s not often students find themselves in there, but she touched you,” Thane growls, not looking the least bit remorseful about what happened to Satine. “She’s lucky you found her before we could finish what we started.”
My heart pounds at the protective look in his eyes, and my anger fizzles out of me. Swallowing hard, I finally let myself leaninto Raith’s warmth. I want them to explain more about the missing students, because it’s still a mystery, and I’m not sure if I can believe they weren’t involved, but for the moment, all I can do is stand there as relief sinks into me.They weren’t planning on murdering me.I mean, sure, the future is still uncertain, but knowing they aren’t intending on destroying me right now is a positive.
“We don’t have time for this,” Knox says coldly. “We need to get inside until we find the weakness in the barrier along the walls and seal it. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about her portal ring. Whatever is going on with that, she can explain later.”
Weakness in the barrier?I stiffen, and I take a moment to really study the guys. “Hold on, why exactly is it that you’re covered in cum blood anyway?”
Galen makes a face. “Must you call it that?”
Raith chuckles. “I think it’s rather fittin’. We do get showered in the stuff when we fuck the monsters up.”