Dreams of a Dark Warrior

leech?”
    He rubbed his tongue on his fang. “Chase’s end of the bargain.”

FIFTY

    “ C ome, don’t be shy, Magister,” the vampire murmured, his eyes riveted to Declan’s neck. “I grow peckish.”
    “Don’t bloody call me that!” He gazed out past a craggy rock face, back down the trail where the others awaited them. Brandr was supposed to tell Regin that they’d gone to scout ahead, but Declan was uneasy.
    And it sat ill with him to sneak around like this, to cede his blood so shamefully. “You aren’t even supposed to drink this often,” Declan said. “Older vampires can go for weeks. Do you
want
more of my memories?”
    “Surely the rest can’t be worse?”
    When Declan only raised his brows, Lothaire said, “In any case, I lost blood fighting the Wendigos and need to refill my coffers.”
    Declan gritted his teeth, rolling up a sleeve.
How far I’ve fallen.
Allowing himself to be drunk.
    But he had no choice. If he’d had any lingering doubts that he was a member of the Lore, they’d been extinguished; Declan felt
compelled
by the vow he’d made.
    “It’ll go faster through the neck,” Lothaire said. “AndI know you want to be quick. Don’t want your female to catch you
in flagrante dentate,
do you?”
    “Forget it.”
    “I seem to recall that your vow stipulated whenever and
however
I chose to drink you.”
    Declan’s hands tightened into fists as Lothaire moved behind him. “You’re a fuckin’ parasite.”
I could
never
become a vampire.
Filthy leeches.
    “Words still hurt, Chase. Besides, you should be thanking me. My advice about the Valkyrie clearly worked. And speaking of females, if I call you by one’s name while my fangs are plunged deep in your neck, just run with it.” The vampire leaned in.
    Only one more day of this vow. Just one more day.
    Declan’s jaw clenched when Lothaire punctured his skin with a groan. The vampire’s hands clamped his shoulders, those sucking sounds nauseating. Again and again, Lothaire drew greedily—
    Over the blustery winds, Declan heard a horrified cry, swung his gaze up. “Ah, God, Regin!”
    “What kind of sick kicks are you into?” Regin screamed as she bolted away.
    Lothaire had been drinking Chase—and the man had been
letting
him.
    No wonder Brandr had stood at that pass like a guard, telling her to stay put. Her ears had twitched, alerting her that something was up. But she’d figured Chase had taken Lothaire out to kill him—not to
feed
him!
    She’d sneaked off after them because she wanted to interrogate Lothaire before he died.
    Worse, it’d taken her several seconds to react to the sight of them together. She’d been almost hypnotized by the scene as Lothaire drank. Chase’s masculine face had been tense, his gray eyes focused on the ground. Lothaire’s face had been starkly beautiful, his pale blond hair brushing Chase’s shoulder.
    Light and dark. One terrible, one tragic.
    And Lothaire had been… hard. “Oh, gods!” she cried as she ran back along the trail.
Hot poker for my eyes! Hot poker!
    Why couldn’t she have stumbled upon Chase and Brandr necking? That would’ve been crazy hot.
    “Regin, wait!” Chase ran after her, his bite mark torn and bleeding. He must’ve jerked away from Lothaire. “I didn’t have a choice!” He grabbed her arm. “I had to make that vow to him. Without his aid, we wouldn’t have made it past the first night.”
    She flung herself from his grip. “He can learn things about me through your blood. Can learn about my sisters!” She briefly covered her mouth. “He can see everything we’ve done! I don’t want that leech to know what we do in private.”
    Lothaire strolled up, making a scoffing sound. “As if I don’t watch you two live from a distance.” He licked his crimson lips. “His staying power is increasing. As is yours. Bravo.”
    They both scowled at him.
    “I made a vow,” Chase told her. “I’m compelled by it. You understand this.”
    “Fine. Then you should’ve kept your distance from me until you were released from it.”
    He pinched his forehead. “I knew I had only days to win you.”
    Brandr, Natalya, and Thad caught up to them.
    “What’s going on here?” Brandr demanded. “Damn it, Regin, do you never do as you’re told?”
    She blinked at him. “It’s taken you a millennium to get that?”
    Lothaire said to her, “Valkyrie, I’ve seen little about your sisters that I don’t already know. Mostly I’ve been treated to