She tuned in to that sense she had always had of him. That moment where everything had always felt right. Where she inherently knew him. It bubbled up inside of her. An awareness. A sense of rightness.
She turned her head. And there he was.
He was standing between Cassandra and Roland to the right of the stage. As if in response, he faced her, cocked his head to the side, and a small smile graced those perfect lips.
Her heart thudded in response. It had worked. She couldn’t wait to tell him. Her soulmate.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Penelope said, drawing Reyna’s attention back to the matter at hand, “thank you so much for being here tonight. This was one of my father’s favorite occasions. While I miss him dearly, I am so happy to continue his legacy. As with every New Year’s Eve, the mayor brings an honored guest up onto the stage. I’m pleased tonight to have the CEO and president of Visage, William Harrington.”
Penny greeted Harrington as he strode onto the stage. This was the moment. She waited to see if he would find her in the crowd. If he could sense her, he would do it now. But his eyes never flickered toward her. He just continued until he reached the microphone.
Reyna gritted her teeth and forced herself to applaud along with the rest of them. This was the first time she had seen him since she had escaped. He looked…healthy.
It made no sense. He shouldn’t look this hale when he didn’t have access to her blood. He still leaned on his cane, but she’d seen him fake that before. His face wasn’t pasty. His hair was full. All he needed to do was straighten his back and she knew that the monster would reappear.
The crowd cheered enthusiastically for him. He’d fooled them all—the entire world. He’d made them think the blood type cure was the only way for vampires to use their intelligence—but Beckham had explained that not all vampires functioned on the same animalistic level without the cure. Harrington had pulled humanity back from the brink of collapse by employing humans at Visage, but no one knew he had caused that depression. He’d offered this Blood Census as an olive branch to help with all registered vampires, but it was just a scheme to find more Rh null negative humans.
William Harrington was not an altruistic savior. He was a lethal, manipulative, conniving bastard. And he’d had centuries to perfect his act so everyone in this room salivated at his very presence. But she knew better.
“Thank you so much, Mayor Sky,” Harrington said with the soft voice he used with a crowd. “I’m so pleased to be here as an honored guest tonight. Visage is a beacon in this city. It employs many of the people here in this room, including my senior vice presidents who are in attendance.” He gestured to the side of the room where Beckham stood flanked by Roland and Cassandra. “At Visage, we always strive to be cutting-edge. To bring bigger and better to the world, to our employees, to our shareholders. This year alone, we’ve rolled out a new permanent enrollment, first with senior staff and then all of corporate. This is set to go fully public in the new year.”
The crowd cheered. Theycheered.
Reyna was sick. How many people at this party had any idea what it was like to be a blood escort? She doubted there were many other than the hired help.
“With the completion of the Blood Census, we’ll be able to work toward even bigger gains going forward. A full registry only makes sense when you consider that vampires have been registered for more than a decade. But more importantly, we have ahugeannouncement coming early next year. It’ll be groundbreaking.” He grinned wickedly. “I wish I could say more, but be on the lookout for news.”
Reyna’s face paled further. The feeding camp. It had to be.
“And with that, I want to say thank you to our illustrious host, Mayor Sky. She’s a wonder to work with, and I’m amazed by the transformation she’s made in the short time she has been running this city.”
“Thank you, William,” Penelope said. “I feel like a new person.”
Then her hand went to the back of her mask and the entire thing fluttered away, revealing her full beauty. Her completely seamless, perfect face. There was no sign of the multiple surgeries she had undergone to recover from the fires. She was the same, and yet…
Penelope smiled. Bright and bold and deadly.
Reyna choked.
“No,” she whispered.
Penelope had been turned. Penelope was a vampire.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Fuck,” Gabe spat. Meghan covered her mouth with her hand. Reyna just stared. And stared. And stared some more.
Harrington waved his hand and said something into the microphone, but she heard none of it. All she saw was Penelope standing there healed and yet…rotten. Not that being a vampire automatically made you a bad person. She knew too many who weren’t. But Penelope had done this post-Beckham. This was not a clearheaded choice. This was desperation.
“Abort,” Gabe said into their earpieces. “It’s a trap.”
He tried to grab for her, to pull her out of the room, but Reyna yanked away from him. They had not come this far to turn around and do nothing. If Harrington obviously could not sense her, then she would make himseeher. They still had this one shot to get at Harrington. She wasn’t going to squander it just because of Penelope Sky.
With her plan clicking into place, she took a deep breath and pulled off her own mask, revealing her face to the entire crowd.
Harrington’s head turned toward the back of the room. His eyes widened as he took in Reyna standing under a spotlight for all to see. A slow smile crossed his face as their eyes locked. His seemed to say,Well met, little queen.
Instead of walking off the stage as he’d come in, Harrington took the stairs down to the front. He ignored the excitement and congratulations of his fawning admirers. His vice presidents pulled in behind him automatically, but Reyna didn’t dare glance at Beckham. She still didn’t know how much Harrington knew and wouldn’t tip her hand if she didn’t have to.
