“I have been whispering to my husband, but he is still unwilling to go against him openly. Lucky for us, we were also approached about blood contracts, and one of them got a little… handsy. The muscular one, tall, with the chain.”
I knocked down a knight. It wasn’t one of the more powerful vampires who seemed to gather around my brother like flies, but it was good enough.
“Do you see that, Solei?” I asked, looking back at him. “If there is a will, there is a way. Do I need to question your reason for being here?”
He sneered.
“My reason for being here is to get rid of that bastard for messing up my plans.”
“Oh, yes, the plans of forcing me into marriage and raping me so I could have your disgusting little rat children,” I said with a twisted smile. “Poor you.”
Vesper’s growl shot through the room.
His fists clenched at his sides, but he didn’t move, telling me this truly might be his only chance to get rid of Adrian.
“Vesper.”
“The hunters refused.”
There was a sharp inhale from somewhere in the room. My fingers dug into the table, leaving indents.
“Why?”
“Too risky.”
I scoffed. I shouldn’t have expected much from the brother who had sold out his own sister for dubious reasons, but it was still a blow. Having the hunters on our side would have made all the difference.
“Cedar.”
“The body has been delivered. The witches do not seem to have it in their mind to attack the council.”
“Anything else?”
“They want me to go back to my clan, tie up some loose ends…”
She trailed off at the end, causing me to look up at her.
“And?”
“And my old coven leader may be using the same type of ritual to make himself stronger. Just like Adrian, he doesn’t have any markings on his body, at least that anyone’s seen. But I do know he drains witches for power, so there is a chance he knows how to put a stop to it.”
Is this why she is looking at me like that?
Guilt ran through me. Because of our plan, she would be forced to go back to the clan that abused her and murdered herparents. It was our only chance to try and stop either of them from gaining more power, and Cedar would pay the price.
If she makes it out alive.
My immediate reaction was to say no, but I couldn’t, not in front of the group. Not if I wanted to seem like the cold-blooded leader I was supposed to be.
“I don’t suppose he will give that information willingly.”
“No, but I have some ideas on how to get it out of him.”
I would talk to her about this later. Vesper shot me a look, and the bond told me how displeased she was with this information.
You and me both.
We had barely made it out alive, and she was insinuating she would go alone. Even if they both went, I still wouldn’t feel comfortable.
