Page 139 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“You better never let Karius find out about that,” he tells Finn.

Finn hurries to catch up with him, stumbling over a fallen rock as he goes, but Ajax catches his arm smoothly.

“Why? He wouldn’t kill me or anything, right?”

Ajax shrugs.

“I don’t know. You’ve left your scent on his mate. It could end up driving him insane, and the only way to stop it would be to kill the source.”

Finn’s eyes widen in horror. “And I’m the source, right?”

Ajax nods apologetically.

“Shit. I told you not to bring me here, didn’t I? Now I’m going to be killed for no other reason than being skilled with my dick.”

Ajax howls with laughter at this, spluttering as he tries to catch his breath.

“I’m joking,” he says. “I honestly have little idea how the mating bond works. There hasn’t been one in over a century.”

Finn places a hand on his chest and blows out a breath.

“So, the prince isn’t going to kill me?”

“Oh no, he’ll definitely kill you when he finds out, but I doubt he can still scent you on her.”

“Ajax, stop,” I warn, and I see the mischievous grin on his face. And part of me is not sure whether Karius will actually kill him.

“Sorry, he’s just so easy to wind up.”

“Thanks,” Finn says, throwing up his hands. “Glad I could be of entertainment to you.”

I can’t help the smile that slips onto my face as I watch the two of them. We continue on mostly in silence, Finn asking the odd question as we go. I let out a sigh of relief when we finally exit through a door that leads us outside. I take in the cool air as it tickles across my skin. It’s been so long since I left the castle that I almost forgot what the touch of air on my skin felt like.

“So, what now?” Finn asks.

Ajax gestures to a path ahead of us.

“We follow that path down there, and it’ll lead us to a gate. We’ll have to climb it, but it will take us to where we need to go.”

“Climbing is not really my thing,” Finn says.

I roll my eyes.

“Tonight, it is,” I tell him.

We move quietly through the shadows. Ajax assured us that the guard who is supposed to watch this area is always slacking and that we should have a wide enough window of time to escape undetected. We’re almost at the gate when I notice two figures standing in front of it. I freeze instantly.

“Ajax,” I whisper, interrupting the conversation he and Finn were just having. Both fall silent as he steps forward, looking into the darkness.

“Get behind me,” he tells me, but I ignore him. Finn, on the other hand, scampers behind the two of us, his breath coming in sharp and fast. I refrain from rolling my eyes. I’ve never met someone who loves to protect themselves more than he does.

We move forward quietly toward the unmoving figures. Why are they just standing there? Surely, if they were guards, they would have announced themselves by now and questioned what we were doing. Just then, I hear Ajax suck in a breath and curse.

“What?” I ask, but the answer comes in the form of the two figures stepping out of the darkness and revealing themselves. Kaia and Piper.

“Tell me you weren’t about to do what I think you were?” Kaia says in Ajax’s direction, and he folds his arms across his chest, staring at her in challenge.

We don’t have time for this. Fighting Ajax was one thing; I’ll never be able to do the same with Kaia.