Page 40

Their eyes weren’t filled with fear, but something else, something more unsettling, as we approached.

Archer and Monty each held a gauntlet, swirling a dark liquor inside.

Two other Serpents stood nearby, taking long drags from tightly bound rolls, releasing reddish smoke that curled through the air.

The scent was floral, perhaps wild Muddvein—known to calm muscles when inhaled.

Malachi, ever the bold one, sipped straight from a bottle of red wine, his eyes lighting up with excitement as they met mine.

I squeezed Damien’s hand, knowing how many voices were in his mind. Malachi wrapped her arms around my neck, shoving the bottle toward my lips, then dragging me out of Damien’s grasp and into the crowd.

I took a sip—mainly because I knew I’d choke if I didn’t swallow. She matched me in every way, right down to the boots. In fact, I might have been wearing hers.

She reached for a drag of the roll, and a plume of copper smoke blew from her nose. “It’s mycris,” she said, “One puff every three months prevents unwanted pregnancies.” She snickered. “Hopefully, you two are being safe.” Her eyes dragged between Damien and me.

“Oh, we haven’t—” I stuttered. But I grabbed the mycris from her fingers and inhaled anyway, leaving a gritty, medicinal texture on my tongue.

Damien’s cheeks flared red. “Severyn, we should just hang out at your dorm.” He reached for me, but scattered light danced low, distracting me. “I don’t really like crowds,” he added with a mutter.

Monty stepped into my line of sight, his gauntlet swirling as he gestured to his drink. “It’s good. Try it. It’s a mix of phoenix tears and rum.” The liquid sloshed as he pressed the rim to my chest, eyes dancing up and down.

“Do not.” It was Archer in my mind, louder down that bond. “…take a drink from Monty Garcia.”

“I’m feeling parched,” I hissed in my mind, catching a clip of his shadows further down.

I grinned at Monty. “Thanks,” I said, sipping the potent liquor. I turned to offer Damien some, but he was gone. I assumed the drunk, rambling thoughts were too much for him.

“I’ve been watching you during combat. You’re a little firecracker, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “First, you’re a Winter, and then you come out of nowhere with a fire quell. I might know who I’m placing my Bid on.” He went for my neval streak, flicking the end with a smile.

Warmth bubbled in my stomach, and it wasn’t my quell. My limbs loosened, and I leaned closer into Monty unexpectedly. “I didn’t know you knew my name.”

A rope of silken daylight bound around my waist, dragging me closer.

“It’s only courteous to finish the drink.

Tell me why I should choose you at the Serpent Bid?

” His lips neared mine, and I was wrapped in a tether of light, warmth billowing from his breath and tickling my flared nostrils. “Better yet, show me,” he purred.

I opened my palm, sparking a single flame. “What did you want to see?” I grabbed the bottle and took a heavy swallow. I knew this was reckless, knew Monty was not a Serpent I cared to impress, but I needed all the bids I could get.

Monty pinned my arms down with his lips close to my ear. “That’s not impressive. I want to see you use only your eyes.”

I felt everyone’s attention on us. Even Archer stared. But that stare was desperate. Primal .

“Fine,” I said. I was up for a challenge. I focused on a tree behind me, forcing my arms at my sides. I swayed back and forth before Monty steadied me, his hands tightened on my hips.

“Careful,” he said, leaning in. “You know nevals are hunted in some areas of Verdonia,” he whispered.

My lips parted with a flick of his wrist, tilting the remainder of the gauntlet down my throat. His intoxicating voice hummed to the cage in my chest, and whatever liquid he poured down my throat forced every muscle in my body to numbness. “I don’t think you’ll last very long in the real world.”

I swallowed hard. “What do you mean—hunted?”

Then Malachi snapped at him, “Monty, you’re going to scare her!”

“If she wants to be a Serpent, she has to handle it,” he barked back, and his hands slid along my thighs—Oh gods.

I couldn’t shove him off; whatever he’d given me was too strong.

His lips pressed to my neck, inhaling as a gritty tongue licked toward my ear.

“You’re mine for the night. Would you like that, Severyn? ”

Someone grabbed me from behind. I stared up, my cheek pressed against a thumping chest, and met Archer’s pissed-off expression before a fist pounded into Monty’s jaw. Not shadows, but a blunt punch. “Get your fucking hands off her,” he growled.

Monty spat blood, a grin curling his mouth. “Come on, Archer, I only wanted to know what all those stories were about. Why, every year, the scorpion riders come searching for those freaks.”

“What is he talking about?” I slurred. “It’s a bloody birthmark.” Shit. I gripped the fence lining the drop to the ocean, teetering back on my heels.

Archer’s spliced-knuckled hands reached for me.

“Ignore Monty and go to your dorm before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.” Wild blue eyes mimicking the thrashing of waves poured past me.

“I’m about to break every finger of Monty’s that touched you.

Perhaps I’ll hang his tongue while I’m at it. ”

I ripped away from Archer. “I’m not leaving.”

Archer clenched his jaw, then scooped me into his arms, placing my legs over his shoulder.

My arms thrashed and kicked as my head dangled against his chest. “You are infuriating, Blanche. What were you thinking when you took a drink from Monty?” We were nearly halfway across the courtyard already. “Do you intentionally drive me mad?”

Warmth tinged my thighs with Archer’s hold. “Our deal is off,” I hissed.

“Our barter is off when I say it’s off. You drank liquor mixed with phoenix tears. It’s an aphrodisiac that will either make you infatuated for a night or reveal too much about yourself. You obviously cannot handle either of those.”

I gripped the solid muscles of his arms that carried me to my dorm. The eyes on his neck fixated on me. “You’re infuriating and controlling, Mr. Serpent of the Night.” I mimicked his voice the best I could. We passed through a shadow, and the next thing I knew, we were in the Night halls.

“How did you—?”

Archer raised my palm. “Unlock your door. Now.”

I twisted my wrist like a key, and Archer dropped me on my bed. I wiped my brow, ripping the shirt off my boiling body.

“I’m hot,” I said as a sweltering heat grazed my furrowed brow—fanning my palm, I kept my chin upright to stop the spins.

Archer rolled his eyes, throwing a blanket of shadow atop me. “Then take your clothes off. No sense in overheating.”

I sat on my knees, ignoring his crude request. “I know you’re not going to let me die. We’re already bonded. Why else can I hear you in my mind? If I die, you’ll be left weakened just as you were when Klaus died. ”

My words were harsh, but damn him for thinking he could control me.

I swallowed a breath of shadows that neared my airways.

“There are many ways riders can bond. Your brother and I had a simple ward between us.” He chuckled, “Some riders fuck as a way of initiating the bond. Others quell share. Even a simple kiss is enough to forge a bond. And a rider bond only ensures protection when the other is not around.”

My legs spread a bit, and his eyes went to where I wanted. “And what would you do?”

A shadow pooled along the white linens. Archer slid through, skipping those three steps it would have taken him to walk over.

His mouth neared my ear, one hand skimming the hollow of my neck.

“You seem very interested in my answer for someone who refuses to listen to me. You’ve been practicing for Skyfall after I forbid you.

” His jaw clenched. “And why am I constantly on your fucking mind when I told you to forget about me?”

I nearly fell into him as his other hand rested on my thigh, tearing into the nylon fabric with his nail. “And overheating is a sure way to die before the poison does it.”

I ground my teeth, slamming back into the pillow. “You are the poison, Archer.”

Those blue eyes devoured me before narrowing to where his stroking thumb knotted in my see-through tights.

“Do you want me to stop?” he said slowly, arching his veined neck.

“Or can you feel the bond rattling between us, Blanche? We could keep going, and all your reckless little thoughts will be wound within mine.”

I shook my head, trying to find a voice to escape my dried lips. Softly, I responded, “Don’t stop.”

That heat narrowed between my thighs.

Madness. I was mad to want more. For my body to sing from his touch .

He shifted closer, eyes on my lips. I’d regret this, but the burning desire to be touched by him was nothing more than the poison Monty gave me.

Or maybe it was a wicked curation of my wildest thoughts.

Perhaps he was the poison, leaching into my veins until even my blood was dyed with shadows.

His fingers went higher up, nearing the hem of my skirt. “Is this where Monty touched you?” Thunder rumbled in the distance, shuttering the stained-glass windows.

A faint breath released through my nod. “You didn’t… have to punch him,” I said, tracing the shade crawling the walls, the same dark beauty enveloping his sharp cheekbone.

Ignoring my words, he ripped another line through the fraying fabric, and I swore my skin sizzled.

“For someone who refuses to listen to me, your body sure enjoys the sound of my voice,” he groaned, lips brushing against my neck.

“You drive me mad. I’ll drive you insane.

Deal?” His finger scraped higher, grazing the edge of my panties before squeezing my thighs.

“Why do you care so badly about controlling me?”