Valentino tapped his fingernails against his goblet. “Five hundred should suffice. Though I may have Taylor create more, just to be thorough.”
“And then what? You’ll turn anyone who doesn’t fall in line into one as well?” Val grabbed his fork with his other hand and brought a piece of meat to his nose. He smelled it but didn’t put it in his mouth.
“Taylor and the vacants are merely the means to an end. A shield between me and those who would oppose my reign.” Valentino lifted his goblet and drank.
Val’s eyes were on his father’s throat as he swallowed.
“Aren’t you drinking? It’s quite exceptional.” Valentino set down his goblet, a smear of crimson on his upper lip. “Or perhaps you prefer the squirrel directly from the vein? That can be arranged.”
Val’s hand tightened on his fork. “I’d be more inclined todrink if I weren’t concerned about being poisoned twice in one day.”
“A fair concern. I had assumed you still preferred to drink indirectly, but perhaps your tastes have changed.” Valentino lifted the goblet again and drank.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them, and I resisted the urge to flee. I could find another way to get Nico free if I really put my mind to it. There had to be alternatives I hadn’t considered yet, a plan that didn’t involve standing invisible in a room with two predators drinking blood from crystal.
But I remained frozen in place, knowing that leaving now meant abandoning Val to face his father alone and losing what might be our only real chance at understanding what we were truly up against.
“Steve!” Valentino bellowed suddenly, causing me to let out a small gasp. Valentino’s attention snapped to where I was, narrowing. “What?—”
“You’ve convinced me.” Val lifted his goblet, and his father’s attention was drawn away from me.
He brought it to his nose first, and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. When he opened them, something wild and hungry flashed in them, quickly hidden behind a mask of cool indifference.
But I had seen the raw, primal need.
With a deliberate motion, he brought the goblet to his lips and drank. The change in him was immediate. A shudder passed through his body, his fingers tightening on the crystal until I thought it might shatter.
My breath caught in my throat as I realized Val might be more dangerous than any of us had expected. Not because he was evil like his father, but because he was fighting a battle that he might not win.
And if he lost that battle, what would happen to Nico? ToAmari? To Sammy?
To me?
The door opened, and the horned demon entered. “My lord?”
“It seems my son has changed his mind.” Valentino’s eyes moved to where I stood. “However, I require assistance in capturing the house mage.”
I couldn’t move.
The moment Valentino called for his guard to seize me, my muscles locked, and terror rooted me to the spot. Every instinct screamed at me to flee, to vanish into the walls and escape this nightmare. But my body refused to obey.
Val exploded from his chair, sending it crashing to the floor. The goblet in his hand shattered, spraying droplets of blood across his shirt and face. His movements blurred as he launched himself at Steve, a snarl ripping from his throat that sounded more beast than man.
Steve barely had time to draw his sword before Val was on him. The massive horned demon outweighed Val by at least a hundred pounds, but Val moved with unnatural speed, even compromised by poison. He ducked under Steve’s first swing and drove his fist into the guard’s midsection with such force that I heard ribs crack.
Steve doubled over, gasping. Val gripped his wrist and twisted it. The sword clattered to the floor as Steve howled in pain. Val followed with an uppercut that lifted the demon off his feet before slamming him against the wall.
Three more guards rushed in, weapons drawn.
My paralysis broke, but not from courage—from pure, unfiltered panic. Standing still meant death. The sword lay on the floor between me and the approaching guards.
I lunged for it, my fingers closing around the hilt. The weight nearly pulled me off balance, but I managed to lift it, arms trembling.
I could make smaller objects invisible, but not something like a sword, and certainly not under duress. One guard spotted the floating sword trembling in the air. His eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed, and he charged at me.
I swung wildly, the blade whooshing through the air as the guard easily sidestepped. He came at me again, his own sword slicing down in a deadly arc. I raised mine at the last second, metal meeting metal with a force that jarred my bones and sent vibrations up my arms.
Val battled the other two guards, blood streaming from a gash on his cheek. I stumbled backward, nearly tripping over a fallen chair. The guard forced me to retreat until my back hit the wall.
