Chapter 28
Lila knew something was off, he’d been so tense the night he’d rescued her, and she saw that again now—saw it earlier when he’d bitten her as she dangled from ropes. Ambrose wasn’t different exactly, just . . . changed. Charged. But, after the three months she’d had, maybe she had changed too.
The smile he faked hid something behind it, and she would find out what it was, but Lila knew her mind needed to be focused right now as they descended the tower to the first floor—the grand floor as the servant had called it.
Lila was going to face a challenge, and she needed to be ready. The leather Ambrose had given her was a bit thicker than what she’d worn in the Crow Court, and the sleeves ended at her wrist to protect every inch possible. Every part of her was also strapped with weapons—daggers, stakes, even a small crossbolt. Ambrose even requested a new gorget, fastening it around her neck before they left their room.
She hadn’t trained in combat in months, not properly, but she felt invigorated as they descended the stairs, with the weapons strapped to her back. While her time with the Reinicks maybe made her physically weaker, she grew stronger in a different way. She learned about her powers, and she felt more prepared now—for anything—than ever before.
Maybe the sunlight had healed more than her wounds, maybe it healed all of her, eliminating the effect the viper venom had on her completely. She felt strong, powerful, and unafraid.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Nostro has something up his sleeve,” Ambrose said behind her. “Keep your guard up.”
She hadn’t had a chance to tell him of her deal with Nostro, so instead of lying to him or word vomit now, she nodded and stayed silent. Lila hated hiding things from him, but it would all come out in just a moment anyway.
As they descended the final level, Lila heard the boom of voices, and something within her rattled. The last time she’d heard voices like this was right before the collar was put on her.
The last time she’d heard voices like this, she’d killed them all.
“Hey, are you all right?” Ambrose gently placed his hand on her back, startling her from the memories of flesh melting to the ground.
She studied him then, studied him as he studied her.
He’d dressed for war as well, and together they looked like two agents of Death, ready to take their marks. The black leather snuggly hugged Ambrose’s chest and biceps, the sleeves stopping just above his elbows. The high neck would delay—not stop—a bite from an enemy vampire or strigoi. There was a cutout in the top, over the crow tattoo on his chest in the shape of an upside-down triangle—something Lila has continuously referred to as his “boob window” before the panic set in. The leathers were meant to withstand shifting between his human and monstrous form, and he would be ready to swing into action if Lila ever needed it.
“Ye-yeah. I have . . . a lot to tell you,” she sighed. “But not now.” Ambrose knitted his eyebrows together, and looked ready to argue, but Lila stopped him. “And you have a lot to tell me.” Ambrose’s throat bobbed. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed, vampire. You’ve been holding yourself back, like you’re afraid you’ll break . . . something. Like you’ll break me.”
Uncharacteristically, Ambrose bit his lip, drawing a small droplet of blood the moment his fang pressed into it. “We do have much to discuss,” he agreed. “Let’s get this over with, and then I’ll tell you everything.”
As Lila and Ambrose entered the grand floor, the cacophony of noise burst through the doorway. It was so disarming, so disorienting, it took Lila a moment to focus on the room before her. As she followed behind Ambrose, she noticed they were exiting onto an elevated platform at the far end of a massive colosseum-like room. There were people all around in their seats, and at the other end of the room was another elevated platform in which Nostro, Bogdan, his family, and a number of other vampires of the Maggot Mansion resided in ornate seats.
But what made Lila dread her bargain more than anything was the pit below the platforms, in the center of the colosseum.
It was a damned battle arena.
“What’s the meaning of this, Nostro?” Ambrose said, and the crowd in the stadium silenced immediately, as though they, too, were drawn to his voice.
“You have a bargain for me, don’t you, Draven? Well, I came prepared.”
“You already know what I want?” He stepped to the edge of the platform, and as Lila followed, she noticed stone walls rising from the stone floors of the pit, leading in all directions and coming to a center point. Nostro hadn’t told her there’d be a maze.
Act surprised!Nostro said into her mind.
I am surprised! she whisper-yelled back through her mind.
Fuck, they had a Concord. She forgot her communication from mind to mind came with a bargain, not just something she intently had with Ambrose. She wondered if the Concord links would cross, but before she could ask or test it, Nostro responded to Ambrose.
“I have an idea. I’m assuming you asked the same of Darius Maronai while you were in his manor on Sanktus Pernox?”
Ambrose crossed his arms over his wide chest. “You’d be correct. I want the Maggot Mansion to ally with the Crow Court and the Arachnid Estate in fighting off Drusilla and the Viper Morada.” He paused. “What’s left of it, at least. I know your manor has been affected by the rising numbers of the strigoi—if we unite the manors once more, we have a higher chance of fighting them off than we do apart.”
“Sounds promising,” and Lila swore she saw a smirk flash over his mouth.
“Now, what do you want in return?”
Ready for the show, Sun Child? Nostro asked.
Stop teasing him,she retorted.
“I want a demonstration—”
“Fuck,” Ambrose cursed. I knew it, he said in her mind, and keeping up with both Concords, and the verbal conversation the two men were having was slowly giving Lila a headache.
“Of the Sun Child’s power.”
“This is a bargain between you and me, Nostro. Don’t bring Lila into this—”
“I want to prove to my people she is who you say she is.”
Ambrose bristled again. “Can you not feel who she is?”
“She can speak for herself—” Lila began, but immediately was spoken over by Nostro.
“Of course I can. But I need definitive proof if I am to rage war for you. For her.”
“For you as well. You think you are safe here if Drusilla takes the other manors?”
Now, Lila, Nostro beckoned.
“Ambrose,” Lila demanded, “If this is what it takes, I’ll do it.”
He turned to her then, reading her face. Are you sure? I don’t want to speak for you.
Lila nodded. I can do this.
He studied her a moment longer. Okay. But if anything becomes too much, I swear to the crows, I will rip his head off.
Lila couldn’t help but smirk. He was always so quick to threaten murder for her.
Ambrose took her hand in his, gripping it tight, and turned back to the other platform. “All right, Nostro. A bargain made with me is a bargain made with Lila, and vice versa. She can choose to accept or not.”
He looked at her through the corners of his eyes, watching her. I guess I was wrong. Ambrose Draven, the bargain king, is leaving it up to you. I guess it doesn’t need to be between vampire manors.
A smirk spread over Lila’s lips. It is between manors. He’s just giving me the power to speak for this one.
“Gustov Nostro, on behalf of the Crow Court, we accept the bargain. What will you have me do?”
Lila really regretted saying yes to this.
She stood in the pit, so far below, she only saw the speck of Ambrose on the raised platform above at the entrance to the maze. The stone below her booted feet was damp and smelled like earth. If the elevated platforms were the ground floor, the pit had to be below the first level, below ground.
The thought of maggots worming through dirt underground sprang to her mind, making her cringe.
“Deep breaths, Lila,” she told herself. “Deep breaths.”
It’s a labyrinth,Ambrose stated.
What?
A labyrinth. Not a maze. It took a moment, but from here I can see the winding path doesn’t break. Meaning there is no wrong way to go, it all leads to the center. So don’t think about it, and just follow the path, keep your powers on standby, and let me know if you need me. Lila knew he’d swoop down in less than heartbeat if she needed him, so she took a shaky breath and stepped forward.
That helped. Thank you, she said, and passed the first wall to the labyrinth.
As Lila continued through the long, winding path, she realized the sound from above wasn’t echoed here. It became so silent between the stone walls, Lila nearly forgot the crowd of vampires sitting in the stadium seating, all eyes on her. All she could hear were the sounds of her steps and the deep breaths she was forcing herself to take. Her fingers nervously flicked back and forth as they rested by her side, ready to conjure the power coursing through her.
A screech bounced off the wall to her right, and suddenly a hand wrapped around her ankle, nails digging into her flesh, as they pulled her down. Lila threw her hands up, stopping her face from colliding with the floor, and used her strength to flip herself onto her back as she drove her foot into her attacker’s head.
That was . . . Ambrose began, amazing. How—Why . . .
Ambrose, Lila began, but he continued stuttering through her mind.
It’s as if all the training we had done was just yesterday. As if three months and heaps of viper venom hadn’t happened. How—Is it your power?
The strigoi buckled off of her, releasing her ankle as they hissed, their three-pronged jaw stretching wide.
Yes. I think. I’ll explain everything, but right now, I kind of need to focus.
Right, sorry.
Lila nearly gagged as she saw tiny signs of maggots crawling through wounds on the creature’s skin. A half strigoi then, from the Maggot Mansion—one to save.
Pop.
The phantom sound echoed through her ears, freezing her to the spot, as the memory flooded her.
Little Crow? Ambrose called, but Lila was shaking.
What if she killed this one? Trying to save them? What if her heat wouldn’t heal—
Lila!
The strigoi lunged at her, and Lila reactively threw her hands up, grabbing the jaws to avoid their venomous fangs. With them locked in her grasp, Lila drove her knee into the strigoi’s gut, knocking them over, and giving her a moment to think, to focus.
Tell me you love me, she begged Ambrose.
I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I cannot wait to call you my wife, Lila Bran.
The words filled her with a joy she wasn’t expecting, not in the face of a strigoi. But he’d managed to still make her swoon, still warm her heart—and therefore, her power.
Lila ran at the creature, with no doubt in her mind, no second guessing, no hesitation. She ran at them and shoved her hands against their chest, feeling the warmth leak from her onto them.
Heal, she begged. And to her surprise, the strigoi did. The vampire before her still looked half dead, like Nostro or Bogdan, but the maggots fell from the open wounds, shriveled up, and died before they hit the floor. Immediately, the strigoi’s white eyes turned a pale blue, their jaw restructuring to normal, their bones cracking back into place.
The creature before her was once more a vampire, a very confused vampire, but no longer a blood-crazed strigoi.
The crowd above ruptured into the loudest cheer Lila had ever heard. Cheering for her.
A small, hoarse voice came from the vampire before her. “Where—?”
Lila smiled at them calmly, placing a gentle hand on their shoulder. “Follow the path back that way. Someone will be waiting for you and will explain everything.”
The vampire nodded, confused, and with the gentlest push, they began walking back to the labyrinth’s exit.
Nostro, Lila called in their Concord, have someone there to comfort and care for the vampire when they exit.
Already done, dear. That was truly marvelous by the way.
Lila smiled at the praise and kept on.
The labyrinth was longer than Lila had assumed from above. It felt like she’d been winding along its path for hours already, with a handful of strigoi popping out at various times. She’d healed all of them, instructing them to find their way back toward the exit.
Do you see me? she asked Ambrose.
Always.
How much longer do you think I have till the center?
She felt him sigh in her mind. You’re not going to like the answer . . .
That far?
You’re about halfway through, love.
Lila sighed, stretching out her neck as she walked. How long has it been already? Isn’t the audience bored by now?
Bored? They’re on the edges of their seats. They’ve been starring since your first strigoi.
Taken aback, her step faltered for just a moment. Really?
Yes, they seem—watch out! As soon as Ambrose’s voice echoed in her mind, another strigoi sprang down on Lila. He’d climbed over the tall stone wall, and dropped himself directly onto her.
“Ahh,” he hissed, “I’ve been waiting for you.” Other than the first strigoi she ever encountered, none had ever spoken. But this one . . . he retained his intellect or . . . got it back?
Lila wiggled under him, already feeling the burning sensation on the elbows she landed on. She knew in a moment, she’d feel the blood trickling down her arms.
“I saw you defeat the other strigoi, Sun Child—so I brought friends.” The creature above her split his jaw open, screeching in her face as his legs tightened around her waist where he pinned her. Lila tried to force the healing onto him, tried to surround him in her warmth . . . but it only seemed to make his grip on her stronger.
“Thanks for the boost, murine.” The word came out like a curse. Like a stab to the heart. The words took it back, making her spiral through old memories with the Reinicks. She’d become so much more than a blood bag, so much more than a slave to her captors.
But not to this monster above her—to him, she was nothing but a meal.
“It wasn’t for you,” she hissed, feeling the warmth coarse through her blood, rejuvenating every sore muscle, every winded breath. “It was for me.”
She bucked her hips, hard enough to force one of his legs loose. Lila tucked her knee in, pressing it against her chest, before she used her shin to force the strigoi to roll off her. But as he rolled, Lila followed, and she shoved her heat-slicked hands hard into his face. The monster burned underneath her, his skin bubbling under her touch, boils bursting around her fingers, quickly turning from melting skin to blackened, charred flesh. It should’ve disgusted her, but it only made her feel more invigorated.
Lila knew she was more than a murine. All humans were. And these powers that came from her ancestor, it didn’t make her more, it just validated her belief.
As the strigoi crisped away to nothing more than a husk, Lila stood, facing down the “friends” he’d brought with him. All growled and snapped their bisected jaws at her, the empty gleam she’d come to recognize as the sign of a mindless strigoi was gone. Which meant one thing.
She was going to watch them all burn.