he places his hand on top of Lucian’s. We stay there for a long minute, letting the reality of our promise sink in, and then we draw our hands back.
“What now?” Lucian asks, and I can tell he isn’t happy about our promise.
“We figure out how to keep her safe.” Dwade rubs his dark, neatly shaved head, not looking at either of us.
I know he’s disappointed in our decision, but over time I think he’ll understand. “We each have a class with her. I say we just do our best to keep an eye on her before and after class.”
“And what about if she makes her nighttime walks a regular thing?” Lucian asks.
“I’d hope after the iron demon she’d stay inside,” Dwade says.
We all start laughing. Yeah, that’s our Esmeray. A woman who stays inside where it’s nice and safe. When we finish, grinning at each other, I say, “Seriously, how do we handle that?”
“Try to keep an eye on her?” Lucian asks, those blue eyes of his holding doubt.
“I guess, but I have a feeling she’ll notice.”
Dwade shrugs his huge shoulders. “So, let her notice.” But then he adds, “I think she’s already suspicious of us.”
Which is just fucking great.
“More than anything,” Dwade continues, “we need to keep her away from the tunnels.”
My gut clenches. Flashes of Rayne looking back at me and grinning before going into the darkness plays over and over again in my mind. And then those dark halls…the blood splattered. The sliding line of blood.
I’m shaking. Fuck. “We can’t let her get hurt.”
“We won’t,” Lucian says, and grips my shoulder.
“When she gets back from wherever the hell she is, we’ll watch her around the clock.” There’s no room for argument in my voice, even though I know they’ll agree.
“And if she doesn’t go along with it?”
“Then we make her,” I say.
A second later, the door to our apartment opens. We all stiffen and turn to the doorway to hear Esmeray giggle. And Esmeray doesn’t giggle.
She walks in backwards, smiling at someone, and a second later Caraway enters, grinning at our Esmeray. His blond hair, left a little long on top, is perfectly styled, and he flashes his white teeth like a prince in some terrible fairy tale. Every muscle in my body tenses. What the fuck is he doing here? He wasn’t Esmeray’s type. I knew her type. So why the hell was she leading him into our home?
She turns around and doesn’t even pretend to look surprised that we’re there. “Hi, boys. Don’t worry, we won’t bother you. Caraway, let’s head to my room.”
I stand. A second later I’m between them, blocking Caraway’s path. “You’re going to want to leave now.”
He looks surprised. “What’s the problem, Bron?”
“The problem is that it’ll be a cold day in hell when we let you in her room.”
Esmeray circles around me to stand at his side. “Since when did you get to decide who I let into my bedroom?”
I don’t hesitate. “Since you came here.”
“Like hell!”
“She can say whatever the fuck she wants, but you take another step forward and I’m going to have you flat on your ass!” I say, and damn it, I sound pissed.
More than pissed. I sound like a man who just saw his mate leading another man to her bed.
“Bron, listen--” He reaches out for me, like we’re friends. Which maybe we were before, but we sure as hell aren’t now.
“Don’t touch me. Just get out.”
He looks from Esmeray to me. “Okay, well... Maybe another time.”
Esmeray plants her hands on her hips, anger in her eyes. “He doesn’t get to tell me what to do.”
Caraway is backing up, heading for the door. “Clearly there’s something going on here. Something I don’t want to get in the middle of.”
When he leaves, closing the door behind him, Esmeray’s jaw is hanging open. “I was going to feed on him!”
“No,” I say.
My legs give out beneath me, and suddenly I’m on my knees in front of her, shocked as hell. She’d used her powers on us a few times as children, but it was still unsettling to lose all control over a part of my own body.
“What is it with you and taking my meals?” she asks, and I can see the threat in her eyes.
And yet, I’m not thinking about what other parts of my body she could destroy. I’m thinking about when she was feeding on me outside of the club. The rush I’d felt when my mate touched me was like nothing in