When she woke, she was sitting in the lap of the dragon, the quiet murmur of voices lulling her back towards sleep, and then she heard the giggle, and her eyes snapped open.
Turning her head, she looked across the room at Versalis and Jagum sitting on either side of the pale beauty that was Letari, and their expressions were playful.
"If you touch my sister, I will kill you both," she growled, eyes turning to her in shock at the growling voice.
Versalis immediately moved back from Letari, but Jagum only looked at her, unrepentant.
"Want to spend the rest of your life as an inside-out toadstool?" she asked the werecat, his eyes narrowing on her.
"Bring it," he growled.
His eyes widened as she stood, shocked that she would actually do it.
Dirdos wrapped his arms around her middle, dragging her backwards.
"I will skin you alive, cat," she snarled, only half kidding.
"You and me, outside, woman," he growled, him only half joking as well.
"I've always wondered what werecat tastes like."
"Come and find out."
He had moved away from Letari, just in case, and she glared at him until he was far enough away that she felt her sister was safe, Letari smirking at the cat and then the vampire.
"Told you she wouldn't be happy," Dirdos said.
"Mustn't like others having attention," a snide voice growled, and she turned to see Daemon looking moody.
"You shut up, demon," she snapped at him.
His eyes flashed dangerously, prowling forward to get in her face. "You need to cut this reckless behaviour out, stop running off with the damn dragon!" he snarled, forcing her back a step at his proximity.
"Or what?"
"I will put a leash on you," he snapped.
"I didn't know you enjoyed bringing your kinks out of the bedroom."
She had no idea where that came from, and he blinked, his mouth opening and then shutting again as he tried to change directions in the conversation.
His chin lifted slightly, and he peered at her suspiciously through hooded eyes, and while the idea of sex in any form repulsed her just then, there was no stopping the clenching of her stomach as his lips quirked up in that smirk that he knew worked on her.
"Stop that," she said, embarrassed more by the blush that crept up her cheeks than anything else.
He had a thoughtful look on his face, and she knew that was dangerous, so she lifted her finger and pointed it at him in warning, glaring before she stalked away from him.
"Oh, come on…" he complained, but then he looked sidelong at Letari. "What about you, how about you give me a kiss?" he teased, but it was the giggle that had her turning.
He was ready for her as she lunged forward, catching the fist aimed at his face and spinning her around to cross her arm over her chest with his other hand going around her waist.
She knew she had fallen for it, but there was no helping it when he went for her sister. Throwing herself forward, she launched him up and over her body, his back hitting the floor with a loud thump and people scattered, dragging delicate furniture out of the way as he reached up and grabbed her hair, dragging her down with him.
He swore an instant before she landed on him, moving her arm to land elbow first in his chest to make him wheeze.
"Take it outside!" a voice boomed, and she looked up, shrieking a moment later as the demon moved and she was suddenly crashing through the window, glass slicing through her and she landed hard, rolling twice before she righted herself and flicked up onto her feet.
He was after her, a huge grin on his face as he ran for her. Lunging forward to meet him, she used her left arm to block his right as it swung for her face, and she struck back with her right, driving her fist into his chest and throwing him backwards.
Back on his feet after only a second, he came for her again, and there were more thumps as others landed on the ground after coming out of the shattered window to watch the fight and calling out bets on who would win.
Grabbing his leg as he aimed it at her stomach, she spun and threw him bodily into the crowd of milling betters, grinning as they scattered and the demon hit the wall of the castle, landing in a heap.
He didn't move, and she watched suspiciously, wary of him faking an actual injury, but then she started to inch closer, concern for him growing in her.
Coming to a slow stop at his side, she stretched out her foot and nudged him, only to scream as he grabbed her foot and yanked her down.
Crawling on top of her, he was grinning as he pinned her shoulders, and to her disgust, he licked from the point of her chin all the way up the front of her face to her hair line and then rolled off her.
Cursing him, she scrubbed at her face with her sleeves, and he danced back from her, laughing.
"Now that we have your attention, care to tell us what's wrong?" he asked.
She glared up at him, her skin pink where she had been rubbing. "No," she snapped, but it only made him grin wider.
It irritated her that he knew her so well, and yet when he offered her his hand, she used it to yank him down onto the grass with her and she rolled, intentionally driving her knee into his stomach as she crawled over him to pin him.
"Cheater," he growled, and she smirked.
"Says the man who pretended to be unconscious," she said, sitting on his stomach hard enough to make him grunt in pain.
"Oh please, that's hardly cheating. That's more like play acting."
"Call it what you will, demon boy, it's still unsportsmanlike."
"Good thing you're not a sportsman," he said with a sly grin.
Flicking the tip of his nose to make him jump, he growled and rocked his hips to try and dislodge her, but she refused to move, listening to the sounds of the others arguing over who had won.
Glass above them tinkled, and they all looked up, but then her world spun on a top and he was there, hard and cold as he looked down at them all.
His eyes found her, and she immediately turned away, her face white and with a note of horror, she saw Daemon looking up at her, his brows pulling together in a frown of concern.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, but she could only shake her head, and she began to rise, immediately dancing back from him when he tried to stop her.
Turning away, she headed quickly from the group, heading for the nearest corner that would have his eyes unable to follow her. She felt them on her, and they were burning a hole in her back even as she sped up, and was almost running by the time she rounded the corner and ran directly into someone.
Bouncing back, she swore as blood began to gush from her nose where she had smashed it into their armoured chest.
Pinching the bridge of her nose and leaning forward slightly, she squinted up at the form and blinked as she found Sobek of all people just lurking there.
He looked down at her, brows lifting slightly in surprise before his eyes moved away and searched the grounds. When he found they were alone, his hand shot out and grabbed onto her arm, the world fading into nothing before she could so much as consider wiggling herself free.