Page 33 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Twenty

Fifteen minutes later, we’re back on the road in a black SUV, with Talon trailing behind us on the biker’s motorcycle he found parked behind the restaurant. It’s larger and clunkier than his usual chrome one, but he still looked completely at home as he swung his leg over the seat.

There was an extra helmet strapped to the bike, and when he caught me eyeing it, he asked if I wanted to ride with him. I turned him down quickly.

I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about taking the motorcycle, but the SUV was another story. The owner had just stepped out of the vehicle when Imogen walked up and compelled him to believe the truck we’d stolen from Tobias was theirs. She handed him the keys, so at least he wouldn’t be stranded.

Still, I assume theft is illegal here too, so I can only hope he snaps out of her compulsion before he gets arrested for stealing the thing.

Night begins to fall, and we’re still at least nine hours from New York City. We drive for a couple more hours before stopping at a fast-food place for dinner. Imogen compels the staff into thinking we’ve already paid, and I do my best not to dwell on it.

The car ride has been quiet since lunch. The strain of the last few days is showing on everyone’s faces. We agree to push through for a few more hours, then find a hotel to crash for the night, wanting to tackle the city when we’re fresh and rested.

By the time we pull into a rundown motel late that night, I’m sore in places I didn’t know could be sore, and can barely put one foot in front of the other. Everyone looks worn out, but Imogen looks as bad as I feel. Maybe worse.

After compelling the girl behind the front desk to give us the last remaining room, Imogen sways slightly on her feet. Titus reaches out to steady her but she brushes him off. Even though I don’t like the vampire, I feel a twinge of concern.

“What’s wrong with her?” I whisper to Talon as we walk to the rented room.

He glances at me with a furrowed brow. “She was injured and has been using a lot of magic. She needs to feed.”

He doesn’t mean regular food. She needs blood.

Back in the creature world, it’s easy for a vampire to find blood.

There are even mobile food trucks that sell it, but here she’d either have to steal it from someplace, like a hospital or blood bank, if they even have those here.

Or compel someone and take it by force. Both options are risky, and make my stomach turn.

When we reach the room, Imogen uses the keycard to enter. She’s only two steps into the room before she collapses to her knees. We rush in after her and find her still conscious, but so drained she can’t even summon the strength to stand.

“I’m fine,” she snaps, swatting Talon’s hands away when he tries to help her up.

Clearly she isn’t.

“This is ridiculous,” Titus says as he plows a hand through his hair, sending his white strands in all directions. “She can’t go on like this.”

With an exasperated sigh, he reaches down and pulls Imogen to her feet, slinging one of her arms over his shoulder and wrapping his around her waist. The fact that she doesn’t snap at him to let her go shows just how far gone she is.

“What are you doing?” Ensley asks in alarm.

Titus can’t meet her gaze. “I’m going to take care of it,” is all he says, but it’s clear what he means.

He’s taking a third option I failed to consider. He’s going to let Imogen feed from him.

Ensley takes a step toward them, her gaze filled with worry. “Titus, no. There has to be another way.”

“Do you want to find an innocent human for her to feed on instead, probably traumatizing them for the rest of their life?” he asks gruffly.

Ensley seals her lips, concern for the hypothetical human flashing across her face.

Titus finally looks at Ensley, his gaze softening as it connects. “We don’t really have any other options right now. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Ensley chews on her bottom lip, visibly upset. It’s clear she doesn’t want Imogen feeding from Titus, but she probably doesn’t feel like she has a claim on him to stop it from happening.

I exchange a glance with Talon. I can tell we’re on the same page. Both of us have kept our mouths closed, knowing this is between the two of them.

“Fine, whatever,” Ensley finally says in a small voice, turning away.

Titus looks like he wants to say something to her, but instead he tightens his grip on Imogen. “I’ll take her to the SUV for privacy. The windows are tinted.”

“Don’t let anyone see you,” Talon warns. “The humans won’t understand.”

With a grim look on his face, Titus nods and then all but carries Imogen out of the room.

When the door closes behind them, Ensley gets up and heads to the bathroom and slams the door behind her. A minute later, the shower turns on and I worry that she’s trying to cover the sound of her crying.

I get up to check on her but Talon catches my hand. When I look over at him, he shakes his head. “Give her a few minutes. She needs it.”

He may be right. Even though Ensley’s like a sister to me, she’s always been a little secretive with her heart. As much as I want to be there for her, she probably does want to be alone right now.

“You should go to sleep,” Talon says when I sit down heavily on one of the mattresses.

I eye the beds. There are two of them, but there’s no way more than two of us will fit in each of them. Someone is going to have to sleep on the floor, but I can’t muster the strength to care. I’ll let the guys flip for it.

Pulling off my shoes, I don’t even bother brushing my teeth or changing out of my clothes before peeling back the scratchy sheets and climbing into one of the beds.

“You’re not going to wake me in the middle of the night for a magical training session, are you?” I ask Talon as I try to get comfortable on the lumpy pillow, slurring from exhaustion.

I hear rather than see him chuckle because my eyes are already closed.

“Not tonight.”

“Good. If I set anything on fire, wake me before I burn to death. That would be an awful way to go.”

The bed rocks slightly and I think Talon might have just sat on the edge next to me, but it’s too hard to open my eyes to check.

“Oh, Freckles,” he says with a gentle sigh. “Haven’t you realized by now I’d never let anything happen to you?”

I make an incoherent noise, already half asleep.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispers, and then there’s a light touch on my temple and I know no more.

I blink open my eyes, feeling more rested than I can remember being in a long time. I slept like the dead and I’m thankful for it. I don’t remember anything after I closed my eyes the night before. Not Ensley coming out of the bathroom, or Imogen and Titus returning.

Wanting to check on Ensley, I turn over, expecting to see her lying next to me, but come face-to-face with a sleeping Talon instead.

My stomach dips.

Talon’s breaths are slow and even, his features wiped clean of tension, making him appear, not younger, but less burdened. I don’t know why he’s in bed with me, but when I glance down I see there’s a pillow wall between us.

His doing or Ensley’s?

The curtains are drawn, but the sunlight beyond seeps through the cracks and around the edges, brightening the room enough for me to see.

I should get out of bed, but no one else seems to be awake, and I’m hesitant to break the peace, so letting my gaze travel back to his face, I openly study Talon: the straight line of the bridge of his nose, his unfairly long and dark eyelashes, the rich color of his bronzed skin.

Finally, I allow my gaze to drop to his mouth.

His lips are full and far too tempting, and the longer I stare, the more a knot of longing forms in my gut, making me desire things I have no right to.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” Talon says with his eyes still closed, startling me. His voice is low and quiet and thick with sleep.

“I wasn’t staring,” I whisper back, my cheeks warming.

The corner of Talon’s mouth hitches up. “Sure you weren’t,” he says, and then lazily blinks open his eyes.

For a split second I think that his pupils are slitted, but he blinks again and they’re completely normal, making me think I just imagined it.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I’m so glad you asked. You see, someone asked me to break through the gates between worlds that have been sealed for thousands of years to rescue their boyfriend. At first I didn’t want to, but then I thought, ‘Meh, why not? I have the week free.’”

I give a dry look. “ Here , as in, in bed next to me?”

“Ah, well, you see the lovebirds made up last night,” Talon whispers, and then cranes his neck toward the bed behind him.

Lifting up, I glance over Talon to find Titus and Ensley sleeping in the opposite bed. They’re cuddled together snugly, both still fast asleep.

My eyebrows shoot up. My best friend and I have some catching up to do.

I drop back down on the pillow and Talon says, “It was either me or Imogen. I took a guess that perhaps I was the lesser of two evils.”

He guessed correctly.

“And also, Imogen said she’d rather sleep next to the corpse of the Vampire King than share a bed with you. So . . .” He shrugs.

I purse my lips. “Yeah, well, I’m not really a fan of hers either.”

Talon chuckles, the bed shaking a little with the movement. “Imogen takes a little while to warm up to others.”

“You don’t say,” I deadpan. “And what about this?” I ask, gesturing to the pillow wall erected between us.

He grins; it makes him look boyishly rogue. It is absolutely not adorably sexy.

“I tried to wake you to ask if you were okay with me sleeping next to you, but you tried to deck me.”

“I did not!” I whisper-hiss.

His grin widens. “You absolutely did. You’re a violent little thing. I didn’t want you setting me on fire this morning, so I put the pillows up to protect your virtue.”

I roll my eyes and sit up, trying not to worry about what my hair looks like. “I’m going to get ready,” I say, and then slide out of bed.