Page 74 of Tricky Princess

Ellea curled into Ros, remembering her mother’s smell, her hands, all of it. She breathed him in, letting his warmth and scent wash over her.

“You got me back in the end,” Ellea said quietly.

“Not soon enough,” Ros growled, holding her tighter.

“I saw something, though.”

“Shush, we can talk tomorrow,” Ros said. “You need rest and a healer.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, but the pain made her stop. “There was a vampire there, not like the others. He seemed older? Not crazed and hungry. But he walked away; he didn’t want to be there…I could feel it.”

“Was there anything else?” Garm asked, and Ros shot him a look.

“It felt wrong,” she answered. “How I got there was off. I don’t know how to explain it, but I also felt watched, like I was interrupting something. My old vision kept trying to take hold, like I couldn’t get the right signal. Was that because I’m in Hel and not where she is?”

Ellea swallowed hard, suppressing a whimper. She knew Ros would haul her away any minute, but she needed to get all of it out.

“My father wasn’t there; it was only her and a crowd of vampires and demons, none I recognized. Something is off, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Ellea shuddered at the feeling of being watched. When you were in a vision, you were the one doing the watching. It must have been her mother’s magic.

“That’s enough,” Ros said, standing and holding her. He turned toward Garm. “I want a healer in our room before we get there.”

Ros stormed out of the room, and Ellea curled into him more, gripping his shirt and hiding from the world.

27

Rosier

Ros lay awake with Ellea’s head in his lap. She clung to him in her sleep, one arm wrapped around his leg and her other hand resting on her neck. He brushed her hair back, watching the bruises slowly fading as the healer’s potions took effect. Her mother was a dead woman, and each time Ellea shook in her sleep from a nightmare, he thought of a more creative way to kill her.

Ellea told him everything after the healer left, and it took every ounce of strength he had to not haul her away and hide her forever. He’d known things were bad, but he’d never heard the details of her training or how her mother threatened and abused her. He wished he’d known sooner so he could have killed her in her jail cell.

Even though it had given them a lead, he regretted sending her in like that. Ellea had described the vampire she saw, and Ros knew who it was. He would talk to his father tomorrow, and he’d make a plan to leave Hel to confront his old friend.

There was a soft knock at the door before Garm poked his head through. Ros raised a brow at the hound, who was still wearing his human form. He silently walked to the edge of the bed, looking over Ellea’s curled-up form.

How is she? Garm asked.

I don’t know; her voice should be back to normal in the morning, Ros answered. Where is Billy?

Ros wondered why she wasn’t with him; he’d half expected her to call for the rights to comforting Ellea.

Billy is…calming down. Garm looked to the ceiling. She went and hunted Belias down after you left; killed two guards and injured four.

Fuck, Ros cursed, banging his head against the headboard quietly. Is she safe? We can’t keep killing his guards or his court.

She is with Devon and Sam. We have a few witnesses who said they started it and she was only trying to defend herself. Garm’s voice sounded amused.

Ros was not opposed to killing, but it was only a matter of time before the numbers got too high for someone to turn a blind eye.

I didn’t think it would be best for her to see Ellea hurt; I didn’t want her to get triggered again, Garm said.

You’re probably right.

Her weight on him was the only reason he wasn’t out there right now, hunting her parents. That, and Ellea would threaten his manhood if she woke up alone in bed.

She learned that from Billy, Garm chuckled, listening to his train of thoughts. What do we do next?