“What happened to him? The man?”
“Why, I killed him of course.” She smiles at me but it’s false and I swear I see something flicker across her eyes.
I should have killed Veronica when I had the chance, when I found out about what she’d done to Briony. I should have taken my opportunity then and be damned with the consequences.
My stomach growls again, betraying how ravenous I am.
“Are you hungry, darling? Would you like me to bring you some food? Something young and fresh, pretty maybe? We know you like pretty.”
“I’m not hungry. Not for that.”
“How long do you think a vampire can last without feeding?” she asks me, making out like she’s going to count on her fingers. I scowl at her. “The last one lasted five days. By the fourth he was begging and wailing and clawing his eyes out in desperation. It was such fun to watch. Some last a little longer. Some, not so long.” She stares at me. “How long do you think you’ll last, Fox, before you’re begging me to drag a warm body in here and you suck until your teeth ache?”
“Not going to happen,” I croak, unable to stop myself from running my tongue over my lip.
Veronica spots the action and smiles widely. “Always so noble. Maybe I’ll bring you the limp body of that girl. You wouldn’t be able to resist her.”
I lunge my body forward growling at her, struggling against the constraints. It’s no use. I’m too tightly bound and my body even weaker than it was before.
“Well, if you aren’t going to eat, I’ll let them feed instead.”
“No!” I cry out. “Veronica, no!”
But she’s deaf to my pleas, her shadows arcing through the air and calling to the demons that lurk above us. I yank at my constraints all the more frantically, desperately calling to my magic as the demons come swooping towards me, cawing in delight.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Briony
“Where are the soldiers?” Dray asks, sliding from Blaze’s back and landing on the hard icy ground.
I swing my gaze across the barren landscape, dazzled by all the snow, stained golden by the rising sun. There is no one here but Beaufort and Thorne.
“I don’t know,” Beaufort says, “but I don’t think they’re coming.”
“Not coming?” Dray says, eyes flicking to me before he walks close to his bond mates and lowers his voice. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” Beaufort says.
“We should send a message and–”
“No! No more waiting!” I say resolutely, hooking my leg over Blaze’s broad back and follow Dray down to the ground.
Blaze folds in his wings, and tucks in his head, his large golden eyes closing. He’s flown through the night for two days running and I take it he’s grabbing his chance for a cat nap.
“I agree,” Beaufort says, surprising me. “I don’t think there is any point. If the elite team isn’t here, there’ll be a very goodreason for it. And that reason could hold them up for days, if not indefinitely.”
We’re all silent for a moment, considering the consequences of this.
“Will the Empress still want us to complete this mission without the other soldiers?” I ask.
“Yes,” Beaufort says, swallowing. “I suspect she’s given us this mission as a challenge,” he hesitates, “and as a punishment.”
“Punishment?” I say, confused.
“You attacked her son–”
“Your brother,” I mutter.
