Chapter 24
Sidney
The locket sat heavy in my palm, a small anchor of silver and grief.
Razira’s tears dried, leaving behind the banked, predatory heat I remembered from our training.
“We begin at sunset. Lorelei and Genevieve first. Their deaths will be a puncture wound, impossible to ignore,” she said.
And I stood straighter from muscle memory, remembering a time when her authority was everything.
After Razira slipped back to her quarters, the room felt colder. Nibs bolted out of my dress pocket and went to snuggle inside a shoe.
Finn and Zane returned a moment later, and once I dropped into an overstuffed chair, I told them everything.
Zane stiffened as I shared how she’d figured out my identity. “Should we be concerned?”
“No, she’s the woman who taught me how to kill.”
Finn signed, Is she with us?
“We can trust her. She wants what I want. Revenge.” I flexed my tingling fingers.
Zane eyed me uncertainly. Finn shifted, lips quirked to the side.
They knew different versions of Razira than I did.
She had layers now. The beautiful, polished vampiress, a candidate for the throne.
The scarred, angry version of herself lurking underneath that facade, with lethality honed to a cutting edge.
Maybe I was the only one who remembered her as she was. But I could change that.
“You know my mother died when I was very young,” I began haltingly.
Her face still stained my memory, her final sigh of relief as she left me behind… The promise of tears stung the corners of my eyes before I took a grounding breath.
“She was murdered.” My fingers moved to form the words.
Zane came over to stand behind my chair and rubbed my shoulders as I aired out the past. “My father always viewed me as a dirty-blooded burden, a disappointment he couldn’t rectify.
Since Nemea forbade him from turning me into his proper heir, he didn’t bother to pretend otherwise.
It was Razira who stepped up to raise me after that. ”
I hated him. Remember when I rubbed down every doorknob with a wool cloth? He would grab them and get zapped, Finn sign.
“You did what?” Zane asked incredulously.
I snorted, picturing Prince Lazreal’s usually unreadable face pulled in a sneer of disgust. The memory of his hair standing on end only made it worse. Finn and I dissolved together into a fit of laughter.
I wiped the tears of mirth from my eyes. “Razira covered for Finn, so my father never learned it was him,” I said, mostly to Zane. “She looked after all of the servant kids when she could.”
Cracking up again, I added to Finn, Remember when Razira gave you a wool scarf on your next birthday?
I miss when she had a sense of humor, he signed back, nodding.
“Wasn’t she the one who taught you how to fight?” he asked.
“Amongst other things. How to fight, how to dance, how to go unseen by the vampires here.” I leaned my head back to look at Zane, relaxing with his fingers easing the tension from my shoulders. “What I’m saying is I know Razira.”
“You used to know her,” he countered.
“I knew her before she was a vampire, just like I know you.” I dropped my voice, looking into his amber-brown eyes. They were not much different than they used to be when they were softer, mortal. “She was tortured too. Underneath everything is still the person I know. I saw her tonight.”
Pain shadowed his face. I reached up to brush my thumb over his cheek, wanting to wipe away the memories I’d just stirred in him. “It’s not like you to assume the best in people,” he murmured.
“I’ve only done it once or twice.”
The apple in his throat bobbed as I traced the bold lines of his face. “How is that going for you?”
“So far, so good.” I smiled up at him. He made a noise low in his throat and bent, pressing a kiss to my lips sideways.
With a sigh, I added, “But we also need to focus on what’s next. We’re running out of time to capture someone for the Trial of the Nemesis.”
“How long do we have?” Zane asked.
“A week. Less now.”
I sent rats to the House of Whispers earlier to scout. It is far away, and they have not come back yet, Finn signed.
“That means we have time to work through my kill list. We’re going after Lorelei tonight.” My pulse quickened at the thought of ending her.
Zane lifted a brow. “Tonight?”
“Yes. No one looks twice at a new Devotion—”
“Sunshine.” The nickname was weighed with uncertainty. “You’ve just escaped that maze and the Flask’s judgment. Isn’t this too soon?”
I rose, placing my fingers on his chin. “They expect us hidden behind closed doors, consumed by the bond.” I traced his lips as they pulled into a smug smile and leaned in until we shared breath. “Ravaged by desire, not gearing up for battle.”
His amber-brown smolder had my knees feeling weak. “And you would prefer killing this vampiress to being ravaged?”
“No, but it needs to be done.”
Zane inspected me in disbelief. The movement of Finn’s hands drew my attention. We could still stay in this bed and finish devouring one another. Finn grinned and waggled his brows.
Longing flared within me, settling low in my belly with languid heat. I wanted more than anything to sink into the raw temptation of them and never surface. I kept my face turned toward Finn so he could read my lips. “This is our best chance. We strike while they think we’re blind to the world.”
Zane blew out a sigh, shaking his head. “Let’s rid Pythia of another bloodsucker. Then we’ll drag you back to bed.”
I couldn’t help a victorious smile. “Very little dragging will be required. Until then, we need current intelligence on Lady Lorelei’s house, her routine, her security. I served her in the past, but all I know is where she lives.”
Let me call my rats. Finn moved to the window and pressed his palm to the drawn shade, gaze distant.
He opened the shade and drew up the window by two inches. Sunlight speared his hands, and smoke curled from them instantly. He jerked backward, dropping the shade.
Five dark-furred rats squeezed through the opening and scurried across the floor. Finn crouched, stroking their backs. Draw a map, Sidney, he signed. I will tell them where to go.
Standing, I moved to the desk and pulled out a quill, inkpot, and parchment, sketching the Gilded Yard and the outline of Lorelei’s estate. Finn pointed to the markings, and the rats’ whiskers twitched as if in understanding. With a final squeak, they darted outside and vanished into daylight.
How long will they take? I asked.
Finn glanced at the map. They should be back before sunset. We should rest.
“I have a better idea,” I breathed, allowing the map to curl into a forgotten scroll.
The mission felt a world away, eclipsed by the sudden, heavy thrum of the two men flanking me.
My fingers tangled in the thick strands at the nape of Finn’s neck while my opposite palm absorbed the rhythmic heat of Zane’s chest.
Zane’s gaze ignited, and a low vibration hummed through his ribs and into my skin.
He closed the gap, his arm a locked band around my waist that hauled me flush against his rigid frame.
Finn tracked the shift, his focus narrowing on the pulse thrumming in my throat.
He stepped into the space, hands sliding over my hips with a slow, possessive friction that stole the air from my lungs.
I arched back against Zane, baring the line of my neck. Finn didn't hesitate; he buried his face in the curve of my shoulder, his breath a searing brand against the cool air. I turned, meeting Zane’s mouth in a demanding kiss that left me lightheaded.
Reaching for Finn, I drew his lips to mine.
His kiss was a deep, pulling ache, the silent language of a man wanting more.
They moved with me, a coordinated surge of muscle and warmth, guiding me toward the wide expanse of the bed.
The pressure of the looming night dissolved into the silk of the sheets, replaced by the sweet, crushing gravity of the two souls who held me whole.
We woke in a tangle of rumpled sheets and overlapping limbs. The weight of sleep clung to me as I blinked it away and slipped to the window, lifting the curtain a careful inch. Late afternoon light glared back, and I let the panel fall before it could spill inside.
Finn was already up and dressed. I will get you some tea, he signed. And food.
Before I could respond, he cupped my face with both hands.
He kissed my forehead and then brushed a softer kiss across my lips.
A flutter rose low in my belly, a muted ache that urged me toward him.
I rubbed his wrist, my thumb tracing the firm beat of his pulse in silent thanks. He smiled and slipped out.
Zane grumbled into the pillow when I nudged him, still sprawled on his stomach. “Sleepyhead,” I teased. “You can use the bathroom after me.”
I smiled to myself at the incoherent mumble he responded with. He was never a morning person, though I supposed it was “evening vampire” now. At the sink, I splashed cold water over my face and refreshed myself.
By the time I was done, Zane was more awake and Finn had returned with a full platter balanced on one arm.
Steam curled from the teapot, mingling with the richer scent rising from the pitcher beside it.
Three cups waited. Finn poured the blood first, filling one and passing it to Zane before claiming his own.
The metallic aroma yanked at me, a sharp hook in my gut.
My mouth flooded with saliva. Tearing my gaze from the red essence, I focused on the platter, piling the sourdough bread, giardiniera, and cheese high on my plate, along with other solid foods.
I sat and ate quickly, letting the sustenance slice through the thick, animal hunger scraping at my throat.
After filling a cup with tea, I cradled the warm ceramic until its heat bled into my hands. Warmth unfurled through my chest as I drank. When the cup was empty, I set it aside and rose.