Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
REMUS
I wake up to find myself standing in an unknown room, and it takes me a hot second to orient.
Obviously I’m still within the vampire compound—I can smell the death-stench of them everywhere. Layden and the head vampire’s granddaughter are the only other ones in the room, but I can scent others were here recently. Abaddon. More of the bloodsuckers.
The granddaughter—Phoenix, I think? She’s watching me oddly. Warily.
How much has Layden told her about us? About the switching? Does she know she’s looking at a completely different person than she was talking to moments ago?
I start to head out the door without a word of explanation. If I follow Abaddon’s scent trail, I’m sure it’ll take me back to our quarters. Back to Lauren.
But it’s only once I’m outside in the dim hallway that I pause, the reality of what just happened slamming into me.
The shower. I was inside my woman—inside Lauren—after my brother had just woken up. An impossibility. And yet there he was, awake and so fucking suave and sure of himself, suggesting we share her like she’s a gods-damned toy.
My hands clench into fists so tight my nails bite into my palms.
How long has the tactician been working against me? Plotting behind my sleeping back?
He not only woke when I was supposed to be in control of the body but then kicked me out. Just shoved me into darkness like I’m nothing. Like this body isn’t mine too.
What did they do together after I was gone? All I can think about is their naked bodies slathered in soap in that shower, water cascading over them, his hands on her—
My teeth clench so hard I’m surprised they don’t crack and crumble.
I am no fool.
When warriors come against me with tactical perfection and coordinated strikes, I meet them with overwhelming chaos and rage. I am the storm they cannot predict. I am the madness that breaks their careful formations.
After all this time—thousands of years—still my brother does not truly know me.
I lift my nose to the air and deliberately ignore the scent that would take me back to Lauren.
What’s the point of going back to enjoy her sweet embrace for a few stolen moments if they’ll just be ripped away by my brother again?
He’ll steal her from me with his smooth words and tactical manipulation.
No.
I will come out on top, once and for all, and put an end to this endless struggle between us.
I head in the opposite direction, toward the smell of blood and death and most importantly of all, power.
The eldest vampire does not look pleased to see me when I knock on the door where his scent trail has led me.
Not that he’s the one to greet me at the door. I can barely see him past the shoulders of two massive vampire brutes in black suits who block the entrance like sentinels.
“I would speak to Vlad,” I say cheerfully.
The two vampires in dark suits glare back at me with those dead, black eyes. Saying nothing.
I crack a wide smile and hold up my hands in mock surrender. “I come in peace. Ready to bargain.”
“What do you have to bargain with?” Vlad asks from somewhere beyond, voice dripping with disdain.
I peer past the guards and see him seated in a throne-like chair, a young, naked blonde woman in his lap. They appeared to be necking—literally—but as her head lazily flops against his shoulder, I see two dripping red marks on her pale neck.
“I have information,” I say, still grinning. “Information you want badly.”
Vlad’s lips are red with fresh blood that he lazily licks as he welcomes me in with a dismissive swipe of his hand.
His two guards move aside reluctantly, and I swagger into the room.
I take in the scene without judgment—I’ve seen far worse in my long life. My father loved to acquaint himself with the most powerful leaders in the world, and they usually enjoyed living as laws unto themselves, beyond the petty mores of society.
So I’m not surprised to see the many naked women draped in various stages of undress around the room like decorations.
A couple of other vampires feed. The women are either unconscious, dazed, or dead, it’s hard to tell.
It’s only new to see them being used more as feeding fountains than for their other pleasures, though I suspect this is just the morning routine and that at night, things get more. .. interactive.
Well, it’s none of my business.
After a brief perusal to get my bearings—exits, weapons, threats—I keep my eyes locked on Vlad. “Can we talk alone?”
His eyes narrow dangerously. “Do you think I am a fool to leave myself undefended?”
“Do you need defense?” I ask innocently. “From what I understand, you’re one of the greatest warriors who ever lived.”
“And you are an unknown enemy.” His voice is cold. “For all I know, your family has come here with all your elaborate stories as a trap for me.”
I chuckle at that—genuine amusement. “I have known paranoid men like you.” I bow my head the slightest bit. “You’re wise. It’s how you’ve stayed in power so long. But I will still bargain only with you.”
I pause for effect.
“Would you have everyone in this room hear the information you’re so hungry for? Because I’m ready to tell you exactly what type of creatures my brothers and I are. But I’d prefer it to be for your eyes and ears only.”
He stands from his chair abruptly, and the woman in his lap slides to the floor like a discarded robe. I don’t think she’s dead—just dazed from blood loss or whatever else the vampire has done to her.
Vlad’s eyes blaze with something more than curiosity. It’s hunger. Greed.
I look at the woman on the floor for longer than I ought to, my mind racing. What exactly are the full powers of this creature in front of me? What sorts of magic might I gain from an exchange with him?
Enough to be rid of my parasitic brother completely? To finally have this body—and Lauren—all to myself?
“You would betray your family?” Vlad asks, those dark eyes burning with intensity. Testing me.
I shrug carelessly. “Betrayal is such a harsh word. Perhaps I just disagree with my brothers on the best way to work together.” I spread my hands. “They’ve already decided to ally with you. I just think that means sharing all our information. Complete transparency.”
I lean in slightly, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“I think together, our clans could become very, very powerful.”
I see his nostrils flare at that. Ah. I’ve hit the nail squarely on the head.
Desire for power is this man’s weakness. I can practically taste it in the air.
He lifts his hand and snaps his fingers crisply. “Leave me. All of you.”
“But Father!” One of his sons—who also has a woman seated on his lap—immediately objects. “You can’t really—”
Vlad whips around and glares at the man with such venom I’m impressed. “Do you dare defy your father’s order?”
For a moment, they scowl at one another in a familiar power struggle. Oh, I know it so well. The defiant son. The tyrannical father. A tale as old as time.
In the end, like the compliant boys they are, they stand. Abandoning their feedings, they file toward the door with sullen obedience.
Several shoot me killing glances as they pass, and I make a show of trying to memorize their faces. Though honestly, they all look so much alike it’s difficult. Romulus is the one who’s better with tedious details like that. But when I actually care about something, I can manage.
I think I’ll remember which of these are the troublemakers and which merely follow orders.
Finally, Vlad and I are alone. Well, probably not truly alone—he’s too smart for that. But alone enough.
“Make it good,” Vlad says coldly. “You’ve got three minutes before they come barging back in.”
I merely arch an eyebrow. “It’s in your best interest to keep them at bay longer than that.”
Then I drop my glamour with a flourish and allow my wings to unfurl behind me to the rafters in their full, magnificent glory. My tail whips free, too, dancing in the air. And I let the angel spark I rarely allow free reign glow from within my chest like a star.
“Behold,” I say dramatically, spreading my arms wide. “An angel of the Lord.”
Vlad lifts a hand and stumbles backward as if my light will sear him to a crisp.
I chuckle and drop the light show. No point in overdoing it.
Vlad growls—low and threatening—and the next thing I know, he’s coming at me faster than even I can track. One second he’s across the room, the next he’s got my wings and back crushed against the stone wall. His arm is at my throat, fangs bared inches from my face.
“Why shouldn’t I rip your throat out right here?” he snarls.
I can only laugh—breathless from the pressure on my windpipe but still amused. “Why? Because I revealed we’re powerful creatures? That’s hardly a reason for violence.”
“You are from Heaven, and I’m from Hell,” he spits. “We’re natural enemies.”
I roll my eyes dramatically. “We’re not from Heaven, and I don’t know where you’re from. I was just kidding with the whole ‘angel of the Lord’ shtick. Yeah, we’re angels, but that’s just what the humans call us on this plane. We’re from a different realm and snuck our way onto this one.”
I grin at him despite the arm at my throat.
“Probably like your ancestors somehow did. We’re just a non-native species, that’s all. Immigrants, if you will.”
His eyes widen when I speak of his ancestors, and his arm loosens ever so slightly from my throat. “So it’s true,” he whispers, almost to himself. “Spirits from other realms can break through.”
I shrug as much as I can while pinned. “I’m not a spirit, but sure, pal. We figured out how to get here, and the humans sometimes worshipped us as gods.” I flash him a winning smile. “It was fun while it lasted.”
Vlad’s eyes light up at that—greed blazing bright. He drops his arm completely, stepping back.
“Tell me more. Tell me everything.”
I hold up my hands playfully. “Ah ah ah. Tit for tat. I’ll share when you do. I have a little problem I need your help with.”
His eyes narrow again suspiciously.