42. Raiden

42

RAIDEN

C lementine is controlling the vampires? It doesn’t make sense. If I thought blood magic was at play, I would have sworn its connection would have fallen to my mother or, fuck, Vallie’s father, but the pair of them are dead.

D.E.A.D.

Yet the frenzied vampires still run rampant around the kingdom.

It feels wrong for them to be connected to anyone other than a vampire. Our entire origin runs on stature and they’re handing control to someone else? It’s impossible.

The quicker we can get a sample of their blood, the faster we can get some answers and the sooner we can kill whoever they’re linked to.

Without a word, everybody rushes for the door, the soldiers leading the way as Beau starts to holler out commands to them. Thank fuck Adrianna put him in charge of them. I can’t focus on anything other than getting to the bottom of this mess. I’m supposed to be defending the kingdom, but with the odds stacked against us right now, it feels impossible.

As we round the corner and step into the entryway, Nora and August descend the stairs, concern etched into their features as they take in the commotion going on around them.

“What’s wrong?” Nora asks, looking straight at her sister, but Adrianna shakes her head.

“Nothing for you to worry about,” she murmurs, fitting a vest around her slim frame, and I note the usual glint of silver lining the sheaths. It feels like forever since I’ve seen her draped in daggers and ready to fight.

This is who we are. This is what we were made for. It’s about time we remembered that instead of falling into preset roles and being blinded by the new expectations that surround us.

“Addi, please!” Nora shouts in exasperation, earning a stiff head shake from Adrianna.

“No.”

We can’t go through this as well. Not now.

“Adrianna,” I breathe, turning to face my troublemaker head-on, and her glare whips my way.

“Not you as well,” she snaps, thunder brewing in her eyes.

I eliminate the distance between us, acutely aware of the people watching and the frenzied vampires causing chaos, but as much as she doesn’t want to believe it, this is important too.

Cupping her cheek, I expect her to pull away immediately, but to my surprise, she doesn’t fight me. She doesn’t lean into my touch either, but it’s still progress.

“You’re clipping her wings.” The words part my lips and I brace for impact. It comes in the narrowing of her eyes, the sharp intake of breath, and the way every muscle clenches in her body.

“I’m not.”

She’s probably going to hate me, but I can handle that. What I won’t be able to handle is the pain that will come in time when she realizes the wedge she has driven between the pair of them, and as much as the younger Reagan sister drives me insane, I don’t want that. For either of them.

Clearing my throat, I fight against my instincts and release my hold on her, taking a step back to exemplify the distance. “Then you stay here with her.”

I sense the glares coming from Kryll and Brody, the promise of their wrath later, but among the silence, I hear the flutter of her heartbeat that matches the rhythm of her sister’s.

“That’s bullshit,” she grunts, and I shrug, beyond aware of the damage I could be doing between the two of us, but if there’s ever a time I’m going to be selfless, it’s going to be with her.

“So is the fact that you’re babying her.”

“You don’t understand,” she blasts, nostrils flaring as her fists ball tight at her sides, and I nod.

“You’re right, I don’t, but what I do know is you’re driving a wedge between you and the person you love the most. Look at her, like, really look at her. She’s not a child. She’s been gifted a miracle. One that makes her want to make a difference, be a positive impact, and make her sister proud. That will never happen if she’s trapped inside this castle.”

I can see the stubbornness in Adrianna’s eyes as she glares at me, refusing to look at Nora like I want her to, and just when I’m sure my words are doing nothing, she blinks, casting her eyes toward the stairs.

No words.

But so much is communicated.

The two of them look at each other with a level of love I’ve never witnessed before. There’s a flicker of agitation and pigheadedness that only these two can pull off before Adrianna turns back to me with a pained helplessness flashing in her eyes.

Straightening my spine, I see my opening. “She’ll be under my full protection.” Adrianna blinks at me as everyone else remains just as silent. I look to August, who doesn’t refuse my statement, which is a telling sign, and I think Adrianna knows it too. When she doesn’t answer, I take a small step toward her, and when she doesn’t inch back, I push again. “Do you trust me?”

I understand why I’m pushing for this, but I don’t know why it matters so much, and I can’t back down now.

“Yes, but?—”

“No buts. Do you trust me?” I repeat, needing to hear it without the objection, and she sighs. Her head dips as she takes a deep breath before her eyes settle on mine again.

“Yes.”

I don’t give her a chance to change her mind. Instead, I turn to Nora with my eyebrows raised.

“Are you coming?”

Nora’s eyes are as wide as saucers as she nods vigorously, rushing down the remaining steps. She stands stiff in front of me, tall and proud. “Yes.”

“You listen to everything I say, do everything I do, and keep your smart mouth shut because this is a situation of life and death. If you die, you better believe your sister will ensure I follow you, and I promise to make your life hell, even in the afterlife. Do you understand me?”

Her chest heaves with every breath as she nods. “I think you just became my favorite, Fangs.”