More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
"Aside from hearing him inside my head, that is." To my surprise, Crypt has the strongest reaction to that. He swears and turns an impressively murderous glare on the unconscious fae in the room as if he's about to pick a fight before Silas even wakes up. "Right. Anyone else insanely fucking jealous now?" he bites out.
Crypt vanishes, and a moment later, I hear a shriek at the front door, which he's obviously opened. "Gah! Where the hell are your clothes? And why are your tattoos all—oh my gods, are those piercings? Oh, shit. I—I'm so sorry, I did not mean to look down, and I promise I so did not want to know that. I’m just looking for—"
"Threaten him later when we have more time," I interrupt to get away from this touchy topic, glancing at Baelfire. "Can you carry Silas?" "Baby, I'm twice the size of that fucker. Of course, I can carry him."
"You'll be safe," I amend firmly. Crypt leans to kiss just behind my ear. "I'll be anything you like, darling. Just get away safely for me."
"Limbo is bizarre and otherworldly. Distorted. Some would call it disturbing." "So you like it." "That's what I just said."
"Uh-huh, yeah, sure. Just admit that deep, deep down, hiding under all that hardcore badassery, you're a total sweetheart." "Keep insulting me, and I'll leave you here to be the hellhounds' chew toy."
"Something the matter, love?" "It's fine." "Tell me." Maven sighs. "Not one haunting whisper, reanimated corpse, vengeful spirit, or cursed coffin. These catacombs suck." I laugh. It's absolutely adorable when she pouts.
Thank the gods, I think. Those idiots are useless. Thank me instead. My heart stutters. That was Maven.
We're bound. Maven is mine. Mine. My keeper's lips twitch when she hears that. To my absolute delight, the following words she sends me are in the fae tongue, inside my head. How do you feel, my handsome lunatic?
"Damned newlybounds," Everett grumbles somewhere nearby. "Get a room." "They're in a room, dickwad," Bael points out.
Walking out of the bedroom, I glance over to see three glares of pure hatred pinned on me. "Jealous?" I smirk. "Taunt me right now, and I'll snap off every finger you laid on her,"
Baelfire flips me off from the couch. "The only reason I didn't break down that door and toss you out to give it to our keeper the right way is because Maven deserved a moment alone with you after all the worry and shit you put her through."
Baelfire shrugs. "Let's not make another stupid fucking competition out of it, but Maven will be wearing my emblem next."
"I'm the Entity's scourge. I'm very literally a heartless, unnatural, death-fueled monster. Does that scream take her home to meet the parents to you?"
"It's probably a bad idea, but would you guys want to...?" Is she...asking us out? It's almost amusing how nervous our typically unshakable keeper clearly is, but my blood blossom suggesting a date night sends eagerness racing through me. She fought this quintet so hard, so it's still a novel thing to know that she not only accepts us but wants us. "Yes," all four of us say at the same time.
The only picture ever taken of me is on Baelfire's phone from when I was trying to make you all hate me. He took the picture during class when he thought I wouldn't notice." Baelfire grins unabashedly. "You saw that, huh?" "You weren't subtle. Also, it's set as your lock screen."
Crypt nods as if he finds the dragon's antics completely understandable. "You know, you might've shared, Decimus."
"If you could stop with the telepathy until the rest of us figure out how to join in," Crypt drawls, glaring at Silas, "that would greatly reduce my desire to crush your skull.
"Maybe you should go hunt a squirrel or something."
Everett frowns. "If they aren't reaped, what happens to the ghosts?" "They wander the Nether, looking for a way to pass into the Beyond. When I was young, I used to stay up late at night listening to their whispers. They would gather outside my window to weep and beg for a final resting place. Some of them haunted me for years.”
My ghostly groupies allegedly moved on once they realized I couldn't hear or help them. My guys stare at me until Baelfire sighs heavily. "We need to get you into therapy, Boo." Weird take after I just shared one of my most nostalgic memories.
I appreciate your concern for me, sangfluir, but I'm perfectly fine. I arch a brow. How can I know for sure? Can you lie telepathically? His gaze alights with curiosity. Let's find out. Ask me an obvious question. All right. What am I? The love of my life. Oh, fuck.
Why are you so uncomfortable, blood blossom? Silas asks in fae inside my head, smirking as if he finds my brush-off amusing. Is it because I mentioned love? Let’s not use the L-word, I scowl through the bond. Love? Don't tell me you're philophobic.
"You've already made it weird for everyone, Bael. So incredibly fucking weird." He leaves, too, and I glance at Crypt on the couch. He shrugs one shoulder. "I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question."
"You're too damn hot!" Everett snaps back at something Baelfire said. "Weird time to hit on me, Snowflake, but tell me something I don't know." "Quit being an idiot. I’m saying our poor keeper is going to swelter to death if you try to squash her all night long, you lumbering space heater. And if we don't watch Silas, he's going to make a snack out of her—"
Don't stick me with that fucking needle, I try again telepathically. We have to try this, Maven. I promise you won't feel it.
"That was Gideon," I admit. It's comedic how all their mouths drop open at the same time. "What?" Baelfire and Silas roar in sync. All of Crypt's markings light up as unadulterated murder flashes across his handsome features, and Everett swears profusely.
"They're having a bath together," he drawls, trying to peek into the paper bags. I hold them away from him. "I offered to join, but an awful lot of that telepathic rubbish was going on. Also, Crane very dramatically insisted that he would rather castrate himself than climb into a bath with me."
She turns to the front door. "You're not going out into that naked," I snap at the same time Silas grasps her hand to keep her from leaving.
“Forty-eight motherfucking calls? Are you shitting me? All right, stalker caller. You had better be a really hot bitch with huge tits and a raging demon kink because if I find out you're just some fucking spammer trying to tell me about my car’s extended warranty, I’m going to—”
“Is that why the Nightmare Prince is with you, too? Hells and bells! Hate ‘em or love ‘em, the gods do have one wild fucking sense of humor, huh? Hey, you know, you’re a scary little fuck, but you’re kinda hot, so if you’re looking to add to your bouquet of dicks, mine’s not half bad—” I hang up before the four extremely pissed-off matches surrounding me can snap my burner phone in half.
“Why leave him alive?” Silas frowns. “That seems uncharacteristic of you.” I shrug. “It is, but I like him.” Baelfire growls. “You what? That’s it, I'm with Si. Let's kill the guy.” “Slowly and violently,” Crypt agrees. “I call dibs.” “Fine by me. I think we'll all like him more when he's dead,” Everett adds crisply.
You’re getting a blowjob tonight, I send just to Everett. There’s a shocked silence, followed by a very flustered, I…you…um, what? Just say yes and thank you.
Blood blossom, Silas reaches out telepathically, just to me so Everett won’t hear. Tell me you’re still breathing. Now, please. So bossy. I thought your paranoia was gone, I tease. I will never feel sane in your absence, not to mention your very existence drives me mad with need. Where are you now?
“What do you know of hybrid casters? Those able to use multiple types of magic?” “I know your keeper became one through years of torturous experimentation,” he muses, sampling the potatoes. “Otherwise, it is highly uncommon.” Baelfire cuts straight through his plate with his dinner knife, his expression stormy as his eyes shift to dragon slits. He covers his face, trying to calm down. “Boo,” he says roughly, clearly wanting answers. “He's making it sound worse than it is.”
“You can all save the bedroom eyes for later. Your training is important.”
"I'll be candid. I'm not just training you four to take out shadow fiends or bounty hunters. I'm training you to take me down whenever I lose control.” They all stare at me for a beat. Then Everett rubs his face. "Yeah, no. That's not happening.” “Yes, it is—” "Not. Happening,” he grits. The others nod, all folding their arms.
I’m confused by their strangely intense, happy expressions until I hear Everett whisper a quiet prayer of thanks to Koa, the god of fertility.
“You’ll feel bad for smiling in a moment,” I inform my overly pleased, very mistaken matches. Baelfire beams, his golden eyes misty. “My mate is pregnant. How could I not smile?” Oh, gods. I guess we’ll have to talk about that. I sigh. “Calm down. It’s not pregnancy. It’s just poison.”
“How long?” I whisper. The DeLune picks up on the fury in my voice as the others go quiet. “Darling—” “Don’t darling me right now. How long do you have left?” He hesitates. “I’m not certain.” “But you’ve known about this.” “Yes. It’s an inevitable side effect of my—” “Were you ever going to tell me?” I demand roughly, crouching to yank Pierce out of the corpse. I angrily clean it on one of Parker’s sleeves, trying to ignore the sting in my eyes. Crypt is dying, and he wasn’t going to fucking say anything.
“I’m not crying.” Crypt reaches out to brush away a traitorous teardrop, pressing it to his lips for a taste. “All right. You’re not crying.” “I’m mad at you.” “I accept.”
“I can’t get pregnant,” I inform them quietly.
“How many muses can an incubus take?” “One.” For eternity. Again, precisely what I’m craving with her. She pulls back slightly to examine me. “And if your muse dies?” Dark anger flickers inside my chest. I give her my most warning look. “You won’t.” “I expire all the time.”
Gods. I fucking love your cock, Maven thinks in a daze. I smile against her skin, kissing it. “My dark little darling, did you just confess your love for me?” “I distinctly said your cock.” “Last I checked, that’s part of me. I’ll have to tell the others that you officially professed your undying love to me first. Hopefully, it leads to a gloriously violent altercation.”
“And mind your fucking tone with our girl before you become a lizard-flavored kebab.” Crypt pulls out his lighter, which morphs into a sword faster than I can keep up with.
Where the hell are you? Answer us. Now. Relief at hearing their voices dulls the blistering power in my veins. I breathe out slowly, getting to my feet. I'll be back soon, I promise. But where the fuck did you g–
“She just dumped another human boyfriend,” Ian adds. “Might need someone to cheer her up. Like, say, I don’t know…a hot, very available vampire who already knows everything about her and would be the perfect rebound, if nothing else. Just say the word—” “For the last fucking time, no.”
Baelfire’s eyes narrow. “Hold up. Who the fuck is Felix? Is he cute? Did he try to flirt with you? Is he still alive, and more importantly, why?”
We all absorb that, nodding until Baelfire huffs. “You still didn’t answer about whether you think he’s cute, Boo.” She arches a brow. “Why, are you interested? I’m not sure if he’s into shifters, but you two might hit it off. He is pretty damn frail from his upbringing, so careful not to crush him in bed.” Baelfire grins. “Raincloud, if he tries to come anywhere near a bed with me in it, he’s toast. You’re the only one I’ll be careful with in bed. Or better yet, let’s ditch careful and go for rough and kinky.” “I’m with the lizard on this,” Crypt announces.
“Your family has its own glaring set of fuck-ups,” I snap. “Yeah? At least mine didn’t lie to me about my curse just to keep me a miserable fucking loner all my life.” I flinch. Maven tenses. Baelfire immediately clamps his mouth shut, gripping the side of his head. “Fuck. Yeah, I felt it as I was saying it. Too soon. Sorry, Snowflake.” I try to change the topic quickly. “If we’re going to his family’s territory in Canada, we should—” Everett, Maven reaches out through the bond, pinning me with a fierce look.
