Page 5 (1/2)
At last count, Cindey had broken dozens of Kaderin&039;s bones But then, Kaderin had snapped at least twice as many of hers, cracked her brain bucket, and, rumor had it, ruptured the siren&039;s spleen
To the adorable-looking kobolds, a type of ground-dwelling gnorasped the hilt, not even needing to draw it for the largestonly four feet tall - to s and swiftly lower his gaze The kobolds only appeared wholeso
Kaderin was one of the few beings alive who&039;d seen the froround as they hunted in packs She still did not find the ternome hysterically funny as her sisters all did
The crowd of entrants consisted of all makes and models in the Lore: trolls, witches, and the noble fey Demons from many of the Demonarchies were present
Kaderin noted the veterans ere out to win the grand prize - whatever priceless good was offered this Hie She identified the scavengers who only wanted to snag the individual talismans allotted for each task
And then there were the newbies She could make them out in an instant, because they would dare to stare at her
As a co chah-profile in the Lore than arnered power and respect for her covens - and for herself Had she been a feeler, she would have been prideful of her reputation She couldn&039;t believe she&039;d so easily risked it with her recent indiscretion
Relative to her sisters, her fall frorace would be a nosedive -
Suddenly, her ears twitched Sensing so in the shadows at the back of the balcony, she turned and spied ain the darkness A Lykae? Now, that was unusual The olves and the vampires never entered this contest
The Horde vampires found it beneath them, and the mysterious Forbearers didn&039;t know of its existence The Lore found it both a and shrewd to keep those turned humans in the dark about their world
Historically, the Lykae couldn&039;t be troubled to care
In the past, this set of circumstances had been fortuitous The Lykae - for all their wild, seething good looks - were single-minded and brutal And the vah undefeatable
The olf nized him as Bowen MacRieve, best friend and cousin to Eht over the last millenniued little - which olden eyes were vivid, his dark hair thick and long He didn&039;t address her as "Lady Kaderin," as the rest of the Lore did, but then, he didn&039;t fear her
"Bowen" She briefly inclined her head
"I dinna see you at the wedding Quite nice affair"
He&039;d been at E, and she&039;d missed it "I&039;m curious about why you are here"
"I&039;ue
Deep voices were attractive An unbiddenbetween kisses She shook herself "You&039;ll be the first Lykae to do so Ever"
He leaned his tall fraainst the wall, utterly nonchalant He was as tall as the vaed, but Bowen probably would be consideredhirade A?
"Are you alarmed, Valkyrie?"
"Do I look alar that, since she knew the ansas invariably no "Why now?" She&039;d seen Bowen fighting vao - he&039;d been pitiless in the past, and she&039;d bet that hadn&039;t changed, either
He answered, "A friend told ht have a particular interest in the prize" Yes, if possible, Boas ray, so dark and coot lost in eyes like Sebastian&039;s, she&039;d want to please hilimpse of them, and a woman wouldn&039;t knohether to jump him or run fro was holding, because she didn&039;t feel even a flutter of desire for the Lykae
"You knohat the prize is?" she asked, but Boasn&039;t listening The witches had just arrived - one called Mariketa the Awaited and another wo at them "If you&039;re this easily distracted," Kaderin said, "I&039;ll have no proble here?"
Kaderin quirked a brow "They&039;re here to compete As they do every Hie"
She knew the Lykae never purchased icks from the House of Witches - the Lore&039;s mystical mercenaries Kaderin had heard a hundred discountable rumors why, and on occasion, she&039;d speculated at the truth She couldn&039;t iine life without the convenience of spells - which could vaes - any ine life without showers Both scenarios were barbaric to Kaderin
Now, seeing Bowen&039;s expression, Kaderin wondered if the Lykae eschewed buying spells simply because the witches creeped theain
"I doona ken exactly," he said, his attention locked on the two "But I know enough to warn you that I&039;ll kill for it" He finally faced her to say, "And I daresay killing you would jeopardize the Lykae&039;s tenuous truce with the Valkyrie"
"So, because of Ee, I should back out? Even though this is my competition, and has been since you were a wittle puppy?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders "I&039;d rather no&039; hurt you, all in all I&039;ve never struck a fee I&039;ve heard this contest calls for Dae like you&039;ve meted out"
"Werewolf, don&039;t hate the player - hate the ga would put the dog out
At least there wasn&039;t a vamp -
The vampire appeared out of thin air
Her claws scrabbled along the railing as she fought to stay upright
8
How in the hell did he find me? She had marble under four claws from where she&039;d just saved herself from a fall
He&039;d first appeared in the back of the gallery, and now she watched as he traced into a darkened corner No one had noticed hi as if someone had pulled the fire alarm - because he was able to half-trace, barely visible and unscentable to the low creatures She&039;d seen vampires ere able to do that clever trick, but they&039;d been much older
Yet she&039;d seen hireat Freya, if he&039;d been handso
Everything about hiainedhis shoulders broader and thewas casual but expensive, with a tailored fit that highlighted his powerful body His thick, straight black hair was still long but trimmed
But how in the hell did he find Riora&039;s teht was that there was a Valkyrie stoolie, feeding hiue ones she feuded ould never betray her - especially not to a vaers Those little punks! Her eyes narrowed Those little condely sca, and from Sebastian&039;s reaction, Kaderin knew he&039;d never seen beings like these He was hiding his surprise well, which was a good habit to have, since the denizens here would ho out a weakness
If he li If he fell to his knees, their fangs would go for his jugular without thought Such was the world of the Lore
"Valkyrie," Bowen intoned fro for you"
How dare he interrupt her staring? She turned and beheld diaeous diamond necklace, offered in his palm
One of the few Valkyrie weaknesses was the fact that glittering jewels could mesmerize theoddess mother Freya, and stones like these held a fatal attraction of sorts Not just any shiny bauble - cubic zirconia wouldn&039;t do it - but deep, vibrant diamonds
Valkyrie trained exhaustively to be able to resist, yet Kaderin hadn&039;t bothered in centuries Aversion training tended to be tricky when there was no inclination to possess
Had Kaderin been a feeler, she would have been spellbound by the dazzling stones, as he obviously intended She ht have been fascinated by the way the te them sparkle, or enthralled with the tiny pinprick spears of flalint
She jerked her gaze up Odd that she wasn&039;t a feeler, and yet soht now "Very clever, Bowen Yet your tricks won&039;t ith me" But damn if they almost hadn&039;t Shake it off Don&039;t hand this weakness to hirinned with satisfaction, she resisted the urge to glare and made her expression blank before she turned to find the va him
"These tricks ith other Valkyrie," Bowen said "Do they no&039;?"
Without glancing away froin or Myst Then let me kno that works out for you"
Could those nymph tramps stand any closer to Sebastian? Kaderin had never understood Myst&039;s particular dislike of theht - they were a bunch of little hookers
Froe to an orgy any day," giving hi the ny The two didn&039;t bother hiding their lust, and to his credit, Sebastian didn&039;t drop his jaw the way a human male would have
Kaderin didn&039;t believe that, as a whole, the ny about them screamed, Easy lay! When you don&039;t want to work for it! And curiously,than the Valkyrie&039;s Do it and die, simian
"Mood from the front as he is from the - "
"No " The first paled and whispered, "He&039;s not a demon He&039;s a vampire"
The other shook her head "His eyes are clear And he doesn&039;t smell like one"
Kaderin saw Sebastian&039;s brows draw together; no doubt he ondering, What do vampires smell like?