Too many vampires are here, doing their best to blend in with their prey. There’s mafia here, too. Human, but powerful in their own way. Especially now that Benicio is gone.
I spot some of the Rogues hiding in the shadows. They stick out in their cheap rented suits and second-hand dresses. I’m surprised they were invited at all, given their lower economic status. Maybe they snuck in. I wouldn’t put it past Raleigh.
Speaking of, the young Rogues leader is not here.
That’s unusual.
But I’m more interested in my old nemesis and whyhe’shere.
Santiago doesn’t come near me, but his underlings do. And as Elliot moves around the room like she was born for this, I realize a few things.
One, the deaths of de Santis and his men have opened a vacuum in the power dynamics of the city and others want to pounce and take advantage.
Two, Santiago’s people’s talk bothers me. I think he wants more. Healwayswants more.
It’s been years, decades, since I last saw Santiago, before I set up VMR and helped create the rules for vampires to abide by. And after our blow-out, I thought he’d never be on this side of the world again, let alone in Tenebris.
His being here can’t be anything good.
Awareness prickles along the back of my neck, and I glance across the large ballroom to where Elliot is. Only she’s not alone.
Santiago approaches her, then kisses her hand.
Fury nearly burns me to a crisp.
Does he think she’s important? Does he know she’smine?
Either way, he’s about to find out.
Chapter
Seven
Elliot
Everything else is falling into calmness inside me, my new reality, everything apart from Lucian and how he affects me.
My hate, my need to emerge like a blood-soaked butterfly, are still there simmering beneath the surface. I can just control them better. My tether to my human life is finding my friend—and how Lucian makes me feel. Which is strange since there’s nothing human about him.
But there is a part of me, some small part that still clings to the hope of being cared for by him. More than as an employee and now a responsibility.
Love? I’m not sure if a vampire is capable of such an extreme emotion. IfIam capable of it.
I don’t know. Lucian sure did seem to love Nell. And a part of me craves that, too. That hope is enough, as stupid as it may be.
I try to concentrate on the insanely good-looking ice-blondvampire with pale green eyes and a narrow face in front of me. He had strolled right over to me, as if he’d been seeking me out, and something tells me there’s a reason for that.
He must know Lucian.
I’m just not sure that’s a good thing.
This vampire is elegant, beautiful, and, I think, powerful. That fact seems to radiate from him like it does from Lucian.
I smile at the strange, charismatic vampire with a heavy accent I can’t place.
“I’m Elliot,” I say as an introduction. “And you are?”
He kisses my hand again. “Santiago Angelus from Sanguine.”
