“Oh, I see I’m going to have to be careful around you. You’ve the devil’s tongue.”
I shrugged. “Guilty.”
I watched him venture back toward the house and was just turning away when I noticed two figures leap from the shadows and knock him to the ground.
I jumped to my feet and rushed to Matthew’s aid as the two figures in dark, hooded robes dragged a protesting Matthew deeper into the garden.
“Unhand him,” I ordered as I approached the men, who paused to regard me.
The one on the right held Matthew in a tight grip while the other stalked toward me, kneading his fists.
I was going to enjoy this.
The man swung out with a fist intended for my nose, but I easily dodged the attack. I might not have had my vampire reflexes anymore, but after centuries of fighting and hunting, I knew how to grapple with a man. I took advantage of the man’s surprise by offering him a solid uppercut that made his teeth clatter together audibly. The sound was music to my ears.
“Lucian!” Matthew cried as he was dragged down a side path.
I sighed, realizing I wouldn’t have the luxury of drawing this out as long as I would have liked. My opponent offered me another slow punch, whereupon I grabbed his arm, snapped it back with a painful crack, then clamped my mouth down over his exposed neck.
Of course, I had no fangs, and realized quickly I was doing nothing useful. So I shoved him to the ground, where he moaned, still clutching his broken arm. I kicked him in the ribs for good measure as I sauntered past him, making my way to where I heard Matthew continuing to struggle against his would-be kidnapper.
When I turned a corner, I found Matthew bucking the other robed man so wildly that he’d almost escaped his grasp. In response, Matthew was backhanded, the mask flying from his face, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth.
“That’s enough of that now,” I said. The man’s hands were occupied with Matthew, so he couldn’t defend himself from the solid punch I aimed at his face. The sound of his nose breaking sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine, and I laughed as the man let go of Matthew all at once to see to the bleeding.
Matthew grabbed my hand and spun me around, yanking me back toward the house, and safety. I licked the blood left behind on my knuckles and shuddered, but not from rapture. The taste didn’t bring the euphoria I was expecting, but was rather metallic and bitter. I spit it out, disappointed, as we stepped into the waiting light of the human world and the shadows fell from me once more.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Wait,” Matthew stopped me as I stalked toward the ballroom. “We can’t go in there like this.”
I glanced at Matthew, blood caked to the side of his mouth, hair disheveled. My right hand throbbed, still splattered with blood. He was right, of course.
“This way,” he urged, steering us around the side of the house.
“What’s all this, then?” Melbourne asked, appearing from out of the darkness like an apparition. His eyes snapped to my hand. “Are you injured?”
“We were walking and thought we heard someone calling for help,” Cecelia joined him at his elbow, shadows clinging to her face so that it was hard to read her expression.
“Someone tried to …” Matthew shuddered, his hand briefly finding my arm before letting go. “We just need to go somewhere private. To clean up.”
Melbourne hesitated, then nodded past some tall hedges, where light spilled from a window. “The kitchens are just up ahead.”
Matthew shook his head. “They’ll be full of people right now.”
Cecelia peered back at the open door to the ballroom, before turning to me. “Why don’t you take him to your room? I’ll have a servant send some fresh water and clean towels to you, like you spilled something and need to freshen up.”
Matthew looked at Melbourne. “Would you mind making my excuses to my family? I don’t want anyone worrying about me. We won’t be long.”
“Of course,” Melbourne nodded and gestured for Cecelia to escort him inside. Cecelia sent a worried glance at me before she walked with him back to the party.
“There’s a servants’ entrance nearby,” Matthew told me.
I followed him as he led us indoors, and to my surprise, directly to my room, like he’d known where it was on instinct. Once inside, I closed the door behind us and ran a hand through my hair, watching Matthew as he settled onto the edge of my bed. “Why were those men after you?”
Matthew blinked, as if the question hadn’t occurred to him. “I—I don’t know.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do people often try to drag you into the recesses of gardens?”
