My stomach twists.
This isn’t random.
This is organized.
They’re not just angry. They’re motivated.
I keep my voice neutral. “And you think you can take him.”
His eyes flash. “We can bleed him.”
“Big difference,” I mutter.
He smirks. “Smart mouth. That’s probably why he likes you.”
I don’t like how my body reacts to that. Heat flickers low in my stomach, traitorous and unwelcome.
I shove it down.
“Why me?” I ask instead. “Why drag me here?”
The gray-haired vampire’s smile widens. “Because if he comes, we get to see how far he’ll go.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
His gaze lingers on my throat. “Then we learn you were never worth the trouble.”
I look around the room, forcing myself to stay present. To breathe. To think.
They’re talking around me, not to me. Plans. Logistics. Names dropped casually like they aren’t discussing tearing down an entire power structure.
Orpheus.
I listen.
I memorize.
Something settles in my chest.
Resolve.
If I’m going to die, I’m not going to do it quietly.
The bar is old. I can smell it. The alcohol soaked into the wood. The dust. The oil in the lamps along the walls.
Fire would spread fast.
The gray-haired vampire notices my gaze drifting.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he says, amused. “You’re not getting out.”
I lift my eyes to him. “You sure talk a lot for someone who’s afraid.”
That earns me a slap across the face.
My head snaps to the side, pain flaring bright and sharp.
The room goes quiet.
