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My heart hammered in my throat as I continued to walk, praying my steps didn’t falter. I moved to one side to brush past them, and a vampire stepped into my path. I paused, breath catching in my lungs. A light flicked on somewhere above us, and I saw the group clearly. Relief washed over me when I realized my first assessment was wrong. Out of the six of them, half were women. They were simply dressed in pantsuits rather than dresses.

The fact that one of them was blocking my way was less of a relief.

“Excuse me, I’ll be missed at the party,” I said breezily, stepping closer.

The vampire who blocked my way, a woman I recognized as Lola, narrowed her eyes at me. “The king made a mistake by picking you.”

She was one of the women who had flaunted herself in front of my husband during the dancing. I kept my expression smooth as I stared her down. At least I knew they recognized me. They might be messing with me here, but it was doubtful they would hurt me. Not when I was under Luken’s protection.

“Take it up with my husband if you think he made a mistake,” I answered with a shrug.

Lola narrowed her eyes at me. The vampire next to her staggered forward, making me back away. The scent of alcohol rolled off them. They must have been really celebrating for them to have gotten drunk. It was nearly impossible for a vampire to drink that much. Or… as I took in the hatred that spread over Lola’s face, they weren’t celebrating. They were drinking for another reason.

A new shiver ran down my spine. The six vampires were all locked on me like sharks scenting blood in the ocean.

“You must have cast some sort of witch spell on the king,” Lola said, her gaze dragging over me with clear distaste. “For him to forsake all others for you? If you were some rare beauty, maybe I’d understand. But your blood can’t be that good.”

One of the others laughed. “Maybe we could see for ourselves.”

He stumbled and fell to his knees, still laughing. One of the others hauled him to his feet and punched him in the gut. He doubled over, wheezing.

“You can’t say that. Do you know what the king will do to us if he hears that?” another of the vampires hissed.

Lola’s gaze never moved from me. Out of all of them, she seemed the least drunk. But no matter how drunk they were, they were still dangerous. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I remembered the screams of the other teams during the Blood Trials. The ones that failed their tasks and were hunted down for sport by the vampires.

“Luken is my husband,” I said, drawing myself up again. “You’re drunk. Let’s return to the party, shall we? He’ll be looking for me. I told him I was only stepping out for a moment.”

“Or we could wait for him to find you,” Lola said, sidestepping in front of me again. “He’ll be happy to know that we were here to keep you from getting lost in the gardens. It can be such a maze, after all.”

Even vampires weren’t fully immune to death. I’d seen them come back from blows that would be fatal to any other creature, but take off their head, and they wouldn’t survive it. If only I had a weapon. My staff would be ideal, but perhaps I could get their weapons. I didn’t need to fully decapitate them. Severing the spinal cord would be enough. Once I was back with Luken, he could decide what to do with them.

I was still vulnerable. They were stronger, faster, and could withstand more damage.

Given the look in Lola’s eye, she wanted to cause a lot of damage to me.

“You aren’t fit to be our queen,” she said, advancing now. “You’re nothing but a lowly human. It would be a blessing to the king and kingdom both to take you out.”

I rolled to the balls of my feet, ready to take her on. One of the others jumped at me from the side, clumsily slashing a knife at me. I dodged, grabbing his wrist. With a quick turn, I’d lifted my knee, snapping his elbow. He released the knife with a howl, and I snatched it before it hit the ground. I shoved the vampire away and angled myself to watch them all, the knife clutched in my hand.

“Luken will see you all dead for threatening me,” I said. All the fear was gone, replaced by the calm of impending violence. Adrenaline surged through me.

Lola’s lips pulled back from her teeth. Her fangs lengthened as she snarled, crouching. “I would rather be dead than see what harm you will bring to the kingdom. I won’t allow you to weaken the king. But don’t worry, little human. I’ll kill you swiftly, as a kindness to the king.”

This damn dress was going to hamper my movements. No time to cut off the skirt. Lola sprang at me, and I spun, ducking under her outstretched hands. She grabbed hold of my hair and yanked my head back. I swung out with my fist, and she caught my wrist with her free hand. As she lunged for my throat, I brought my other hand up. The dagger pierced through her forehead, a splash of blood spraying out as I yanked it back. Lola stumbled, releasing me. I whirled, slashing across her throat, and knocked her feet out from under her. With a single thrust, I drove the dagger through the base of her skull.

She slumped forward, twitching. The other five stared at me and Lola, eyes wide. I quickly cut at my skirt, opening it up so I had a wider range of motion. That was all the respite I got. The other five all howled and came at me at once. I slashed one across the chest and kicked at another, but my legs were hampered by the skirt. One of them grabbed the skirt from behind and yanked hard, making me stumble. I whirled and put the knife into the face, and snatched their knife from their belt to throw into the throat of another one.

One of the men caught my wrist and twisted, trying to break my hold on my knife. I dropped it, grabbing with the other hand, and jammed the blade between his ribs. He snarled, his grip tightening on me.

His eyes glowed brighter as I yanked it out and stabbed up through his jaw. He fell, half-dragging me with him. My legs got tangled in my skirt, and as I pitched to one side, I threw my hand out to catch myself. The final vampire came at me from behind. Her knife flashed in the air as it stabbed toward me. I rolled but was caught in place, pinned by this fucking dress.

Blood exploded into the air. It settled like a fine mist over me. The vampire woman toppled to one side. Something dark and huge hulked over me. I yanked myself free and rolled to my feet as the figure reached for me. With a howl, I threw myself forward, punching them in the stomach with one hand and swiping at their throat with the knife.

A huge hand closed over mine, stopping the knife as it pressed into soft flesh. The red haze faded from my vision, and I found myself staring into Luken’s face. His normally amber eyes snapped golden as I stood there, my knife against his throat, the scent of blood lingering all around us.

I panted, the adrenaline still surging through me. I could kill him. It wouldn’t do any good, not least to Darcie, but I could do it. I could make him pay for lying to me.

His hand was still tight on mine. His free hand came up and he swiped his thumb across my cheek. A sting accompanied his actions. Somewhere in the fight, my face had been cut. Luken, his eyes never leaving mine, brought the thumb covered with my blood to his mouth. He sucked on it and his pupils dilated.

A grin crossed over his face as his free hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. Our hips pressed together. He was fully aroused, his erection pressing against my belly. I gasped, half in disbelief and half as fire burned through my veins.

“I could cut your throat, and you’re hard?” I hissed at him.

“Seeing you fight will always make me hard,” he answered. “I love the way you move, Elara. Remember the hot springs? The way we fought there? I think about it every night. You’re such a fucking warrior. Look at how you took out these fools!”

The pride in his eyes made all the air around me disappear. Nobody had ever looked at me like that, as though I was the most perfect thing they’d ever seen. Nobody but him. Every nerve in my body screamed for him, the blood boiling between my legs. I wanted him so badly.

I drew the knife sharply back, slamming my body into his. Luken caught my mouth before I could decide what I was doing. His fingers tightened around my wrist as he turned me, pressing me up against the lamppost. I hitched my leg over his hip as he ground himself into me, our clothes a regrettable barrier.

His mouth was soft and hot, his body hard as he pressed himself against me. He growled in pleasure as he inhaled my scent, working the buttons on my bodice. The tight fabric fell away, and he cupped my breasts in his hands. My bra was thin, letting me feel the heat of his hands, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted his skin against mine. I tore my lips away from his to kiss his neck, to nibble at his collarbone. The scent of him drove me wild.

When he grabbed the thigh that was slung over his hip, I used his strength to hold me in place, rolling my pelvis toward him. His hard cock rubbed against me as I sought out the friction, wanting more, needing more. My motions were rewarded by a long, breathy growl from him.

I popped open the first button of his shirt and kissed the golden skin it revealed. He was a god made real, his arms tight on me, his desire for me evident. Right now, I don’t care for all the reasons why I shouldn’t want this. He was mine, and no fucking vampires were going to tell me that he should be with someone else. Watching the women at court throw themselves at him all night left me feeling feral. I swung my other leg up, practically climbing him. The lamppost was hard against my back as Luken pressed me to it, my legs wrapped around his waist.

Too many clothes.

He thrust against me, hard, the way he had when we’d fucked the first—the only—time. His mouth delved into the juncture of my neck and shoulder. I groaned as his fangs scratched against my skin. Yes. Yes, I wanted this. I wanted him to be inside of me, cock and fang. My head fell back as my core tightened. If only it weren’t for these clothes. I wanted his hand on my clit, his cock inside of me. I wanted—

Luken let out a sudden, harsh groan of frustration. His grip on me loosened, and he stepped back. My glance fell to his crotch, expecting to find evidence that he’d finished in his pants. The bulge that was still evidence proved that it wasn’t the case. Panting, clutching at him, I stared up at him in confusion.

“I won’t,” he said, his voice rough. “I’m not going to take you. Not until you come to me. Remember?”

I gaped at him. What had that been, if it wasn’t me coming to him? Did he want me on my knees, begging for him?

He adjusted my bra, covering me again. At some point, I wasn’t sure when, my breasts had been exposed. Then, with quick movements, he buttoned my bodice and arranged my skirt to cover me despite it being torn. All the while, I stared at him, certain he was going to break any moment. He wanted me. I could see it, feel it.

“I will have someone take care of these bodies,” he said, stepping back from me.

Oh. Right. I’d forgotten about the fight. I looked around, seeing the scene with fresh eyes. Oh, they were dead, alright. I’d done more damage than I realized. It wasn’t the first time a fight had grown more bloody and fierce than I realized.

“I suppose you’ll have to punish me for it?” I asked, trying to bring my body back under control.

“For defending yourself?” Luken arched one dark eyebrow. “No. You are guiltless here, Elara. And if these idiots had thought things through, they would remember that I have cameras in the gardens. If it comes to it, it will be easy to prove to their families that they were traitors.”

I looked up. “All through the gardens?”

He gave me a piercing look. “Not through all of them, no. I don’t know what you and Thessa were talking about.”

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

I stared after him, stained with blood, wet between my thighs. A swirl of sensations moved through me. Lust was at the forefront, but it was being quickly overwhelmed by hurt and confusion. He knew I was planning something with Thessa. I didn’t trust that he didn’t know what it was about. And now he was just leaving, wanting me to crawl after him and beg him to take me back.

The hurt morphed. It crystallized, burning hotter and growing spiky in my chest. I hated him. I couldn’t forget him. This pull I felt toward him was nearly all-powerful, but I couldn’t give in.

Screw the plan. It would take too long. I needed to escape tonight.