Chapter 29 #2
Her levity forced an answering chuckle from me. “Okay, as much as he ever does, then. Maybe it’s this war. It’s probably escalating, and he needs a bit of space from everyone to think.”
“The war’s been getting worse for years. I heard the guards talking with Vito, and he said they have to go to Europe soon. Something to do with the vampire king’s son going missing, and an important package they have to deliver to the king.”
I frowned. That feeling in my gut was only getting worse.
“A package? Bal hasn’t mentioned anything.
Never mind; I guess he'll tell us when he’s ready.
” Despite my words, my confidence in him was deteriorating.
The thread of hurt that, once again, others knew things I didn’t, got worse, and I had to force a nonchalant shrug.
“I suppose if Bal is King Stefan’s general, he’d have to go and see what can be done to locate the boy. Maybe the Mades have him?”
Sor’s brows pinched. “I hope not. Gods, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, never mind a young boy.”
“He’s not that young. About fourteen, isn’t he?”
“That’s terribly young for a vampire. Besides, I think he’s a bit younger than that.
And he’s probably been sheltered all his life.
Being a prisoner of Made vampires, while your father is waging a war against them, would be a horrible position for him to be in.
He’ll be used as a pawn in a war that he’s had nothing to do with. ”
I agreed, privately hoping that maybe the boy had run away.
He must have been kept in a gilded prison all his life, with an ailing and slightly crazy father who was at war with his own kind.
The poor boy probably never got to have any fun, like playing with his friends or riding, like that stable boy.
We got closer to the stables, and Sor’s body stiffened as if she was preparing herself for something bad.
“Something feels wrong.” Ice crystals sparkled in the air around us.
I squeezed her shoulders, trying to alleviate her anxiety.
It was unusual for her to worry more than I did about what Bal was doing.
But she was right. There was an ominous feel to the night.
“Don’t worry, Sor, he's got a lot on his mind. He probably just needs some alone time.” My words felt like a lie even though I wanted to believe them.
She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m being silly. It’s nighttime, and he always disappears at night; it’s what vampires do.”
I snorted and kissed her nose. “I don’t.”
“I know, but you're different.”
I grinned, happy to introduce a bit of levity, and not in the least offended. “I know. I’m special.”
She giggled and rolled her eyes, the ice in the air dissipating. “You are, in many ways.”
I placed a hand on my chest. “Now I’m just wounded.”
“Wounded? You? Don’t give me that. You love being special.”
“I do.”
We linked hands, and despite my misgivings about Bal, I felt the usual warmth of happiness as we walked side by side.
I tried to rationalise his distance from us, to understand.
Bal worked hard, day and night. It wasn’t easy being at the top of the power tree, and he had more responsibility than anyone I’d ever known, Connor included.
Perhaps he really did just need to decompress, and we’d find him murmuring to his horse as if it understood his every fucking word.
Just like he did every time he was near the damned thing.
We reached the back of the stables, and still hand in hand, we rounded the corner of the building. The sound of a phone vibrating made me hesitate. The horses whickered, but I could still hear Bal’s curt voice.
“Yes? When did they leave? I see.”
Something in his voice made me gently pull Sor to a halt and put my finger to my lips, my gut tensing. Sor raised a questioning brow but did as I asked. There was a pause, but I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone.
“I know. I can’t…I have to do this, Dav. Time’s running out. I’ve delayed as long as I can. The war’s escalating, and Shane’s in Stefan’s sights. It’s time…”
My blood ran cold, a sudden bout of nausea making me dizzy.
I’d often wondered why I’d been ignored by the king when I was not supposed to exist. It was stupid to let myself forget my position in this world, believing our little bubble of happiness would last. But hearing that the vampire king wanted me?
Yeah, that was a slap in the face to wake me the fuck up.
Was I the package Vito had mentioned? I’d thought being a member of Bal’s House would protect me, even help other vampires accept me.
But, in the end, I was still a Made, and more importantly, I was a monster whose existence was against vampire law.
I shook my head. No, Bal wouldn’t turn me over. I had to trust that. Otherwise, our time together with Sor? It was all one big fat lie.
Dav’s heated response was cut off, and there was a shaky sigh, followed by the rustle of material. Sor tapped my arm in question, scowling and gesturing to the slightly open door of the stables. My jaw muscles clenched as I stared down at her,
“It could mean anything,” she whispered, though the way she bit her bottom lip betrayed her worry.
Movement had me pushing us against the wall into the shadows, and I covered her slight body with mine.
The stable doors banged shut, and Bal’s footsteps headed back towards the castle.
Keeping a gentle finger pressed to Sor’s lips to let her know we needed to be silent, I waited until I could no longer hear him, staring at Sor the whole time, with my gut twisting as I tried to figure out what to tell her.
“You heard him?”
She nodded. “I did. Maybe being any kind of supernatural, even an inexperienced witch, gives you good hearing?”
My smile was watery. “Yeah, maybe.” I paused and looked over my shoulder into the shadows, where Bal had disappeared. “We need to go after him.”
Sor’s features twisted. She was uncertain, but she knew we needed to find out what was going on.
I suppose Bal’s words could be innocent.
Maybe he was going to protect us, not rip us apart, and deliver me to the unhinged vampire king.
Pain lanced my heart as I reluctantly accepted that I wasn’t nearly as important to Bal as his ancient relationship with the king he served.
My wolf whined. He felt my hurt; hell, he’d lived it every time someone let me down and my world fell apart.
My throat tightened. Please don’t let that happen again.
There was no point in trying to soothe him, though, not when I was so unsure of what was going on.
Yet, no matter that my gut told me Bal was about to do something terrible, I wanted so much to believe he cared about us.
Perhaps I was being uncharitable. The phone call and his behaviour could be a misunderstanding.
Sor’s huge eyes met mine, and she dragged her top lip between her teeth, looking more worried than ever. “I don’t know. He loves us, Shane. Maybe we should try to trust him.”
“Does he? He’s told you that? Because he never said he loved me.
” My mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool, so dry I could barely swallow past the ache in my throat.
I’d been betrayed and hurt so many times before, and I didn’t want everything that had passed between us to have meant nothing to him.
I forced air past my vocal chords, but my words were still shaky.
“If he’s going to hand me over to the vampire king, I need to know, Sor.
” My voice caught, and she took my hands in hers and squeezed, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
She cupped that cheek, her touch icy cold. “Okay. I’m sure this is all innocent.”
Lie, screamed her scent.
“He’d never hurt you. He loves you. I know he does. He kept us here, where we’d be safe because he loves us—he said so…”
The ache in my chest only got worse because I’d never really believed he was capable of love. I’d started to, but my distrust had reared its ugly head, and Sor’s shaking, cold hand that I grasped in mine like a lifeline, told me she didn’t either—not anymore.
Keeping a firm hold of Sor, we crept through the shadows and followed Bal’s scent until we stood outside the familiar door to the library.
It was unlatched, so I peeped through a crack.
My fists tightened, my nostrils flaring when I saw Dav and Minerva hover next to Bal as he slid his finger against a blood lock I’d never noticed before.
It was hidden beneath the carved mantle piece.
Sor gulped. “I’ve seen him go in there before. He has a private study or something behind the fireplace. There’s a tapestry on the wall. It’s really old and beautiful. I wanted to get a look at it once, and I tried to get in. I got caught.”
Her heated cheeks and guilty scent would have made me smile at any other time, but a sense of dread had settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe.
I smiled stiffly and held my finger to my lips.
She nodded. My lips brushed her forehead in thanks.
We both needed to see what was happening here.
Sor still believed Bal wouldn’t hurt us, and I really fucking wanted to believe that too. But I didn’t.
“So, Count,” purred Minerva, her voice irritating me like nails down a chalkboard. “Once I do this, you will become mine as I will become yours? I’ll become a recognised part of your House?”
Bal walked into the softly lit doorway and stared up at the emblem that had been stitched into the tapestry.
The whole thing wasn’t overly large, but it was clearly ancient, its threaded pattern faded and difficult to make out behind the glass that encased it.
His jaw muscles worked, and he remained silent.
My gaze focused on the symbol itself. It looked familiar.
“It’s a triquetra,” Sor whispered in my ear.