“Doesn’t seem like it,” I say, pulling a grim face. “No tea either. They basically live like savages.”
Arlo laughs with me and grabs an orange juice bottle instead. I watch him as he takes a long drink, his top riding up and clenching around his muscular arms.
Shaking my head, I ask, “Were you here when Maddox brought me back?”
Arlo frowns. I don’t even need to hear his answer to know he was now. “Yes. The vampire prince threw me down the stairs when I tried to get close to see you.”
“He did what?” I question with wide eyes.
“I’m fine.” Arlo waves it off. “I’ve been fed vamp blood for a long time, Riona, I think it’s changing me. I was knocked out by the fall, but I woke up fine. Not a bruise in sight.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for us to keep drinking their blood to heal,” I point out as the toaster dings, and my toast pops up.
“I’m not the one who keeps getting seriously hurt and needing it. I have no intention of drinking any unless I’m forced,” he tells me. I ignore his almost accusing voice and carry on the conversation.
“So Maddox, did he talk to Reign?”
“Yes, Reign came storming in the house and woke me up. When I told him about you, we both ran up to find Maddox sitting with you in his arms on the bed. He looked…” Arlo drifts off, and I see his hand tense. “Maddox is protective of you. Reign was shocked, more so when Maddox offered a truce to sort out the current problem involving you.”
“He offered Reign a truce?” I ask. “I thought Reign would have made a bargain with him, to be honest. Maddox doesn’t seem like the truce sort of man.”
“He isn’t a man, he is a monster, Riona,” Arlo snaps. “Don’t forget that because he saved your life. He would just as easily destroy it.”
“I know,” I admit, turning my back on Arlo and spreading butter over my toast. I won’t be forgetting monsters exist anytime soon. Even if they save my life and kiss me in a way that is unforgettable. “I’m going to walk around the house, see if I can find a TV anywhere.”
Arlo doesn’t reply as I bite into my toast and head out the kitchen door into a corridor. I check the first two rooms, finding nothing in them, and the third one down is a different door. It’s a steel door, and it takes me several pushes to get it open before I stumble in. The lights automatically go on, but they don’t need to, as on the floor is a glowing orb under a floor of glass.
The orb spins on its own, floating on nothing, and I stare at it, feeling strange. I don’t notice my feet walking to it or when I lean down, seeing my reflection in the glass. My eyes are glowing the same green as the orb, so brightly that I can’t look at myself for long.
For just a second, I swear my body glows a bright blue, and I stumble back, reaching for the door. I rush out of the room as quickly as I can, letting the heavy door slam shut behind me.
I just found one of the orbs, and I never want to go near it again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Why is he sitting on a horse, and why is there a horse with no rider?” I question no one in particular. Reign sighs, the noise drifting over to me from his chair. Arlo lifts himself off the bottom step and comes to take a look through the window at the Mad Prince. Despite the fact it is strange he is on a horse, he does look the part. His horse is pure black, matching his thick and high-necked cloak and black trousers. Heavy boots rest in the stirrups, and bits of snow blow around the handsome prince. He looks like the devil. All things you shouldn’t stare too long at but you can’t help yourself. No doubt feeling my eyes on him, Maddox turns my way, locks of his black hair flickering in front of his dark eyes. His lips tilt in an amused way, and he lifts his hand, curling his fingers towards him.
Damn if that isn’t sexy.
Arlo clears his throat, and I turn to him, seeing him searching my face before he wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him. “Be careful and keep your distance.”
“Are you going to be okay?” I ask him, hugging him back.
“I’ll be alive,” he whispers. “And that is down to you. I won’t ever forget that, and I need you back.”
“Here,” Reign interrupts, and I’m a little bit thankful for it, as Arlo choosing now to be serious isn’t the best idea. I turn to see Reign hand me my cloak, the red one Maddox gave me. He helps me slide it over my T-shirt and jeans, and I do up the buttons. Arlo opens the door, looking like he would rather be doing anything else. I try to give him a reassuring smile as I walk out and right up to the devil on a horse.
“Good morning, Riona. How is my violent little human?” he asks me, his voice thick with amusement. “I take it you haven’t stabbed anyone recently? I would hate to have missed that.”
“I’ve told you once before, Prince Maddox, if you wish to see me stab someone, give me something sharp that could kill you,” I counter.
He laughs and slides off his horse, taking a few steps towards me. “Your lack of respect is refreshing. I usually kill those who speak to me as you do, but for some reason, I like how you speak to me.”
His eyes drift over me when I don’t reply, and whatever he sees makes his smile drop, and he suddenly looks less than impressed. “Who is the human man who looks at you like you are his?”
“That’s Arlo, and he doesn’t—” I cut off as Maddox starts walking towards the house. I step in front of him, placing my hand on his chest, which makes him pause. His eyes trace my arm and up my neck, roaming across my face until he meets my eyes. “Don’t. Please.”
He stares at me for a long time, and my heart beats so fast through every second of it. I don’t expect him to listen to me, I don’t really even know why I stepped forward when it’s clear Maddox does what Maddox wants to do. So when he takes a step back and my hand falls, only for Maddox to catch it, I couldn’t be more surprised. He lifts my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on my palm. “For you.”
Holy. Shit.
Maddox doesn’t let go of my hand, tugging me over to the grey horse with no rider. “The last time I rode a horse, I was ten.”
“Good, so you won’t fall off, seeing as you have learnt,” he replies, letting go of my hand.
“No, I didn’t mean—” I end my sentence on a squeal as Maddox picks me up by my waist and lifts me onto the horse. I slide into the saddle, not really having a choice unless I want to fall off the other side, and grab the reins. “Maddox, I am not a good rider. I don’t remember how to be!”
“Then the ride should be amusing to say the least,” the jackass replies, pulling my left foot into the stirrup and adjusting the length for me. I narrow my eyes at him, which only makes him laugh as he walks around the horse and adjusts the other stirrup before walking off to his own horse. He effortlessly jumps and lands on the horse’s back, grabbing the reins and clicking with his tongue. His horse instantly goes into a trot, and my horse follows suit without a word from me, and I hold onto the reins for dear life.
I don’t think I ever liked horse riding as a kid, but my mum taught me everything she possibly could from piano to riding to gymnastics. But my heart settled on art, and now I remember the reasoning for it.