Page 35 of Bite The Power That Feeds

I ignored the question.

“You really aren’t going to tell me?” he asked in disbelief. “I’m your brother.”

“No.”

“No, you aren’t going to tell me? Or no, I’m not your brother?”

“Both.”

Viper released a quiet chuckle.

Cobra brushed off the insult. “We’ll talk later, then.” He gave a wink. “Got it.”

My eyes shifted to Viper. “Where’s Queen Clara?”

“She’s my woman,” Cobra said. “So ask me.”

“I’m tired of hearing you talk,” I said.

Larisa’s eyes shifted back and forth between us as the conversation unfolded.

Cobra leaned toward Larisa. “He’s just jealous he’s not the only one with a girlfriend.”

“Fiancée,” I corrected.

Cobra nudged her before he rolled his eyes.

She chuckled.

My eyes immediately shifted to hers at the betrayal.

Her eyes shifted away.

Queen Clara joined us, dressed in earth-colored trousers and a white linen top. She carried a backpack, and her hair was pulled back in a thick bun. The rest of us were armored with our blades, but she carried nothing. “That’s a lot of unnecessary weight to carry.”

“We prefer to be prepared,” Viper said.

“It’s nothing but wilderness out there,” Clara said. “A bear is your worst foe.”

“We’re used to it, baby,” Cobra said. “Lead the way.” He gestured with his arm.

She dropped her argument and took the lead.

Cobra took the moment to admire her ass with a nod of approval. “She’s got one hell of an ass, doesn’t she?”

It made Larisa chuckle again.

Viper and I would never look.

We headed off, leaving the main city of Fallonworth and entering the wilds. As we withdrew from the city center, it grew quieter, the rivers our only company. Sometimes the breeze moved through the trees and shook the branches. A bird would caw before flying overhead. But it was silent the rest of the time.

I kept Larisa in front of me, just in case she slipped along the trail or needed my help. Even though she was a more powerful vampire, my impulse to care for her would never die. I would always treat her like the delicate human she used to be.

Cobra and Queen Clara took the lead, the two of them talking quietly as they navigated the forest. There were times when we came to a stop, as if she couldn’t remember the way her father had shown her. Minutes passed as she tried to think, as she tried to search her memory for the path to take.

Larisa looked up to the canopy far above, the branches that shaded our venture. “It’s beautiful here.”

I watched her tilt her head back and admire the ceiling of the forest, the gold in her eyes bright. She wore her armor and sword, carrying the extra weight without issue. It’d weighed her down on the journey to Evanguard, but now that she’d fed, she was infinitely stronger. I’d expected more resistance at her first feeding, but the hunger must have been so powerful that she couldn’t question it.