Yew Queen Trilogy, стр. 9
I began to whisper, hoping they would lean in so I could reach at least one of them. I started off with a blah blah blah, but then I thought maybe talking about some power they seemed to think I had would do more for me.
“…power in my soul…I can’t handle it…the curse…” A hysterical giggle tried to crawl out of my mouth, but I tamped it down as I peeked at the men. So this was how it felt to have far too much adrenaline zipping through one’s system. Not fun.
“What is she saying?” Aurelio pushed his blond hair back.
Lucus murmured something I couldn’t understand. “I can’t tell.”
“Did you work the language spell correctly?” the super creepy, red-lipped Kaippa whispered. A vampire, my brain reminded me. That dude was a vampire. A breath shuddered out of me, fear biting into my heart.
“For the thousandth time, it’s not a spell,” Lucus grumbled, running a hand through his short, black hair. The emerald streaks I’d noticed earlier were almost impossible to see.
“Magic. Fine. Inner magic.” I could practically hear the eye roll in Kaippa’s snake-like voice.
A small growl issued from Baccio. “It works off the trees’ connection to the earth, fool. You’re lucky it even works for you, vampire.”
Kaippa snorted a laugh. “Hey, I spend my life buried in the damned earth just like the rest of you all.”
“It’s not the same,” Baccio retorted.
“Tell your precious trees that, because I can understand all the voices from that town just fine, and I can speak their language, too. In fact, I’m probably better at human jargon than you, you uptight, royal pain in the ass.”
“Shh. I’m trying to listen.” Aurelio’s voice was a tenor to their baritones.
I peered through my partially closed eyes as he bent over my face.
“Don’t get so close, Aurelio.” Lucus gripped Aurelio and yanked him back.
Then the lean Baccio snatched my hair, one of his nails cutting into my scalp as he pulled my head toward his pointed ear. “Speak, human.”
Pain lashed across my head. It was pretty stupid of him to let my big mouth get so close to his weird-ass ear.
I shrieked like a maniac.
Baccio lurched backward, releasing me. I jumped to my feet and pushed a kick into Lucus’s stomach, knocking him sideways, into Aurelio.
I sped from the dark room where they had laid me out like a slab of roast beef, my lungs on fire and my body numb with fear.
Chapter 7
Vines slithered out of the stone walls and grabbed my legs. My palms hit the cold floor, and my chin smacked the ground. Blood warmed my mouth and pooled under my face as the vines dragged me back into the room.
The thick, woody vines curled up my body, then raised me to standing. Lucus strode over like it was your average Friday afternoon instead of the horror flick this was turning into. His hands flexed by his sides. His gaze slid up my neck, hesitating at my split chin for a moment before his eyes met mine. My body warmed to him, my mouth going dry at the thought of how those hands might feel on my thighs, even though it was completely not okay. What was this called? Stockholm Syndrome. That was it. I really had thought I was better than that, but here I was, feeling his magical lustery all over again. But I’d be damned if I showed it.
I glared and planned to pinch the dog shit out of his man bits if he got close enough. My fingers were free to move between the vines pinning my arms to my sides, so it was a possible defense. Of course, the vines might decide to end me anaconda style, but—
“I did try to do this the easy way, Coren Connelly.” Lucus’s lips twitched like he might have been amused.
“What do you want with me?”
“I’m sure you’ve already figured out that we are not human like you.”
“You know what? I’m not interested in your backstory, you sexy version of Peter Pan, you. Let me go, or my friends will be here soon with the cops. Then it’ll be off to the big house for you and your CW-looking crew here.”
Kaippa sauntered over. “You’d make a great vampire, Coren. If I weren’t trapped in a cursed castle, doomed to travel the ley lines with these do-gooders, I’d be asking you to join me.”
“They’re do-gooders? I think you need to do a reset on that language magic of yours because there is zero good about holding someone hostage and strangling her with plant life.”
Kaippa barked a laugh and was on me before I could say a word, his mouth at my jugular. His teeth were ice on my skin.
“Kaippa. Step away.” Lucus’s voice lowered the room’s temperature by about twenty degrees.
The vampire lifted his hands in a show of surrender and grinned as he backed away.
“This is ridiculous.” Baccio’s words exploded off the stone walls. The chamber was empty except for the table they’d laid me out on, but candles set into openings in the corners threw bone-white strips of light onto a painted symbol on the ceiling. Nine sections—inscribed with small, black symbols and images of animals—created a wheel. “So she has power of some sort,” Baccio added, seemingly resigned. “She might be part shapeshifter. I doubt she is powerful enough to use for blood sorcery.”
The rest of my blood drained right on out of my head and went to my knees. Part what now? Aunt Viv’s words teased me. Rich blood. Gold girl.
“Why don’t we drag her out of the castle and see if her aura has the same effect again?” Baccio shouted. “If not,” he said, quieter now, “we can share her energy and release her.”
I wasn’t a fan of anything that came out of these guys’ mouths.
“Or not.” Kaippa shrugged, his ebony hair shifting over