He flashed me a smile. “He was very eager to see to it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure he was.”
A voice called from outside the door. “Lucian?” Maxwell.
I cursed, pulling Melbourne deeper into the shadowed room with me. There was a desk and some large potted plants to provide some cover.
“Ah, so you do find me irresistible,” Melbourne said as I covered his mouth with a hand to silence him, just a moment before the door was thrown wide.
“Lucian? Are you in here?”
Melbourne met my eyes, eyebrow raised in question. I pursed my lips, watching the outline of Maxwell at the door. He seemed to search the darkness briefly before leaving.
I waited a beat longer before I sighed, releasing Melbourne, who regarded the door curiously.
“You’re hiding from Maxwell?” he asked.
“Sort of.” I hesitated. “I need some time alone.”
“With me?” Melbourne smirked.
I frowned at him, then drew myself up. “Yes, actually. Are you wearing it now? The red moth? Unfortunately, there’s not enough light to see by.”
Melbourne winced, ducking his head. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”
“Yes, you did.”
He sighed. “Okay, I did. Because it’s none of your concern. Plus, I was sworn to secrecy.”
I grabbed the front of his jacket, my voice lowering dangerously. “Melbourne. Tell me the truth, for once in your pitiable existence. Are you a monster hunter? And think very hard before answering, because if I detect you are lying, I will gouge out your eyes and you will never salivate over a pretty servant boy’s face again.”
Melbourne stared back at me with wide eyes. “Good lord, Lucian. What’s gotten into you?”
“I am through with games is what’s gotten into me.”
“Fine. Yes. I’m a monster hunter. But you can’t tell anyone. It’s a secret society.”
I inched my face closer to his. “You will tell me who else is involved.”
Melbourne snorted. “I certainly will not. Let me go before I call Maxwell back.”
I considered breaking an arm. That was what I used to do when I began to torture a victim. But I couldn’t very well do that now. His screaming would rouse the entire household. I needed to bide my time until I could get him farther from the others. Then, I would get the whole truth from him, everything I needed to satisfy Vrykolakas.
I shoved him from me, and he winced as he straightened his jacket.
“Not very gentlemanly of you,” he said. “What do you care of vampire hunters, anyway? You have to be nominated, and you just aren’t well-known enough to earn a majority vote.”
I blinked. He thought … I wanted to be one of them? It was laughable. But I could perhaps use that arrogance. It would assuage him from considering my true intentions. After all, these were dangerous people I was dealing with. If I made them suspicious, they could come after me. I tilted my head. “Wait. Do you know what happened to Emmett?”
“What?” Melbourne frowned. “No. Absolutely not.”
I squinted, trying to read the truth in his face, a feat made more difficult by the thick shadows of the room. “Maxwell deserves to know what’s become of him.”
“I’m telling the truth!” Melbourne watched me for a moment, then snorted. “You know what? I don’t need to continue this conversation. It’s clear that you’re not ready to join us, even if you did handle that vampire well on Old Mill Road. Perhaps once this competition is behind us, we can revisit it, but now is not the time.”
I clenched my fists at my side, wanting to throttle him. The insolence of this boy. But I remained motionless as he stalked past me and out the door.
I stewed as I considered my next actions. I should return to the party and … and wait for Isabel’s signal. I’d forgotten our agreement amid the chaos. If I wanted to unravel this mystery, I had to be in that room. But how to avoid Thomas? It was unfortunate that this wasn’t the masquerade ball. That would have made things much easier.
