own turbulent relationship with the vampire seem so much darker.
"She is mine," Layel said firmly.
Broderick's lush lips dipped into a confused frown. "But you - "
"Mine," he insisted.
Hearing the vampire's claim was like being branded, the words fiery hot and reverberating all the way to her soul. She should have rebuffed him. Appearances had to be maintained. In front of others, especially her new teammates, she had to be cold, heartless. But she couldn't force the words out.
Mine, he'd said, mimicking her own thoughts. She wanted to smile.
The nymph sighed in disappointment, yet there was a sharp edge to the sound. "I never poach another man's property, you know that. If you change your mind..."
"I will not."
Wait. Property? Had Broderick just called her Layel's property?
Broderick shrugged and strode from the beach. His easy compliance confirmed what she had suspected. She would not have been important to the nymph. She would have been a warm body in an assuredly long line of warm bodies, forgotten when the loving was over. Not good enough for more than a few tumbles.
What would it take to be important to a man? To mean something? To mean everything?
For several seconds, neither Delilah nor Layel spoke. She didn't know what to say to him, really, too afraid to ruin this heady moment.
"Do not think I care about your welfare," he said, looking away from her and to the water.
Moment ruined. Still determined to fight her, was he? Disappointment rocked her, but she squared her shoulders and raised her chin. Words meant nothing, she reminded herself once more. Actions, everything. "Do not think I will deny myself a man if I want him."
A muscle ticked in Layel's stubborn jaw.
"So tell me. If you don't want me for yourself, why did you send the beautiful Broderick away?" she said.
Several seconds passed in agonizing slowness. "I will see you on the battlefield, Amazon," was all he finally said. And then he, too, strode away.
CHAPTER 7
"LAYEL IS MISSING."
Alyssa, fierce soldier of the vampire army, stared up at the nymph king, gauging his reaction to her announcement. Valerian was the only man Layel truly trusted. The only man he counted as friend. Layel respected his warriors, of course, and he was fair and generous to his people. But he kept himself distanced, always distanced.
Still, ever since the nymph sovereign had struck an alliance with the dragons to maintain peace and possession of this palace, the friendship had been strained, and so Alyssa could not be sure of Valerian's innocence.
Had Valerian hurt Layel, the vampire king responsible for hundreds of dragon deaths, to appease his new ally?
The nymph king frowned over at her, concern lighting his brilliant blue eyes. "How long has he been gone?"
That concern appeared genuine, and Alyssa experienced a rush of relief. Layel shouldn't be made to suffer another devastating loss. He might not survive. If he even lived. "This is the second day," she said. "He disappeared amidst..." she swayed, her head suddenly swimming, her knees weaker than usual. Somehow she managed to remain on her feet.
"Woman?" Valerian inquired, concern shifting now to her.
"Forgive the disruption. I'm fine." But she wasn't. She needed blood. Blood she hadn't been able to take in months. Much longer and she would collapse, no amount of determination or fortitude able to save her. "He disappeared amidst a battle in the Forest of Dragons."
Valerian was not easily diverted. "Are you unwell? We now have a healer in residence. Brenna will - "
Do not dare glance at the man beside Valerian. Eyes ahead. "I'm fine," she repeated firmly. "We were speaking of Layel..."
His frown sharpened around the edges. He was a beautiful man, probably the most sensually lovely creature the gods had ever created. He had golden hair, a hard, muscled body and an eroticism that radiated from him no matter where he was or what he was doing.
Females young and old constantly threw themselves at him, though there was only one woman he desired. And that woman was even now sitting on his lap, frowning just as fervently as he was.
"Layel has disappeared before," Queen Shaye said, patting her mate's arm in a bid to comfort him.
Alyssa's chest ached at the sight of their obvious love for each other. She wanted that for herself. Had thought, for a single night, that she had found it. How wrong she'd been.
Once again she had to remind herself to keep her eyes focused on something other than the soldier standing beside Valerian. Shivawn.
She'd hungered for him