I shrugged. “Yeah.”
He made a frustrated noise and said, “You’re more of a fool than I could’ve ever imagined.”
I stood on my tiptoes so our faces hovered inches apart. “And you’re a spiteful psychopath—leave me the fuck alone.”
He smiled, and it was pure evil. “No, I don’t think I will.”
The grip on my arm tightened, and my humerus creaked like it was seconds from snapping.
A whimper escaped before I could stop it.
Bedding rustled, and someone swore.
There was a blur in my periphery, and then Scorpius and Orion joined us in the middle of the room. Unlike Malum, they were fully clothed. Orion’s eyes locked on where Malum was gripping my arm tightly, then he took in our swollen lips and messy hair.
Finally, he stared at my neck.
From his expression, Malum had left his marks on me.
Orion whispered to Scorpius, and their faces contorted from sleepy to enraged.
“Don’t touch her like that,” Scorpius said as he yanked Malum away from me by the back of his neck.
Malum allowed himself to be pulled away without a fight, but his eyes were full of insidious promises.
He was going to rip away my secrets.
Tear me to pieces.
Ravage me.
He wasn’t going to let this go.
Backing away from the three kings, keeping my front to them at all times like they were wild animals, I collapsed back onto my bunk even though I didn’t want to sleep.
“I’m going to bed,” I announced.
Awkward silence stretched among the four of us.
“We can help you shower like we did before,” Scorpius offered quietly.
I pulled the comforter over my body.
“Um, that’s okay,” I said awkwardly.
Orion whispered, and I was startled at how close he was. “We’ll take care of you, sweetheart, we promise. Corvus just lost control of himself—he’ll be better.”
Sure, and I’m mentally stable.
The scent of chocolate-covered raspberries was deliciously sweet, and I held my breath.
Finally, he stepped away.
“You will be mine, Arabella,” Malum promised harshly across the room, then grunted as someone hit him.
I closed my eyes tight and breathed erratically because he knew my secrets; he’d seen me let myself get stabbed. The other men would freak out if they realized, and they’d smother me.
For some reason, he hadn’t told them yet. My heart skipped a beat as I realized he’d voluntarily kept my secret.
Malum was protecting me. It was almost…sweet.
He’d also kissed me like he was trying to consume me, again. He kissed like it was a war he was determined to win. Did he fuck the same way?
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to stop thinking about fire, whiskey, and sin.
My wrists tingled where he’d pinned them above my head.
Heat unfurled inside me, and pain streaked down my spine as I clenched my legs together.
I needed to concentrate on something off-putting and weird.
It was an emergency.
Desperate to stop my traitorous body’s reaction, I pictured Sadie trying to dance seductively in the fae realm. I hadn’t even known someone could move their limbs in two different directions like that at the same time.
The little pinpricks of pain streaking down my spine slowly faded away.
However, it was hard to concentrate on Sadie’s dancing （convulsions）。 The memory of Malum’s razor-sharp eyes as he promised not to leave me alone played on repeat through my mind.
There was clearly only one solution.
I had to have sex with him, then I’d have to kill him. Praying-mantis-style. Dagger down, ass up.
It was the only way.
I ignored the arguing kings and, with disturbing swiftness, fell asleep—the nightmares came quickly.
Chapter 12
Corvus Malum
CONNECTIONS
Ignify （verb）： to form into fire.
DAY 7, HOUR 3
My nightmares usually consisted of flames and failing my mates, of red fire pouring from my skin while I screamed without relief.
There was a recurring theme to my dreams.
In some of them, I had all three of my mates around me, but I couldn’t find my Revered. I used to dream about a faceless male cowering somewhere in need of protection. Now I dreamed about a fierce woman with eyes like ice who didn’t want my protection.
I knew something was very wrong because this dream was not like the rest.
I knew in my gut that I was trapped in someone else’s body, experiencing their memories.
The person was lying partially naked on a marble floor. Ornate frescoes decorated the walls, and the high ceiling seemed to go on forever. Everything flickered in shades of gray as if the person’s vision filtered out warm colors.