Page 62 of Of Flame and Fury

I strut past Uri and give him a pat on the shoulder. “Good luck out there.”

Uri leaves, as in, totally disappears. I don’t care. He’s dead weight, and I trust him as far as I can trust this thing sliming up the wards. Twoweresin human form (African cheetahs, I think) scale either side of the windows with daggers clutched between their teeth. Runes emanating green light swirl along the hilts. I’m not familiar with magical weapons. I only know they’re really good at dicing creepy things. And veggies.

“Hey, there,” I say. “Allow me.” They look at me and then each other, speaking in clicks. The bigger of the two motions to me with a wave of his hand.

I’m exhausted from battle and from dealing with petty crap like with Uri. But everyone is watching every move Celia makes, and us as her sisters. They want to see if she’s worthy of their lives, and I need to remind them they’re on the right side.

A thin stream of lightning releases from my fingertip, sharp as a surgeon’s blade. Given my tiredness and the preciseness such magic requires, it’s tough to maintain. I make like it’s easy and force it down. The Nyte screeches, splitting in two and falling away in equal parts.

I didn’t expect such an easy kill and avoid allowing it to reflect on my face. I pull it off well enough. The smallerwerenods at me and says something in a language I don’t quite understand.

I nod in return. “Welcome to America,” I say. “On behalf of my family, thank you for your willingness to protect the Mate and Child.”

See? I can be polite, even as every curse in every language I know bounces in my head.

I meant what I said to Uri. Tonight, is only the beginning.

Chapter Twenty

Gemini and I fearlessly swoop into the—

Scratch that. There was no swooping or fearlessness on my part. Theweresmay have pulverized enough Nytes to claim a few suites for themselves and our allies, but the halls are still screwed up and taking us all over the damn manor. Did I mention, there’re creepy critters waiting to tear out your insides and wave them at you in said halls?

“What the fuck?” I say, stumbling into the suite.

Gemini slams the door and growls at it resentfully before turning around to address me. “You arenotto leave this room without me.”

I clutch my heart, trying to see if it’s still there and doing my best not to hyperventilate. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he questions.

“Yeah. I’m cool with that.”

He raises his brows. “You’re not going to argue with me?”

“Hell no.” I push away from where I’m leaning against the wall. Gemini’s wolf pants right with me. “Did you see that thing? It’s likeAlienand that crazy bitch fromThe Ringhad a baby, and then it ate them.” I cringe and point to his shoulder. “You have a limb draped on your shoulder.”

Gemini stiffens when he notices. “It’s not a leg.”

I bend to pet the twin. He wags his tail. Unlike us, he had fun fighting that thing. “No?”

“No.” He wrenches what I mistook for a leg off his shoulder and flings it into the fireplace. “It would seem that thing was male.”

I stop my petting.

“We won’t mention this ever again,” he mutters under his breath.

I hold up my hand. “Fine by me, babe.”

He helps me to my wobbly feet and sighs. “Thank you for burning it the way you did.”

“Thank you for ripping it off when it tackled me,” I say. I bat something gross from his chest. It doesn’t come off right away and feels like it has its own pulse. I stop trying and force a smile, even though it’s a hell of an effort. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

Gemini has no problem returning my smile. “We do, my love.” He lifts my hand and kisses it. It’s sticky and sweaty from battle, and he could give a damn. If that’s not love, I don’t think I’ll ever find it.

“Come,” he says. “Let’s find a place to rest and get clean.”

“That would be fantastic,” I say.