Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

“Don’t touch her!” Navan yelled at the guards, as he helped me to my feet.

Instantly, Queen Brisha’s attention switched to us. A look of surprise passed over her features, her eyes curious. Slowly, she descended the stairs where she was standing, and came toward us. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, flashing me a concerned glance.

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, Your Highness. Only, I know these girls—they’re my friends. If Bashrik said he didn’t put them on the ship, then I believe him. If you’d just let me speak with them, I’ll find out what happened,” I pleaded, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. If Angie or Lauren said a word about where they were really from, we were doomed. I had to get to them before Queen Brisha had the chance to probe them.

She paused for a moment, thinking. “No need. Your ‘friends’ have already told us their tale… though they refused to tell me which planet they have come from—which, perhaps, I should have expected after your own caginess.” I let out a soft sigh of relief, while she gave me a pointed look. “Your ‘friends’ informed us that they snuck aboard Bashrik’s ship, which was why Bashrik didn’t declare them, but I didn’t believe them. I do not like surprise guests in the North—even guests as interesting as Kryptonians—and I was concerned about why Bashrik would lie to me about them. Naturally, if he is to join our fold, I need to be able to trust him. Now that I hear confirmation from your lips, however, I am more inclined to think he is telling the truth…” The queen paused, casting a long, intense look over at Bashrik, before returning her eyes to me. “Saying that, my rules change for no one. If your friends are going to stay, they will have to prove their loyalty to me. And I think you already know exactly what I will ask of them, given their refusal to tell me the location of your planet.”

An amused glimmer flashed in her silver eyes, and my stomach dropped.

“I require samples of their blood, so that I may synthesize them along with yours,” she continued. “It will give us more to work with.”

I nodded slowly. “A… fair exchange, Your Highness,” I managed, knowing I had no other option but to agree. “But first, please allow us a few hours together, so they can recover from their long journey. If they have traveled this far without food and water, they will be too weak to have blood taken—even a small amount.”

Queen Brisha smiled. “You are a smart one, aren’t you?” she murmured, though I sensed it wasn’t kindly meant. “Very well. Pandora, please escort our newcomers to suitable chambers.”

“All of them, Your Highness?” Pandora asked, approaching as she glanced at our motley crew.

The queen nodded.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said.

“I shall send for you and your friends later this evening, once they are rested,” Queen Brisha promised, a hint of warning in her words.

I nodded. “Of course, Your Highness. I’ll prepare them and make sure they know what’s going on.”

“See that you do, little Kryptonian… See that you do,” she remarked. With that, she turned away, heading toward a door on the far side of the main hall. It slammed shut, the echo ricocheting in my ears, sending a shiver down my spine.

“If you would all join me,” Pandora said, gesturing toward a different door.

With the help of Navan and Bashrik, I got Angie and Lauren up off the floor. Nobody spoke as we trailed after Pandora, who strode ahead at an uncomfortable speed. Navan and Bashrik didn’t have a problem, but it was tough for us Kryptonians to keep pace, so she stopped every so often to allow us to catch up.

At last, Pandora deposited us in a vast apartment just as exquisite as the chambers Queen Brisha had given to Navan and me. There were several en-suite bedrooms branching off from a main lounge area, where comfy sofas had been arranged in front of a fireplace, and there was a kitchen and a main bathroom to one side. Bookshelves stood against the vibrant plum walls of the apartment, with countless leather spines facing outward, enticing the reader in. It saddened me that they would likely never get read.

“If you need anything, let me know,” Pandora said kindly, before taking her leave. No doubt, she had matters to attend to with the queen after the kerfuffle that had just taken place. I was just glad Bashrik and my friends had arrived with their lives intact.

As Pandora left, an awkward silence descended on the room. I had yet to greet my friends properly, or even give them a hug, but still I hung back, feeling strange—it was weird to see them on Vysanthe, when they were supposed to be safe and sound at home. Secretly, a part of me wished they hadn’t come. They were in danger here. Not only that, but they were putting us all in more danger too.

Then again, there was another part of me—a much larger part—that was thrilled to have them back. Seeing them again, I realized just how much I had missed them.

Angie walked up to the fireplace and turned around dramatically, her hands on her hips. “Well, is someone going to tell us what the heck has been going on, or are we going to stand around like dorks all day?”





Chapter Thirty-Seven





Grinning, I rushed to greet my friends, throwing my arms around them and pulling them close.

“We thought we’d never see you again,” Lauren said softly.

“We had no idea what had happened to you,” Angie added, with a hint of a reprimand.

I smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, guys—it all happened so fast. I’m still not even sure I know what’s going on, and I’ve been living it. But enough about me for a second. How are you two?” They had looked genuinely shaken by their run-in with the guards, and I wanted to make sure they were okay.

“It’s all kind of a blur, to be honest,” Lauren replied, pushing her purple glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah, I seriously wasn’t sure I’d come out of all that with dry pants,” Angie said.

I smirked. “Let me know if you need a change of undies.”

“Speaking of a change of undies,” Bashrik interjected as he glared at Angie and Lauren, “what the hell were you two thinking? You almost got me killed!”

My friends suppressed a smile, sharing a conspiratorial glance.

“Sorry about that, Bash,” Angie said, before turning to me. “After we got the call from Navan, it didn’t seem right allowing Bashrik to leave us in Texas. I mean, what were we going to do? Sit around, twiddling our thumbs, while our best friend was stuck on a planet on the other side of the universe, and potentially in mortal danger? We would have gone insane. So, we made an executive decision.”

“Angie made an executive decision,” Lauren corrected. “I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”

“But aren’t you glad you came?” Angie asked.