‘Us?’ I am confused as there is only one of him.
A hand grips my other arm from behind. ‘You are to stay calm and come quietly. No calling out for help, no screaming.’ Sir Darius’s voice is low and firm in my ear. ‘Ifyou do, there will be swift consequences.’
Feeling as if I’m in a nightmare I cannot awaken from, I am marched silently from my chamber by the two of them. My breath leaves my body in shaky gasps as I comprehend this turn of events with ice-cold clarity. Darius has tricked me. His amorous attentions meant nothing. It was a ruse until the guard came to fetch me. But to take me where?
We turn the corner into the long gallery, and I think with relief that I am wrong to be fearful. That the queen has summoned me to her chamber, that she has need of me. But dread gnaws at my gut when we turn again towards Curfew Tower, the one with a dungeon beneath.
Then I realise how deep my trouble runs. The queen has had me arrested.Lord, have mercy! My head is going to roll!
Chapter 9
Will | London, present day
Hester has brought her coven to London. Surprise, surprise. She must have decided she needed moral support. They’re waiting at the end of the road with their luggage, so I assume they’re going to be staying with her. I click my tongue in annoyance. I was planning on amping up the tension between us in my apartment when we practise the kissing scene, like a form of lust torture. But if her flatmates are here, they’ll make it more difficult to get my hooks into her.
I couldn’t detect them on the train since I was so focused on Hester, and her mental shields are strong. But Iwasgrowing impatient and suspicious when she took ages buying a mere sandwich. (That egg stunk, by the way. I could tell she was having trouble forcing it down for my benefit.)
Her flatmates, Sadie and Florence, and their errand boy, Elliott, I know about since I’ve stalked Hester for years andlurked around outside her Ramsay Garden flat on many occasions. Mentally shielded, of course. And she’s also mentioned them briefly by name in class, albeit reluctantly if anyone asks about her living situation.
However, as we walk up the front steps to the apartment building in Southwark, my excellent ESP picks up on more than two vampires. One is ... Elliott. My eyebrows raise. Sadie must have finally turned him! Well, well, wonders will never cease. Even I had felt sorry for their fucked-up relationship and his pathetic human life.
The other male vampire I have not had the pleasure of stalking. Even though I sniff hard, I do not recognise his scent. But his desire to bed Florence is strong. OK, another newbie. With the rampant bloodlust and yearning emanating from all the vampires, I assume they’re couples. Fated mates. Poor Hester, she must feel like a fifth wheel amongst all this desire. Her misery is a pleasing thought.
‘Are you coming down with a cold, Will?’ Hester asks, giving me a sidelong glance as I snuffle at the air.
‘Oh, er, no. It’s a plant allergy,’ I mutter, dropping my nose immediately. I enter the building code on the keypad and open the door for her. ‘After you.’
‘In winter?’ she says curiously, stepping into the building. ‘I wouldn’t have thought there was much pollen about.’
Shit, now I need to make something up.
‘It’s a floral allergy,’ I say. ‘Your perfume is rather pungent, and it’s making my nose run. A rose by any other name does not smell as sweet in this case.’
I chuckle to myself as Hester’s mouth pinches. It’s actually a clever two-pronged insult on my part: One, it’s a nod to Shakespeare. And two, I’ve given her a vampiric slap in the face while keeping my real self cloaked.I really am a brilliant actor.
It is a bit below the belt, though. Hester can’t help how she smells. All of us vampires have the signature scent of roses, especially if we’re trying to lure a victim or have sex with them. I manage to mask mine quite effectively with a particular Lynx body spray that I use whenever I’m seeing her. I squirted on some more in the train when she was at the cafe to make sure. I probably smell like a gym locker room, but it works. Now I can lust after her as much as I want, and she won’t smell my rosy scent.
In the foyer, Hester fumbles to extract her phone from her handbag, and I can tell by the set of her jaw that I’ve hurt her feelings. I’ve rejected the core of who she is, even though I’m not meant to know it.
Without thinking, I place a hand on her arm. She stares at it, then looks across to me. I’m only an inch taller than her, so we’re practically face to face, which I adore. It means I don’t have to stoop or bend my neck to view her face. AndI like viewing her face. From lots of different angles. I even suggested to the casting director that they auditiontallactresses so it would help her get the role. I told him it would give the impression that Viola was a man, and he thought it was a good idea. Another stroke of genius on my part!
‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘That was rude and uncalled for. Your perfume is fine. Just ignore me. I’m being a grump.’
Confusion flits across her elegant features as she tries to figure me out—good luck with that! And for a second (only a second, mind you), I wish I could confess everything, take her in my arms, and kiss those gorgeous lips and stroke her tongue with mine. I want to hump her, right here in the foyer, and give in to my centuries of longing.But no.It’s best not to indulge in that fantasy because on the other side of longing lies my insatiable desire for revenge. And Hester’s inevitable ‘accident’, which I’ve decided,willoccur after the play wraps up. For now I need to restrain my urges. Otherwise, I may end her too soon, and that cow Camilla St Clair will have to step in.
My apology works. Hester’s mouth twists in a rueful smile. ‘You’re forgiven,’ she says. Her eyes drift dreamily to my mouth and linger there before she realises what she’s doing and jerks them up to my eyes again. A spurt of bloodlust enters my system, knowing instinctively that she wants to kiss me too and is having the same thoughts aboutfoyer humping.
I swallow and take a step back before she smells my true nature underneath the Lynx body spray. ‘Ah, so I guess we should find our apartments?’
Her emerald gaze moves reluctantly from my face to her phone. ‘Yeah, I’m in number 7 on floor 2. What about you?’
‘Thirteen on floor 3.’
‘Right. Well, I might relax and go over my lines.’
‘Good idea.’ I resist rolling my eyes. As soon as she’s sure I’m safely in my room, she’ll probably run back down and invite the rest of her coven into the building. Wonderful.
We’ve been sent a welcome email containing instructions for entry and our door codes. It effectively works as a ‘Come in’ for us. But as this is a residence, her coven are interlopers who will need an official invitation from her before they can set foot in here.
