Hotbloods (Hotbloods #1)

Then I felt my lips begin to move, my voice coming to life, though my brain couldn’t connect to what I was saying. All I was aware of was my emotions as I spoke, which began to vacillate like a pendulum. One minute, laughter was bubbling up in my throat, and the next, tears spilling from my eyes as an overwhelming anxiety gripped my chest. Somewhere in-between, a small part of me—the part that was aware of a complete stranger’s eyes watching me—felt an acute sense of embarrassment at my behavior, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t regain control of myself. That was the most terrifying thing. I had no idea if this stupor I had fallen into would ever stop. I could’ve blurted out my entire life story to him, my deepest fears and insecurities, and I wouldn’t have known it—from the myriad of emotions rolling through me, it would not have surprised me if I had.

“Riley.” His voice was soft, gentle—and yet also deep, grounding. It vibrated through his chest and rumbled into mine, tethering me to him, to the security of being pressed against him.

I was grateful that he seemed to recognize the effect his voice had on me, and he continued to say my name, every now and then, reminding me of a reality outside of my own mind. Gradually, my emotions began to feel less out of control, and I managed to focus on the firmness of his body, supporting my soft limbs like a strong bed frame. My lips closed, and I stopped babbling. I nestled my head against his collarbone as a deep exhaustion settled into my bones.

Sleep somehow swooped in, enveloping my soul and dimming my senses. I dozed, while the air continued to whip around me, and when I finally came to again, it was to the sensation of extreme cold.

I opened my eyes and realized that it was dark, except for the light of a pale moon in the night sky—and I was wearing the puffer coat Ianthan had been carrying. I could also see a little more clearly. The pain in my head and the dizziness were still there, but perhaps the rest had done my vision some good.

I gazed up at Navan. His skin had returned to its grayish hue, and his dark eyes were fixed on a small platinum compass he was holding in one hand—his other arm still wrapped tightly around me. The dials on the compass were illuminated, casting light upon the strong plains of his face. Under different circumstances, it might be a dream come true to be wrapped up in the arms of this handsome man. Well, not man, exactly, but . . .

He met my eyes as he realized I had come to, and I felt the blood rise to my cheeks. The embarrassment of earlier returned full force. I wished I could remember what I had said to him. There was a sense of understanding in the look he gave me that had not been present when we had taken off—as though, during our journey, he had gotten to know me better. I wouldn’t have necessarily minded that, if not for the fact that it was completely one-sided, and I had no idea how much better he knew me. I was as good as alone with him—hundreds of miles away from family and friends—and my life was literally in his hands. I felt I really ought to know him better, too… as well as try to gauge how much I had divulged about myself.

“Um,” I croaked, uncertain of how to start the conversation.

“You’re feeling better?” he asked. His voice was throaty, like he hadn’t spoken in a while, as he raised a brow.

I nodded, wetting my lower lip. “A little, thanks.”

“We still have to get you treated. You’ve undergone a serious ordeal. I don’t think you realize the magnitude of . . . of what you’ve done.” A troubled expression was etched on his face. I could hear the concern in his voice, and it made me nervous. “We’re almost there now.” He averted his gaze to the compass, and then looked straight ahead.

I followed his gaze. In the far distance, I could make out the twinkling of lights spread out over a small area—apparently some kind of village—but other than that, there was nothing but the glistening of icy tundra for miles. The silence was almost deafening, except for the beating of Navan and Ianthan’s wings.

Ianthan was flying about ten feet away, his face a stoic mask. I couldn’t imagine many words had been exchanged between the two as we’d flown. For that matter, I couldn’t imagine what an ordeal Navan was going through, to have had his best friend betray him like that. I couldn’t even conceive of either of my best friends betraying me. I trusted them with everything I had. It would devastate me to discover one of them scheming behind my back.

“Hey,” I said, shaking away the thought. “I’m sorry I tricked you.” I gave him a meaningful look as he glanced back down at me.

“I seem to be getting betrayed an awful lot lately,” he said and shook his head, exhaling, his cool breath touching my face. “I used to think I was a pretty hard guy to fool. I’m starting to rethink that now.”

I chewed on my lower lip, trying to scrape together the courage to say what I wanted to. “I hope it wasn’t too weird on the way over. I . . . I don’t know what came over me. I don’t know why I was saying whatever it was I was saying.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he looked away again, focusing on our line of flight straight ahead. I’d been hoping he’d take the bait and spill what had happened, without me needing to put myself out there and ask him directly, but his lips remained sealed.

“Because, see, I can’t actually remember what I was saying. So, maybe you could clue me in?”

When he looked at me, I was surprised to see empathy in his eyes. My cheeks grew hotter.

“You said some things,” he replied vaguely.

“Uh… Okay.” I breathed out, deciding not to push it. If it came out naturally in conversation, then that was all well and good. If not, I wasn’t going to force it. It didn’t make the discomfort go away, but there was one way I could try to compensate for that… “Well, I feel like there are quite a few things you skimmed over during our first question and answer session,” I said, changing the subject. I recalled the conversation I’d overheard Ianthan and his father having, and how many question marks still hovered over that in my brain.

Navan cocked his head to one side. “Such as?”

“Such as, what’s really going on back in your homeland? I overheard Jethro talking about two queens, who are going to be entering some kind of war against each other? Jethro was saying how important it is that he and Ianthan get on the side of Queen Brisha, because she’s going to win the war. Which led me to assume that he—and probably you and your brothers too—are on the side of Queen Gianne?”

Judging by the dark flicker in his irises, the question made him uncomfortable. “You’re right,” he replied heavily. “I did hold back a lot of details when answering your questions. If you recall, I believed you would take Elysium right afterward, so there wasn’t exactly much point in giving you a full background… But yes, Vysanthe is ruled over by two queens. Gianne of the South and Brisha of the North. They are sisters—twin sisters—who inherited the throne about a decade ago. My brothers and I are citizens of Gianne’s queendom, as are our parents, as were their parents…”

“Wow. So why do the sisters hate each other so much? Why is a war brewing?”

Navan sighed, stowing away the compass into his black shoulder bag and adjusting his grip on me with both hands. My skin tingled as his right hand accidentally slipped through the interior of my coat and brushed against the bare flesh at the small of my back. His touch was freezing—not a bit of warmth left in him.