Marked Claws (Mystic Bonds #2) | COMPLETED

12. Damien

In the past two weeks, a lot had happened.

Amongst them, the most noteworthy thing was probably: first, the fact that Arion and I have managed to call a truce. And secondly, Lucien and I made a good team but Arion somehow got along just fine as well.

"The weapons here are centuries old." Lucien's words brought me back to the present and I sighed.

"I just don't know what to feel every time I think of Cara having faced a Daeva on her own. Here. Right under Arion's nose." My beating heart seemed to speed up at the very thought.

I gritted my teeth, ire weaving through my words as I tried to feel Cara through our bond only to come up blank again.

Lucien was weighing a katana in his hand, observing the blade when Arion joined us.

"You've made this room your home, Lucien. Can you make use of the other facilities in this big Palace?" Arion rose a brow and Lucien shrugged, his muscles tightening slightly.

We were having an unofficial sort of meeting after a week long time of gathering information and stabilizing the kingdom as much as possible.

Arion's condition had certainly improved. I was glad for it actually. This Fae King was better like this than a drunkard mourning his sister. But he was quite self-aware much to my surprise.

And I was sure whatever was in that parchment letter by Sera that Minister Isla had given Arion had a part to play in his recovered determination.

"Any leads on the traitor who gave away the secret routes into both the Palace and the Kingdom?"

Arion's lip curled but he gave a curt shake of his head and I folded my arms over my chest in subdued anger.

"Did you talk to Isla again?"

Arion shot me an irritated look and I smirked in response, lounging on the comfortable chair I'd had moved in here.

The russet haired king wasn't lying when he said Lucien had made this room his home. So of course I'd joined him. Except I refused to sleep here.

Whenever he had any time, my best friend could be found nit-picking everything in this room and searching for answers. For good reason.

Arion chastised, "You know speaking to Isla is useless. Although I have confirmed Esmeralda's alliance with her coven of witches."

I sighed and Lucien left his post to join me and sat on the other sofa. Arion stood in front of one of the three full length mirror window.

"That's good." Lucien's cold words sucked out any heat Arion and I had created between us.

I exhaled and my tongue scraped against my fangs again, the stinging sensation making me crave blood. My fangs had elongated and all pretenses of subtly hiding them had disappeared once I realized I couldn't control them anymore. Having gone a weak month without my Soulbond's blood was having an effect on me.

Though I'd tried ingesting blood by other means of course and this time I had make do. I couldn't afford to weaken myself. Some days my body cooperated and some days it didn't.

I decided it was a good time for me to add my own piece of information, "I weaseled some information from Esmeralda as well. It's confirmed that this room was warded and under strong illusionary magic."

"Sera's magic." His words were brittle and the mention of his sister still made Arion's grey eyes shake.

Lucien narrowed his eyes at me and I continued, "Yes, that's correct. But there's nothing else of use."