Page 23 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

Nora grabbed an extra glass from beneath the mini-bar.“You are such a human.The world won’t bend to your will just because you want it to.You have to make a choice between the future of one paranorm and the future of many.You know what the right decision is.”

“I don’t accept those choices.”

She filled the two glasses with the last of the bottle of red wine.“I know.So either me, Jared, or Blake will be around to save your ass again when things inevitably go wrong.Go get some sleep.You look like shit.”

A smile spread across my face.“I should be offended by your last comment, but I think you just admitted you like my ass.”

She shot me a disdainful look, her gaze filled with her typical daughter-of-the-alpha arrogance.

“No need to deny it,” I said, my voice chipper as I backed toward the basement stairs.“I won’t tell a soul.”

Her expression remained cool and aloof, a perfect mask to conceal emotions, which werewolves considered a weakness.“I might have to keep you alive, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you.”

Chapter Seven

BloodgushedfromShelli’sthroat.The warm, thick liquid coated my hands.My clothes.Horror kept a scream trapped inside my lungs, but it wasn’t horror because of what I had done.It was because a sick, sinister smile was painted across my face.

My scream found a way out.My eyes shot open wide as I lurched upright, only to find something dark and suffocating coming for me.I fought, grabbing and yanking.The intruder let go, and a blanket slapped my face.

“Hey.”Christian raised his hands in the universalI’m not the bad guysign.“It’s me.”

My heart rate reached a crescendo before it began to slow.I balled the blanket up on my lap.“What are you doing?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.“You looked cold.”

“I…” My gaze swept across my living room.I’d come up here after talking to Nora.I’d sat down to research djinn and fey around three, but the clock on the wall said it was almost nine a.m.now.My laptop was upside down near my feet, and the frozen meal I’d microwaved sat on the coffee table, looking cold and extremely unappetizing.

I’d passed out over five hours ago.

I shoved aside my “dinner” to make room for my laptop and jabbed on the keys to wake it up.

“What’s wrong?”Christian asked.

What kind of person was I, falling asleep when someone’s freedom was on the line?

“Kennedy?”Christian sat beside me, leaving half a couch cushion between us.

“I was sleeping when I should have been working.”My laptop was taking forever to wake up.Continuing to poke at it wouldn’t make it go faster, so I clenched my hand into a fist to fight the temptation.Bad idea.Now I just wanted to punch something.

Christian placed a strong, steady hand on top of mine and waited until I met his gaze.“Why did Nora say I should talk to you?”

His touch and the reassurance in his voice should have comforted me.Instead an uneasy emotion moved into my chest.“What did she tell you?”

“She didn’t give me a chance to ask questions.”His eyes were a deeper blue than usual in the light from my awakening laptop.

That’s what was bothering me, the thought of Nora spilling Garion’s secrets.It wasn’t a fair suspicion though.Nora wasn’t one to gossip, and Christian didn’t know why she’d sent him.I was just being paranoid.

I chewed on my bottom lip.I wanted to limit the number of people who learned about Garion, and I hadn’t considered telling Christian because he was human—he likely knew as much about djinn as I did.On the other hand, he was levelheaded and reliable.He deserved my trust just as much as Nora did, especially after everything I’d dragged him into recently.

Wouldn’t this be dragging him into more shit?

My laptop pinged, signaling it had finally connected to the internet.I stared at the screen, trying to decide what was best for him.

“You remember your bargain with Canyon,” he said.

My gaze darted back to Christian.His blue eyes were calm, patient, and… wary?Like he was bracing himself for my response?

I stood suddenly, needing to move.“Yeah.I remember.”