Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

“I don’t think so, Mother,” Navan said. “I’m still recovering from my journey. I’m here to endure the celebration, and then I’m retiring for the night.”

His mother frowned. “Would it kill you to indulge in our ways, just once? You’ve always been like this. This celebration is in your honor, Navan—you could at least try to enjoy it. Speaking of your brothers, where is Bashrik? I haven’t heard from him in weeks. The pair of you… Honestly, it’s like you want me to worry.”

“He wanted a change of scenery,” Navan replied, without missing a beat. “Asked me to drop him off at the colony on Daro—you know how he loves Darian blood. I’m supposed to pick him up on my way back out.” A tight laugh emerged from his lips, as his mother chuckled. Apparently, there was some shared joke I was missing out on.

“He’ll be the size of a house by the time we see him again!” Jareth commented sternly, though there was the slightest hint of amusement on his stoic face.

“Seraphina is here somewhere, Navan,” his mother said suddenly. “I’m sure she’s eager to see you. I think I saw her by the—”

“Not now, Mother. I really should be making the rounds,” Navan interrupted. “I spotted some of the Guild here who will be eager to know what I’ve been up to.”

His mother seemed disappointed, but if his father felt anything, he didn’t show it. With an embrace just as awkward as the first one, Navan turned and walked away from his parents. I followed, feeling their eyes on me as we left. I guessed if Navan had stayed longer by their side, they would have asked something about me—where he’d picked me up from—but as it was, he didn’t give them the chance.

I let out a soft breath. In the back of my mind, I’d expected we’d end up bumping into Seraphina here—this was Navan’s party, after all—but I still wasn’t feeling in the least bit prepared for it, despite Navan’s reassurances that she wouldn’t cause us any trouble. I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress and tried to distract myself with the scenery.

“Could have been worse,” I said quietly, as we made a detour around the side of the main hall, and out into a connecting hallway. The music echoed faintly through the walls, but there was nobody here.

Navan shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s going to be impossible to keep my distance tonight.”

“I’ll create a diversion,” I said, trying to get him to smile a bit.

“They barely even see you.” He sighed. “That’s the way of my people—they just dismiss anyone who isn’t of their kind. I mean, how could anyone ignore you? Look at you, Riley! I’ve never seen anything more perfect in all my life, and they look down their noses at you, like you’re something unpleasant they’ve stepped in,” he ranted, slamming his hand into the wall of the palace hallway.

I felt my cheeks flush. “What’s your mother’s name, by the way?” I asked, eager to change the subject. I enjoyed the compliment, but not the anger that came with it.

“Lorela,” he replied, his shoulders relaxing.

“That’s a beautiful name.”

He nodded. “I wish she was as beautiful a person. But honestly, it’s my father who’s the main problem—she goes along with whatever he says. Seeing them tonight… I’m worried I’ll never be able to look at them in the same way again. They want to rule over my life with an iron fist, won’t be satisfied until I’m exactly what they picture me to be. It’s like they’ve learned nothing from their mistakes with Naya… absolutely nothing.”

I reached out and took Navan’s hand in mine—there was only so much we could do under the watchful eyes of the coldbloods, but I needed him to know I was there for him.

“You don’t need to be what they want you to be,” I whispered, lifting my other hand to his face, making him look at me. “Free will, remember?”

He grunted. “Have fun telling them that. I’ve told them time and time again I don’t want to marry Seraphina, but it falls on deaf ears—they don’t care about anyone but themselves. Our union is the only thing that will increase their standing in our society, and they’re willing to pay the price, regardless of my or Seraphina’s feelings.” Exhaling, he looked me in the eyes, and the earnestness I saw there made my heart pound. “It’s not fair to either of us, Riley. I want her to find a partner whom she loves completely, and who loves her the same way in return, the way I…” He paused, swallowing, and his gaze dropped to the floor. “Well, the way I…”

“Do you have a death wish?” A cold voice echoed down the hallway before Navan could finish. I hurriedly drew my hand away from Navan’s cheek, realizing we had drawn far too close. It had probably looked like we were about to kiss, and… Well, if I was honest with myself, depending on how Navan had finished that last sentence, we might have been.

We turned sharply to see Kalvin striding toward us, a furious look on his ashen face. He was dressed in a maroon suit, the red contrasting starkly with his white-blond hair. He stopped beside us, pulling me forcefully away from Navan, just as a coldblood guard walked through the door of the hallway.

“Stop taking what’s mine!” Kalvin barked suddenly as he noticed the guard, his eyes narrowed at Navan.

The guard eyed us curiously. Apparently believing it to be a Vysanthean tussle over property, he shrugged and carried on.

“Take your hands off her,” Navan hissed, as the guard disappeared from sight.

Kalvin released me, but his eyes remained narrowed on Navan. “You’re even more of an idiot than I thought,” he snapped. “This… affair of yours could get us all killed, if the queen found out. You’re breaking the law, falling for an outsider. If you cared at all for Riley, you wouldn’t be acting like this—parading her around for everyone to see, swooning over her in the hallway of the bloody palace, for Rask’s sake! How about you keep it on the ship, and in your pants?”

Just then, a figure emerged from the shadows of the corridor, holding a glass of red liquid in his hands. I didn’t recognize him, and Kalvin and Navan didn’t seem to know who he was, either. He was a tall, willowy coldblood, with faded gray wings and a frosty look on his angular face—and I realized he’d probably just heard every word of our conversation.

“Well, well, what would the queen say if she found out the son of Jareth Idrax was fraternizing with a… whatever you are,” he said, a threatening note in his voice as he moved closer, glancing over me. “I’m sure it would open up a position at her side. I mean, your father would have to be punished too—she couldn’t be associated with someone whose son had performed such a vile act.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You caught us in a dispute over stolen property, nothing more,” Navan retorted quickly. A little too quickly.

The coldblood smiled. “That idiot guard might have believed it, but he didn’t see what I did. You were ‘swooning over her’, as your friend put it. Romancing that creature. I saw the look in both your eyes.”