I absorbed the pain, saw the woman, who was very clearly a ninja, leap from the second floor to almost the bottom step, and used my left hand to pull Nerilla after me as I bolted for the front, where more people were beginning to fill the rooms.
When I turned to check, the woman was there, flying through the air toward us. There was no time. I turned, swung Nerilla around and to me so that I would absorb the force of the attack and she would be safe.
A hot wind blew by me, and the assassin was plucked out of the air, hurled down and held fast under Varic’s Prada Chelsea boot.
It was beyond impressive, and I forgot that my right arm was useless. When blood dripped from my fingertips, Varic’s head turned fast.
“Nerilla,” he husked, “I need Hadrian. Now. I need Zev. Now. Two of my dreki are at the door; fetch them.”
“Yes, my prince,” she said, untangling herself from me, and the king was suddenly there.
“What has happened?”
“Your palace is crawling with assassins,” Varic hissed, low and deadly, as the queen reached me.
“Oh, Jason,” she said, her face tightening in pain as she looked at my shoulder. “Varic, you need to––”
“If someone could take this creature!” he growled, and there were guards there, suddenly, and Varic was in front of me, hands on my face as I watched him melt.
“I think maybe there was something on whatever is in my back,” I said before the floor rushed up to meet me.
I jolted and tried to sit up.
“Wait,” Varic ordered, and I turned my head and saw him sitting beside me on one of the many oversized futons in the first room. People were outside in the gardens, I could hear them, but everyone had been cleared from where I was lying down.
I stared up at him, marveling, as I often did, at the beauty of the man.
“I gave you more of my blood, and the hallucinogenic—not poison—easily left your system,” he explained, leaning over, gaze locked on mine, his arms braced on both sides of me. “You had a small dagger in your shoulder blade, but the wound is already healing.”
I tried to lift my arm, but it was useless, the muscles not yet responding.
“Just give it a moment,” he scolded, looking me over.
Lifting my good hand, I tried to touch his cheek, but he moved his head away.
“Why can’t I touch you?”
He took a breath, and I heard how shaky it was. “Why is someone trying to kill my consort?” he rasped, and I watched his eyes flicker to the gold of his beast.
“Are you thinking now that you don’t want to put me in danger so you’re gonna break up with me?”
It took him a moment to process my words, and the slow scowl was extremely gratifying.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“It’s a valid question,” I assured him.
“Well, don’t say stupid things when I’m already—vexed.”
He liked that word, and I grinned up at him. I got a glower in return.
“Come here.” I murmured my demand, smiling as he let me cup his cheek and then ease him down for a kiss.
His lips parted when they met mine, and my tongue tangled and pushed, needing more of him, wanting him all over me. I was cold, and I knew what would warm me.
“You saved my life,” I said as he settled over me, between my thighs, before he took my mouth again.
I loved the way he kissed me, like there was nothing in the world he’d rather be doing.
“My prince.”
He broke the kiss and turned his head to look at Hadrian. The fact that he was breathless pleased me to no end.
“Gideon has finished interrogating the prisoner and needs to speak to you and your father and mother, as well as the council. Everyone is convening in the stateroom.”
Varic rose slowly, lingering for a moment before finally standing, and then bent and kissed my cheek. “Return to our quarters. I’ll be there as quickly as I’m able.”
I wanted to go with him, but it wasn’t my place. I was his consort, yes, but I wasn’t privy to whatever was going on.
“Also, my father mentioned something about collars,” he told me. “I had several pieces commissioned years ago, when I thought to have those in my household wear something that proclaimed them as mine, but then changed my mind. There are many to choose from, and I think they’ll do nicely for what you want. No one has ever seen them, so they will be yours to give.”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved for some reason.
“In my closet, under the drawer where my watches are, there’s a safe. Place your palm to the panel, and it will open. The pieces are in there, as are our wedding rings. Don’t look at them. You understand?”
“Yes,” I choked out. “I promise not to look at our rings.”
“Good,” he said, taking a breath. “I leave you in Zev’s care.”
“Wait.”
He stood there, staring at me.
“How is my handprint opening anything?”
“Tiago scanned them on the plane, as you recall.”
“That’s impressive that you just loaded those in.”
“I’m always impressive,” he assured me, arching an eyebrow, daring me to argue.
“You are,” I agreed, leaning forward.
He kissed me softly, his lips barely on mine.
I was going to say something else, keep him there, but he turned and left just as Zev slipped into the room with me, dressed in… I wasn’t sure what. He had on fitted trousers, tucked into a pair of what looked like shiny brown riding boots, a white collared dress shirt, and a blazer.
“Were you on your way to play polo?”
“Have you always been this irritating, or just since you became Varic’s consort?”
I snickered and got up as Nerilla came into the room, slipping around Zev to reach me, hugging me tight the second she was close enough.
“If you could please not get yourself killed, that would be lovely, because I just got you,” she told me as I tucked her head under my chin. “And I want to see New Orleans and meet this Ode you keep talking about.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I soothed her, holding tight.
“Good,” she said, sniffling. “Now, I want to see this barrier of yours.”
“I don’t think you can, but I can tell you what happened when Zev hit it.”
His growl only made me smile.
Twelve
Nerilla and I walked toward my loft together, holding hands, Jarah beside her, Zev next to me. People were milling around the palace now that the royals were sequestered along with Gideon and the council, and as we made our way back toward Varic’s wing, we ended up following Marcellus and several others I didn’t know, who were, in turn, trailing after Dae-Jung and, it turned out, Bavor and Oz. It didn’t even occur to me that it was odd. Dae-Jung and the others had returned late from shopping, and all three were loaded down with bags and parcels. Also, we could all coincidentally be walking the same way; being at the palace in many ways resembled being at a convention where everyone was in a hotel lounging at the bar, visiting in areas with seating, and walking to and from elevators. Not that the palace had elevators, but there were people constantly going up and down the stairs. It made sense that we were all headed first toward the stairs and now toward different areas of the palace. I had no idea where Marcellus or Andreas or anyone stayed while they were visiting, and it hadn’t occurred to me to ask. I wasn’t going to call on anyone, so why did I care?