He stops near the doorway of what looks like a shop. Its large windows display a multitude of strange premade garments.
“Change of plans.” He frowns. “That apartment is no longer safe. Lucian says he’ll arrange an alternate location, but to obtain entrance, we must first find him.”
I look up into his eyes, wishing they didn’t look so worried. “Do you know where this man resides?”
“He’s a vampyre.” Zogar frowns. “Lucian is King of the Vampyres. And while I don’t know his residence, I do know some places where we’re likely to find him—or someone who’ll know where to find him.”
Trying not to shake at the word vampyre, I slide my hand over Zogar’s forearm. “Why are you so worried?”
He shakes his head. “The places where we might find him. They are places I very much don’t want you to see.”
My chest tightens. “Why not?”
He cups my face. “I warned you of the depravity and decadence in this city.”
I nod, then remember that Zogar lived in this city before the separation between the Light and the Darkness. “Has this cityalwaysbeen so depraved?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Well, in some ways, yes. Civility here has devolved, but I suppose depravity always lurked at the core of this city.” He looks down. “There are myriad reasons why humans sought sanctuary from the Darkness. Interactions between humans and superi were often dangerous, but over the centuries, it seems that the darkest predilections of this city have amplified and spread.”
Zogar’s eyes are full of worry—worry and anger. “Surath, Xendus and I visited many places over the days we were here, and King Lucian’s nightclub was one of the worst.”
I swallow, hard, trying to dislodge a stone that’s grown in my throat.
Zogar’s thumb strokes my cheek. “I will protect you, my queen. I only wish I could protect your eyes, too.”
“I can handle it.” I have no way of knowing what I’m about to face, but if we must go to this club to gain access to a place I can rest, I’m ready to confront whatever Zogar doesn’t want me to see.
CHAPTER 6
Rosomon
My heart is pounding so loudly I’m certain everyone in this club can hear it. And based on the few details Zogar has told me about the heightened perceptions of vampyres, it’s actually possible they can.
As for me, I can’t hear a thing above the thumping sounds that also vibrate through me. Zogar claims it’s music, but it’s not very melodious, and I see no musicians. The club’s ceiling pulses with lights and so does the floor. And yet, the room is dim. It’s as if this large ballroom is illuminated by a single low fire—but that fire is somehow flashing all around us.
This space is not only dark and loud, it’s crowded. And in spite of Zogar’s many warnings, I can’t contain my shocked expressions. Most of the patrons—the women in particular—are in various states of undress; I’ve only seen one female fully clothed. Then again, I wouldn’t call what I’m wearingfully clothed. But unlike many women here, my breasts and sex are both covered, making me grateful for the thin, metallic-like dress Zogar picked out for me.
Everywhere I look, exposed body parts are on view, many of those parts being fondled—or penetrated—out in the open. To my right, a woman is stroking a man’s rod as he kneads her breasts. Taking hold of her nipples, he twists them as he pinches, and the pain on her face is undeniable. But instead of screaming, she moans and tightens her grip on his rod.
My mind flashes back to Tynan doing something similar to my paps, and arousal slicks inside me.
Zogar pulls me against him so firmly it’s difficult to move, and he bends toward me. “We’ll leave as soon as possible. I don’t see the king, but there’s a back room.”
I smile up at him, certain my expression looks forced. I’m too shocked to process my emotions, but know they don’t warrant a smile. The streets of this city were alarming enough, but the level of indecency in this room is another. And yet, I can’t help but feel aroused. It’s confusing.
To my right, a woman cries out. She’s bent forward over a padded rail, and a tall male, presumably a vampyre, is rapidly pounding his cock into her body. Her cries grow louder, and I can’t tell if they’re in pleasure or pain. Before I can decide, her sounds are muffled. Another vampyre grips her head and forces his stiff rod into her mouth.
I gasp at the sight. The second vampyre forces her to swallow so much of his hardness he must be going down her throat. Tears dribble from the corners of her eyes as she gurgles, but she looks up toward him with glassy eyes, and her expression gives me some assurance that she’s a willing participant in this act. Or, at least, she isn’t actively trying to be freed from it. If she were in real danger, Zogar would intervene. I hope.
We pass through a large group of people, all moving to the thumping beat of the strange music and writhing against each other in ways that simulate sex.
I suck in a breath. Not all of them aresimulatingsex.
We pass by a woman between two men. Her arms above her head and gripping one man’s neck, she leans against his chest, while the other man holds her bottom as he drives into her far faster than seems humanly possible. I remind myself that the man is likely not human. He’s a vampyre.
Zogar told me the majority of the males in here would be vampyres, as well as a good portion of the females. But I don’t know how to spot a vampyre unless they’re feeding—which is something else on full display in the dark corners of the room.
Another woman makes eye contact with me and smiles softly as her dance partner rubs against her and gropes her body from behind. Her dress is even skimpier than mine, and his fingers toy with her exposed nipples as she grinds her backside against his bulge. An unexpected pang of desire shoots through me.
