“It’s Joe’s blood,” I say. “Not mine.”
He looks at the shredded throat of Joe’s body on the ground beside us and then back at my face. “Did you have to make such a bloody fucking mess?”
He cups my chin roughly and wipes my cheeks with his handkerchief.I stare at the dark stubble on his jaw instead of meeting his eyes, until he brushes his thumb to my tingling lips.
“You tried to kiss another man.”
I lick my lips. “It seemed practical in the moment. I didn’t think you would mind.”
“You can use your?—”
Hands. He’s going to say hands.
I yank his face to mine and kiss him. It’s quick, just a subtle parting of our lips, just a hint of whiskey on his tongue mixing with the poison sweetness on mine before I pull away.
“I told you that no one else knows that,” I whisper.
He bends so his lips brush my ear. “So many secrets, but your days of poison kisses are over.”
Gaven is suddenly yanking me away from my husband.
I realize when I look at his stunned face that I never told him Henry is immune to my magic.
“Relax, Gaven. Henry is as impervious to my poison as he is to my charm.”
Gaven’s relief is instant, his face morphing from a look of panicked escape-planning to one of annoyance. After all these years, I would think he’d be used to being kept in the dark.
Bryce jumps down from the catwalk and saunters over to us, appraising Joe’s body with raised eyebrows.
“Would have been helpful to know you could wield holy fire this whole time,” Henry says, eyeing my bodyguard.
Gaven crosses his arms. “My duty is to Miss Carrenwell. That wasn’t information you needed to know.”
“How?” Henry asks. “According to the records, you’re not blessed.”
Gaven looks to me for permission.
I wave a hand. “May as well.”
“I’m not,” Gaven says. “But I showed enough promise when I was a young man that Harrick Carrenwell hired me to protect Harlow and offered me a unique gift.” Gaven rolls up his sleeve and bares his forearm, showing off the dark, shiny inked sigil of Vardek.
Henry narrows his eyes at me as if it’s a betrayal that I didn’t tell him, but I can’t imagine he would have been forthcoming if our roles were reversed.
My husband looks at the mark. “I’ve always been aware of magically blessed objects that transfer power for limited uses, but I’ve never seen a blessing infused into one’s skin.”
“They didn’t want to risk me losing the object in a fight,” Gaven says. “Best to have it marked right into my body with a brand and ink made with well water.”
“Holy fire. How can Harrick Carrenwell bestow a Divine blessing?” Carter asks.
“I can only use it to protect Harlow from threats against her,” Gaven says. “I can’t power a city wall, or fire it off at will. She needs to be under threat.”
Henry rubs a hand over his face. “That’s why you kept the Breeder between you and Harlow. As long as it’s a threat, you can use that magic. That’s how you survived the horde alone in the woods on the ride here. They were standing between you and her.”
Gaven nods. “She and I have trained extensively on how to maneuver ourselves in a fight. Now, if we’re done exchanging secrets, what are we going to do about this mess?”
The ashes of the Breeder are the least of it. My dress is soaked in Joe’s blood, and Stefan is unconscious, bleeding from a slice along his left forearm.
“Carter, can you…” Henry gestures.
