Of course.
“I checked the security cameras and saw Astor sneak into your house.” Gideon slides his arms beneath me. “I need to get you to Sanctus House. Lilac will heal you—”
He stumbles as a loud howl echoes from outside, followed by the distinct and profoundly wonderful sound of Lord Astor screaming.
Gideon gathers me against him. I bury my face in his bloody jacket, allowing the honey and red cherry scent to wash over me as he runs for the door. I rub blood from my eyes and squint at my front garden, barely able to believe what I’m seeing.
Lord John Astor stands in my fountain, his legs trapped by a strange, jaw-like contraption that’s emerged from beneath the water. He flails his arms, attempting to fend off Alaric Valerian – armed with a bloody sword – and an enormous wolf that’s already taken a huge bite out of his arm. The churning water beneath him is stained dark red.
Gathered around the fountain, clapping and cheering (and are those crisps?), is every member of the Nevermore Murder Club and Smutty Book Coven.
“Argh!” Astor thrashes in the pond as Morrie’s booby trap tightens around his legs and Celeste takes a chunk out of his thigh.
“The cavalry has arrived,” Gideon says.
“I’m terribly sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” Alaric says as he swipes a fresh wound across Astor’s neck. “I’ve been in the garden for some time, but I didn’t realise the door was open and the infernal Patrick Stock window glass is vampire-proof, so the only way in was through Cleo VII’s enclosure, and I must confess that I’m rather afraid of snakes.”
“You’re afraid of snakes?” Gideon’s voice rises. “That’s hissssssterical.”
I glance up at him, surprised that he’s not smiling. A look of impossible sadness passes over his cobalt eyes. He catches me staring and looks away.
“Gideon?”
“Arabella, we’re here to save you—” Isis’s face falls when she sees me in Gideon’s arms. “Oh, drat. Gideon got here first.”
“That’s not a ‘drat’. It’s a good thing,” Dora scolds her sister.
“I mean,obviously. What’s he doing here?” Komal thrusts her hands on her hips. “He’s ruined our perfectly good rescue plan.”
Astor squeals as Celeste dives in for another bite. No one makes any move to help him. Gideon sets me down and the Nevermore Coven crowd around us, laying their hands on me and all talking at once about their adventure.
“How did you get into Sanctus?” Gideon asks. “Security should have never let you past the gates.”
“We didn’t go through the gates.”
The ladies part to reveal Celeste, back in her human form, her naked body dripping wet and covered in Astor’s blood. She holds her head high with feigned dignity as she tries to cover herself with her hands.
“Could I have something to wear, please?” she asks.
Gideon grabs my burgundy coat from the rack in the foyer and tosses it to her. I try not to wince at the bloodstain she smears on the collar.
She did save my life and all, but that coat isVersace.
“Celeste was amazing,” Dora says. “She leapt over the fence, scared the security guy out of his office, and opened the gates for us.”
“She’s one badass werewolf,” says Mina.
“Her teeth are even scarier than yours,” Maisie adds.
“Why?” I whisper to Celeste as she wraps her arms around me. “You put yourself in danger because of me. I never wanted you to reveal your secret.”
She smiles back. “It’s what you do for friends.”
A lump forms in my throat as I stare around at these women who risked their lives for me. On nothing but a vision and a voice message, they stormed into a vampire estate armed with their wits and… is that a crucifix?
When I can breathe properly again, we’re going to have achatabout which vampire superstitions will save their arses and which will get them laughed out of Sanctus.
Before I realise it, my arms are going around Celeste, too. I’m squeezing her so hard it hurts. Maybe it’s not that hard, and I’m just broken.
