Page 100 of Tricky Princess

“I was going to wait to ask what you wanted to do.” Ros kneeled down to take the gauze from her shaking hand.

Ellea pressed her blood-soaked hands against her eyes. “Can we send him somewhere?”

Ros looked up to Billy and Garm, giving them a nod. They would take him to Hel while Ros finished here. Devon grasped Ellea with his good arm, holding her hand as she shook. Sebastian walked away to toe a dead corpse nearby, giving them some privacy.

“Sam?” Ellea asked, looking between the both of them. “Duhne and Florence?”

“Talking with the wolven and making rounds.” He didn’t want to tell her how many they’d lost today. “Florence and Duhne are back in Hel, ready for our word and letting my father know what happened here.”

“Good…good,” she said to herself. “I should help the healers and others.”

She tried standing, but Devon held her hand, forcing her to stop.

“You need to see a healer yourself,” he scolded.

“It’s only a few bites; I have more potions at the cabin.”

“Ros,” Devon pleaded.

“How about I take you and Devon back to the cabin to shower and grab some food?” Ros said, trying to compromise. “Then after we have a talk with Sebastian, we can come and see what’s left to help with?”

“I’m starved,” Sebastian said with a wicked grin.

Ros rolled his eyes and begged the Gods for patience and a little more strength to whisk them to the cabin in one piece.

37

Ellea

Ellea leaned against the shower wall as the water continued to run red. Ros had stayed downstairs to keep an eye on Sebastian, leaving her to her thoughts. So many vampires, so much killing, and so many people hurt and dead…

Devon is alive, he is downstairs, and he is alive.

All of her friends had survived, but Ellea knew that wasn’t true for the wolven packs. The battle had been nothing like any of the vampire attacks she was involved in before. How were they going to get her parents—no, her mother—if they couldn’t handle a hoard of blood suckers? Her father had been there; he and Sebastian had saved them. Today was not what she’d expected, and she was left a confused mess in a shallow puddle of watery blood.

“Step one, don’t crumble. Step two, get clean. Step three, figure out what the fuck happened today.” She breathed out after the last statement. She could do this.

“Talking to yourself, princess?” Ros said, standing outside of the shower.

“I thought you were downstairs.” She peeked up from where her head was lowered under the spray.

“Sam is back, he’s watching our visitor.” Ros began taking his bloodied clothes off.

Yay, more blood.

“We have so many tricks and spells, why don’t we have one to get rid of blood?” Ellea grumbled.

“I think the Gods wanted to make sure we can’t wash away something like that too easily.”

He turned on the second shower head, and she was thankful he’d been such a diva when remodeling his old cabin. Not caring how dirty he was, she took a step toward him and wrapped her arms around his muscular torso.

“The Gods suck.” It came out muffled as she smothered her face into his chest.

“That they do.” He kissed the top of her head and began washing her.

Ellea eyed the vampire lounging on Ros’ couch, reading one of her romance books and acting as if he didn’t just kill over a hundred of his own kind.

“What’s your deal?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe.