Miller’s shoulders trembled as they caved in toward her chest. She sobbed quietly, tears spilling from unblinking eyes, but she said nothing as the two men holding her arms turned her around and headed back to the SUV.
Dante folded his hands and offered Ursula a small bow. “I’ll have Belinda bring a selection of our finest donors to your room once you’re settled in and Harold’s had a look at that arm.” He nodded at two of his guards, and they escorted the duchess inside.
Then the duke turned to Vanessa. “Your request for an audience will have to be quick. I have much left to do this night, and only an hour until sunrise.”
She bowed deeply to him. “Thank you, Your Grace.” When she rose, her eyes found me again.
One of the agents at my back nudged me forward. I had half a mind to turn around and deck him just on principle. Instead, I joined Vanessa as she opened the front passenger door of her SUV and ordered Roman out. The three of us followed the duke inside and to his office.
My pulse thundered in my ears. The words I’d practiced in my mind on the way here muddled, and all I could seem to focus on was Roman’s vacant expression and the way he refused to look at me. This close, I could feel him in my blood. I could taste the lie that he was trying to swallow. It bruised my heart.
“Now,” the duke said, stripping off his leather gloves and dropping them to his desk. “What is it that I can do for you and yours, Captain Sorano?”
Vanessa straightened. “I would like to file a grievance against Special Agent Jenna Skye. She has violated the Blood Decree by drinking from my pledged scion, Special Agent Roman Knight, without my consent.”
“What?” I cried. “You agreed that you’d forgive me if I requested a transfer.”
Vanessa narrowed her eyes at me. “I never said anything about forgiving you. I said I’d annul the blood duel. Filing a grievance is completely different.”
“But…but all of that bargaining about no bordering states and offering you a fresh harem donor as an official apology,” I said and clenched my hands into fists.
“It got you here, didn’t it?” She gave me a smug grin, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
I huffed and looked at Roman. “Did you know about this?”
“Even if he did, he’s not required to tell you,” Vanessa snapped. “He’s mine. Not yours. Not ever.”
“Enough.” The duke’s quiet order held the authority of a man who had long ago established his place at the top of the food chain. The threat in his calm, detached voice sent a tremor through my shoulders.
Vanessa shrank away from him, bowing her head in submission. “Your Grace,” she conceded with a shallow breath.
I dipped my head in an obligatory nod, but I kept my mouth shut. Every muscle in my body tensed. My lungs labored as I tried to steady my wrathful panting.
The duke folded his hands behind his back and walked a circle around the three of us, a hard, thoughtful look worrying his youthful face. I resisted the urge to twist my head around and follow him with my eyes. It would be more than rude—it would be an open admission of my lack of trust and respect for him. Those were things good little vamplings were expected to keep in check.
“All of this over a single blood doll?” He sighed and paused somewhere behind us. He wasn’t breathing over our shoulders, but he didn’t have to. Goosebumps tightened my skin as his tone softened. Coming from anyone else, it would have been disarming. It just made the duke seem that much more unpredictable.
“This complicates my plans,” he said, mild disappointment tingeing his words as if he were simply complaining about the weather. “But, fortunately, I can offer a solution.”
Roman’s sharp intake of breath jerked my attention to him as the duke took hold of his head, his thumbs hooking behind Roman’s ears and fingers finding purchase on his temples and cheekbones.
“Wait! What are you—” I choked on the words as the duke wrenched Roman’s head to one side.
Something cracked in Roman’s neck, and he was suddenly facing me at an awkward angle, his icy eyes full of alarm. They blinked twice more, and then he was gone.
Chapter Eighteen
My world imploded in slow motion.
Dante released Roman’s head, and he fell for what seemed like forever. My legs gave out, and I slid to the floor at the same time as Roman’s body hit the hardwood.
“What have you done?” I said, cupping Roman’s cheek. He looked so…young and innocent. Without the decades of worry he carried around in his conscious hours, the age when his mortality had been staunched by vampiric intervention was obvious.
Vanessa’s breath trembled murderously. She hadn’t moved, but she watched me touch Roman, her green eyes bleeding into black orbs when I pulled his head into my lap.
Dante retreated behind his desk and sighed. “I am not a therapist. My position is not for granting advice that you may take or leave. If you bring your troubles to my doorstep, you will accept the solutions I offer.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Vanessa said. Her voice was rough with restrained emotion.
Dante picked up the phone on his desk. “Send in two of Sorano’s agents,” he said. When he hung up, he shrugged out of his coat and laid it on the corner of his desk. “Thank you for your service to the St. Louis field office, Vanessa. As of tonight, you are relieved of your captain position within Blood Vice. You and your new vampling will be transferred back to Denver, to the Blood Authority Training Center. It should prove a more stable environment for nurturing a prized scion, don’t you think?”
Vanessa’s jaw flexed, but she averted her disappointed gaze to the floor. “Yes, Your Grace.”
Someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in,” Dante called out. The agents he’d requested entered, their eyes instantly falling on Roman’s crumpled corpse.
He wasn’t gone—not really—but I was too shocked to consider everything this meant for us. His blood was dead to me now. I would never experience it the way I had before. I would never have the opportunity to anoint him as my own.
Six hours. That’s how long Sonja had said a heart needed to stop pumping before vampire blood fully took root. Roman would rise tonight as one of the undead. It was what he’d wanted—at least, it was what he’d wanted before our lifeblood bond.
“Please,” Dante said to the agents. He waved his hand at Roman. “Help Agent Sorano retrieve her scion and get him home safely.”
They nudged me aside and each took one of Roman’s arms, hauling him upright. His head lolled to one side, chin bouncing against his chest. It would be healed before tonight, but it was still upsetting to watch.
Vanessa followed them out of the duke’s office, and one of the house guards closed the door behind them. I remained alone on the floor, feeling the weight of the night crushing down on me.
“That is not a very dignified way to present yourself, Agent Skye,” the duke said, taking a seat behind his desk. He wasn’t done with me.
Of course he wasn’t. I’d been a very bad vampling.
My limbs shook as I followed the subtle command and pulled myself off the floor. I swallowed and folded my hands behind my back. My tired eyes focused on the duke’s face. The sympathetic lilt I’d noticed in his expression when we first met was still there, but it was less convincing.
He took a deep breath through his nose and sighed before resting his elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together.
“This is not your fault,” he said. “I expected too much of you. You are but a vampling.”
The gentle tone of his voice irritated me. It was patronizing, as if he’d just settled a disagreement between two children fighting over a toy. I couldn’t bring myself to respond, but I lowered my gaze for fear he would see the hatred churning inside me.
“I have staked my reputation on you, Agent Skye,” he continued. “I promised the queen that I would look after you until she appoints your adoptive sire at Midsummer, and that’s what I intend to do.”
It sounded more like a threat than a promise. I stood perfectly still, waiting for him to deliver my fate. I had neither the energy nor the time to attempt to flee. The sun was on its way. I felt it tug at my bones, hanging on me every bit as miserably as my grief and defeat.
Dante picked up the phone on his desk again. “Send in three of my wolves and Agent Starsgard.”
My heart shot into my throat. “She’s done nothing wrong,” I said as soon as he hung up. “Please, don’t punish her for my mistake. I’ll do anything you ask of me. I swear.”
“Quiet.” The command was calm, delivered with that ominous air of authority he possessed. It froze me in place. I was a rabbit in the snow, ears perked at the soft sounds of an approaching fox.
A moment later, Mandy and the three guards entered the office. Mandy was still wearing the pink dress, but she’d taken the ribbon out of her hair. She frowned at me, eyes wide with caution as she stopped in front of the duke’s desk and folded her hands behind her back.
“You are Agent Skye’s sole donor?” he asked.
Mandy dipped her head in a respectful nod. “Yes, Your Grace.”
“You will decide now if you wish to remain a permanent servant of her harem or sever ties before we proceed,” he said.
Mandy blinked at me, worry bunching her eyebrows. She didn’t want to leave, but she knew the shit was about to hit the fan. If she didn’t get out while she had the chance, she’d be dragged down with me. I couldn’t do that to her.
“This problem is mine.” My voice choked, and I was forced to whisper. “You deserve to live the life you want.”
Her hand shot out and grabbed mine. “I only have this life because of you. It’s yours as much as it’s mine, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“It’s settled then,” the duke said, clapping his hands together. He turned to the three guards. “Take Agent Starsgard to the residence she and Agent Skye share and help her collect their personal effects. Then, return here.”
Mandy gave my hand a squeeze before leaving with the guards. As werewolves, none of them had to fear the quickly approaching sunrise. Still, the immediacy of the request alarmed me—as had the fact that he hadn’t waited another night so I could collect my things myself.
“You’ll be staying here until Midsummer,” he said. “I’ll fill the role of your adoptive sire until you are given one officially, and as such, my first task will be to expunge your lingering human presence.”
“Excuse me?” I wasn’t sure I understood what he meant, but it didn’t sound good.
“Your dwelling in University City will suffer an electrical fire, and a set of unidentifiable remains will be found to verify your official death record. It will relieve your pending sire of the task.”
I huffed out an affronted noise. “I grew up in that house. I’ve lived there my entire life.”
“And now that life is over,” the duke said, lifting his eyebrows as if surprised by my resistance. He wasn’t used to having his authority challenged. “You will remain here at the manor for the next five months and not leave without an escort of my choosing. Do you understand?” The frightening warning returned to his tone.
I bowed my head. “Yes, Your Grace.”
* * * * *
Belinda, the duke’s assistant, retrieved me from his office. She led me to a bedroom on the main floor, all the while explaining how things worked at the manor. I tried to listen to her, but my thoughts kept skipping back and forth between Roman’s new condition and the idea of my childhood home being burned to the ground. What a shitshow this day had become.
“Your personal donor will be given the room next to yours,” Belinda said. “You’ll also have access to the household harem. Their quarters are upstairs.” She paused to pull the curtains away from the wall of windows at the back of the bedroom and rapped her knuckles on the thick glass. “This is double-paned and UV filtering. There’s a steel shutter system as well, but it only activates if the glass is compromised.” She folded her hands in front of her stomach and smiled at me.
“Okay,” I said, unable to summon the gratitude she clearly expected.
The room was nice. It was more than nice. A white fur throw lay across the foot of the bed over a smooth, gray duvet. Above the bed hung a large, framed photograph of the rising sun, blazing against a pink and violet sky. The reminder that the night was almost over soothed me. I wanted it to be over. All of it.
“Your wolf will not return with your personal effects before daybreak,” Belinda said. “But there are dressing robes and sleepwear in the en-suite closet if you desire.”
“Okay,” I said again, my voice fading to a whisper as I went to the windows. There was a sliding glass door hidden beneath the fold of the curtains. Beyond it stretched a terrace and then twilight, glowing through the thick bows of evergreens that bordered the property.
“Would you like me to send someone from the household harem to help you change and offer refreshment?” Belinda asked. She was trying so hard to be accommodating. The duke had told her to make sure my every need was met, but what I needed no longer existed.
“No. I can dress myself,” I said. “And I’m not hungry.”
“Is there…anything else I can do for you before sunrise?”
I turned and forced a small smile at her. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
The magic words seemed to do the trick. Belinda bowed her head.
“Rest in peace, Agent Skye.”
After she’d left, I slipped into the bathroom and stripped out of my clothes, discarding them in a hamper. I placed my badge, keys, and Mandy’s cell phone on the counter. Then I found a white, silk robe in the closet and pulled it on before washing the makeup off my face at the sink.
I checked the top drawer of the vanity and found a full set of toiletries. The handles of the mirror, brush, and comb were imprinted with an ivy design that reminded me of the family tree I’d discovered in an ancient book in the bat cave library.
I picked up the comb and pulled the elastic out of my hair before raking through my tangles. Everything felt surreal, as if someone else were driving my body and going through the mindless minutiae. I couldn’t do this for the next five months. It would drive me mad.
I glanced at Mandy’s phone. The battery flashed that it was almost dead.
I considered calling Laura or Collins to let them know what was going on, but I just couldn’t bring myself to deal with either of them right now. Then I thought of Alicia and Serena, and of how much they’d already been through because of me. I pressed my hands over my face and breathed through an onslaught of hot tears.
No. I couldn’t do this for five months.
I couldn’t do it for one more night.
I left the bathroom and made my way to the sliding glass door.
Chapter Nineteen
Sunrise was thirty minutes off. I leaned against the railing of the terrace and squinted at the sky as it took on more light. It tore at my eyes, adding to the flood of tears I couldn’t seem to stop now that they’d begun.
Everything had gone to hell. I was ready to follow it there. Of the few people I cared about who would be allowed to know I hadn’t actually died in a house fire, only Mandy and Roman mattered. But Roman would be in Denver soon, and I didn’t think Mandy really understood what she’d signed up for. She would be better off without me.
This was for the best. I was tired of looking over my shoulder, of longing for things I could never have. I was tired of hurting.
“Not celebrating your victory, vampling?”
I jumped at the sound of Ursula’s tight voice and wiped my face with the back of one hand as I faced her. She’d exited a door farther down, and I realized she’d been given a room next to mine that shared the outdoor space.
“I just want to be alone.” I sniffled and rubbed the sleeve of my robe under my nose.
“Funny. That’s all I wanted, too.”
Ursula gave me a dark look as she approached, crossing the terrace
with a slow, purposeful stride. She’d changed out of her bloodied clothes. White, silk pajama pants covered her legs, and a white camisole hung from her thin shoulders.
The arm I’d shot was wrapped with a bandage down to the bend of her elbow. When she noticed me looking at it, she smirked and tilted a small wine glass to her lips, sipping delicately at the dark blood inside. Questions lit up my mind, and I decided I had nothing to lose by putting them to her.
“Miller risked her life for you,” I said. “Why would you just throw her away like that?”
Ursula’s eyes widened, and she choked on her blood cocktail. A drop fell to the collar of her white top, quickly spreading into a dark stain. She pulled the glass away from her mouth and coughed into her hand before replying.
“You shot Annie. Why would you care what I do with her?”
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to understand how you could go from caring so deeply for someone to feeling nothing. How do you turn that off?”
“Annie was just a random blood bag,” Ursula said, her eyes darting away from mine to take in the twilight creeping over the trees. “There are a few billion more just like her.”
“Then why anoint her?” I asked.
“You think you know it all, do you?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.”
“Little orphan Annie.” Ursula laughed bitterly. “She wasn’t always mine. She was meant to replace me, but after…” She sighed and took another careful sip of blood from her glass. “Annie needed me, and at the time, I needed her, too. Now that I’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, back into this circus of a family, it’s not safe for her to remain with me.” There was longing in her voice, a yearning so deep that I felt compelled to apologize.
“I was only doing my job,” I said. “The duke ordered me to find you, so I did.”
Ursula sniffed. Her mouth stretched into a sharp, unfriendly smile. “Do you know what Annie’s job was, vampling?”
Blood Vice (Book 4): Blood Dolls Page 16
