The Scent (The Bryn and Sinjin Series Book 2) by H.P. Mallory Page A

deliberate disinterest.
    “I’ve never heard that line of reasoning from you before,” I said flatly. “You always claimed the queen was your duty to guard and protect, exclusively.”
    “Shall we just agree to call it a promotion then?” he asked with a knowing smile that was as charming as it was infuriating.
    “No, we won’t,” I started, but Sinjin interrupted me.
    “What is more, I will not willingly hand you over to that … fiend, Luce,” he added as he glanced over at Jolie. “Besides, as you can see, the queen is in no shape to travel.” His gaze dropped to Jolie’s baby. “Furthermore, I would never expose the royal princess to the storm outside.”
    He did have a point there. The rain had returned with a vengeance, and was joined by deafening claps of thunder and multiple bursts of lightning. The truth of the matter was that without me, Jolie wouldn’t have the strength left to buffer herself or her baby against the merciless storm. That much was now as obvious as the exhaustion on her face. Yes, unfortunately, there was definitely no way that Jolie could travel without me; but I couldn’t exactly tag along since I’d simply be leading Luce directly to us. My brainwaves would be the proverbial breadcrumbs along the way.
    “Then what are we going to do?” I asked in a hollow voice. I eyed Sinjin and hoped he had a plan. He was usually pretty good about preparing for things in advance …
    “I will fight Luce,” Sinjin replied steadfastly.
    I didn’t say anything for a few seconds as I waited for him to announce the rest of his well thought-out plan. But when he didn’t say anything more, my short temper overcame me. “You will fight Luce?” I repeated while shaking my head. I had no intention of belittling him, but I had a pretty good hunch that was exactly how I came off. “You? An army of one?”
    “Need I remind you that I am a master vampire,” he retorted with an annoyed expression.
    “I understand that, Sinjin.” I tried to mask my patronizing tone, but I couldn’t help it. We were stuck between a rock the size of a boulder and the hardest hard place I could imagine. Never mind the time now slipping past us like sand between my fingers. “But you can’t take on Luce’s legion alone,” I argued. I was more than sure Sinjin couldn’t even take on Luce alone, master vampire or not.
    “I can and I will,” Sinjin started.
    “Please,” Jolie interrupted him. “Stop arguing.” She took a deep breath while staring us both down. “Sinjin, we will have to take our chances with the storm. I see no alternative because Bryn is right, we can’t just stay here and wait for Luce to find us.”
    “And what then?” Sinjin continued.
    “Then we will just have to keep running from Luce until I’m strong enough to tap into Mercedes’s powers, whereby I can replenish mine,” Jolie answered steadfastly.
    “That is if the prophetess is still alive,” I added before instantly realizing I shouldn’t have. Jolie’s hopeful expression dropped, only to be replaced with worry.
    “Be that as it may,” Sinjin said with a brief nod. Approaching me, he reached out to take my hand, which I guessed meant that he was getting ready to transport all of us again. I took a step away from him and put my arms behind my back.
    “I still don’t agree that I should go with you,” I announced.
    “And, I must admit, that I cannot seem to find it within myself to care,” Sinjin replied with practiced ennui.
    I was about to further protest my opinion, but the words were taken from me as I felt a chill traveling through me. Every hair on my body stood at attention as my breathing suddenly came in short gasps. Although I didn’t feel the usual pain between my eyes that was inflicted by Luce, I didn’t need to. I knew his trademark anywhere.
    “It’s too late,” I said, my voice cracking as my stomach plummeted to the ground. “He’s here.”
    Even though there was no physical sign of Luce, I