Fuck you. Bring her to the artifacts right now.
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, witch. Your owner is calling for you.”
Logan glared at me but didn’t negate the statement. Maybe she hadn’t quite shaken the mindset of belonging to Yelena. The lioness had been so fucking quick to claim all of them. I’d have taken the witch for myself if Yelena hadn’t gotten her first.
“You did well today.”
Logan looked at me with wide brown doe eyes. She’d have fit right in as a deer shifter looking like that. “All I did was talk to people.”
“You’d be surprised how many people are terrible at that.”
“Like you?” She raised an eyebrow, her lips turned up in amusement.
“Snark all you want, but if you go ask them if they trust me, I know what answer you’ll get. I know my reputation?—”
“Seems well earned to me so far.”
“You of all people should know there is more to the world than first appearances. If you prefer to be as ignorant as the rest, I can’t help you.”
“I’ll take my chances, thanks.”
Fuck’s sake. She was going to be as obstinate as the others.
Yelena met us at the elevator in the basement, looking unfairly gorgeous in a warm yellow dress that made her glow like the sun. Her expression wasn’t nearly so beautiful: twisted with annoyance that I would dare defy one of her orders despite the fact we were all equal.
“Precious, are you all right?” she asked Logan.
“I’m fine,” Logan assured her.
Yelena’s gaze snapped to me, fury sparking in her golden brown eyes. I was sure she had a thousand things she wanted to say to me, but that was the problem with our equal power: she couldn’t pretend I was beneath her. She certainly tried, but when it came to direct orders, we both knew I didn’t have to listen.
“You don’t have to keep her on such a short leash.”
The two women glared at me.
“I’m not on a leash.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day. What are we doing down here?”
“Charging your artifact. We’ve already done mine and Velda’s. We’ll do yours, and later we’ll charge Calliope and Shakti’s.”
Yelena ushered Logan ahead of her, presumably expecting me to follow them. The two of them settled on the dirt floor near my artifact, looking at me until I kneeled next to them.
“Put your hand in Logan’s,” Yelena ordered. “Once you’re both touching the artifact, she can let her magic go to fill it.”
This wasn’t something we had to do often. The artifacts were designed to hold power, and ordinarily the wards didn’t take that much from them. But times were different now. My rooms had a perfect view to watch the monster as it thrashed against our wards. I had no idea how much magic it was draining, if it was at all. The creature was certainly trying. I despised that we had only an invisible shield between us and it.
Logan had given me the ability to see it, and thus far I hadn’t pushed for any of my claimants to be given the sight. It was bad enough thatIhad to see it. I didn’t want to subject them to that unnecessarily. Maybe I would feel differently if we had to flee and they would need to run from it, but while we were sitting ducks, it seemed cruel to deny them the peace of ignorance.
The witch’s skin sparked against mine when I laced our fingers together and brought her hand through the ward totouch the gold torque I had contributed. Heat glided through her, and I stared at the shimmering aura of our combined hands. At least until she let out a shuddering breath and I turned to see Yelena’s lips at Logan’s throat.
What the fuck are you doing? Is this really the time to taunt me?
Yelena’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.This is how we keep her magic charged. Her power is derived from pleasure. If I can give her some while she works, it won’t drain her like a battery because it’s constantly replenished.
Logan’s earthy jasmine scent crashed over me, my muscles tensing and my cock tenting in my pants.
A little warning would’ve been nice.
