Page 111 of Taste of Thorns

Dray looks across at his bond brother, then at me, clearly torn about what to do.

“Dray,” I say, “please.”

His face contorts. “Sorry, dude,” he tells Beaufort, “but lady’s orders.”

“I’ve told you I’m fine,” Beaufort hisses.

“Yeah, but she wants me to check you out anyway and I can’t say no to her.”

“Traitor,” Beaufort mutters.

I hover by the edge of the desk as Dray walks over to his friend. There’s a little bit of tussling, but finally Beaufort relents and lets Dray inspect his head.

“You got a bit of a bump,” Dray says.

“I know,” Beaufort grumbles.

Dray chuckles, then lets the shadows race from his hand. They envelop Beaufort’s head so for a moment he is lost in darkness. Then they retreat away and Dray swings around to me.

“He’s fine.”

“Like I said,” Beaufort mutters.

I let out a breath. “Good.”

Thorne appears in the doorway, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

Dray yanks me towards him, twines his arms around me and, resting his chin on my shoulder, says, “Beau had a vision. What was it exactly?”

Beaufort describes the vision to them, this time in more detail, pausing, and holding my gaze before he says, “There’s more I saw, Briony. I’m just not sure you want to know.”

More? I stare at his eyes. The silver has returned now and they are full of empathy. It has apprehension swimming through my gut. What could be worse than seeing my sister’s murder?

“It’s okay,” I say, stiffening in Dray’s arms. “I want to know. I want the truth.”

“Are you sure? You can’t un-know something like this once you know it.”

“Stars, Beaufort, just tell me.”

He hesitates. I’ve never seen him so unsure before but then he continues.

“Once she’d killed your sister, she bit her and drank her blood.”

I swallow hard. “Where?” I say. “Where did she bite her?”

“Does it matter?” Beaufort asks.

“It matters to me.”

“Her neck. She drained her completely.”

“Fuck!” Dray mumbles as Thorne strides into the room, his magic crackling.

“It’s why they nailed the coffin shut,” I say, my own words sounding far away, my mind spinning. “They didn’t want us to see what she’d done to her.” I wriggle out of Dray’s arms. “My sister isn’t the only one she murdered.”

The three princes stare at me.