Cassar gaped at Locke like he thought the vampire had gone mad, and I sat my ass back down, content to watch the scene play out.
Getting over his initial shock, Cassar smirked. “If she wanted it so badly, she wouldn’t have been throwing it away.”
Raine looked like she was preparing herself to do some damage if Cassar didn’t change his mind real fuckin’ quickly, but before she could act, the blade was in Locke’s hand and the shifter was flying backward. Cassar landed hard, his back cracking into the wooden shield Raine had first been aiming at and breaking it into two.
Locke wiped the blade on his pants and held it out to Raine who took it from him.
“I would have handled it,” Raine groused light-heartedly, and Locke’s black eyes flashed.
“I know,” he answered, then he lifted her in his arms and the pair were back with the rest of us within a heartbeat. Locke dropped beside Darian with Raine on his lap, and she sheathed the blade and tucked it into her pants.
“I’m sure this isn’t going quite as Lyr hoped,” Darian commented with amusement as he watched Cassar grunt and lift himself from the floor. Cassar’s body hunched as he stared at us, his eyes glowing and tusks protruding from his mouth as if he was about to shift, but the female with him grabbed his arm, and he let her pull him along.
“What is it with monsters trying to steal a girl’s weapons?” Raine mumbled, and I grinned, again thinking about her makeshift dagger in the mountain. I still planned to give it back to her…eventually.
CHAPTER 25
~ Raine ~
DespiteLyr’sgoodintentions,the night didn’t play out how she’d hoped. While some of the monsters were able to get along for a few hours, fights broke out between the groups. It didn’t matter how much wine we had, no one was forgetting about the fae or Warrick’s outliers anytime soon, and the tension remained high.
Luckily for me and my monsters, we still had our own private room, and we retreated to have our own fun away from the drama. All four of my monsters took complete advantage of the fact I wasn’t training, pleasuring me until I fell asleep in their arms.
When I awoke, I slid from where I was cocooned between Darian, Locke, and Asher, and stumbled from the bed. Kade wasn’t in the room, and I pulled on a shirt and pants and padded across the room. Opening the door, I blinked into the dim light.
By now, most of the monsters had retired, returning to their usual sleeping locations in the bunker, caves, or surrounding forest. Some were passed out on the couches and scattered across the floor, and a few were still staggering about, laughing and dancing to imaginary music. I picked my way past the intoxicated monsters, heading for one of the tables with jugs of water. I drank until my throat no longer felt dry and sticky, then I walked around, searching for my wolf.
Lately, Kade and Locke had disappeared a few times to talk to Lyr and her mates or the other alphas about the war, weapons, and training, but unease went through me as I traveled from room to room, unable to find my wolf shifter.
I was about to move to search the next room, when I noticed a figure huddled at the far side of the dining hall. The male sat tucked into the corner with his back against the wall and a half-filled jug of wine by his side. He seemed to stare at nothing, his gaze empty and cold.Vasken?
I watched the male carefully as I approached, my heart twisting when I replayed the scene with him and Queen Izla in my mind. When Vasken didn’t react to my presence, I dropped down, sliding my back against the wall as I sat beside him. For a long moment neither of us spoke. I knew the male likely wanted some alone time, and I’d just invited myself to his solo party, but it felt wrong to simply leave him there like that. Taking a breath, I said softly, “It must be hard. Adjusting, I mean.”
He still didn’t respond, and I tried not to think about how awkward I felt as I went on. “Losing someone you care about—”
“You know nothing dragon,” he growled, cutting me off.
So he does recognize me.I pressed my lips together, silent for a beat before speaking again. Truthfully, he was right. I hardly knew anything of what he’d been through. But the image of his tortured face as the queen stepped into the portal haunted me.
“I understand you were one of the queen’s most trusted guards,” I said slowly. “When she went through that portal… It can’t have been easy for you. You had a duty to protect her.”
“Her guard?” Vasken mused with a chuckle that was devoid of humor. Reaching over, he grabbed the jug from the floor and downed the remaining wine before pressing his head back against the wall and letting out a long breath. “I know you saw what happened when she created the curse.” His jaw clenched, despair entering his eyes. “I failed her. I failedthem.“ He picked the jug up again, bringing it to his lips before realizing it was empty. Letting out a grunt of frustration, he tossed the jug away, sending it rolling across the floor.
“Them?” I frowned as I watched the jug collide with a table leg and stop rolling.
Vasken turned to me, his glassy eyes struggling to focus on my face, and the smell of wine on his breath made me want to wrinkle my nose. His long unkempt hair fell in knotted waves past his shoulders, and despite the fact he looked to be in his thirties, his expression was weary as if he’d already lived a thousand lives. After a long uncomfortable moment, he slurred, “She was pregnant.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I know.”
His expression shuttered, his despair taking over his entire face.
“But the curse and what happened to Izla wasn’t your fault,” I said quickly, not sure why it bothered me so much to see him like that. “I saw what King Adrien did. It’s not your fault he was terrible at caring for his family.”
Vasken shook his head, his eyes filling with tears. “The king didn’t know,” he rasped, his throat clogged with emotion.
My brows lifted. “What?”
“About the baby,” Vasken said, staring at a section of the wall across the dining hall. “And he didn’t know that it wasn’t his.”
