Messy Business #2
Lydia stepped back from the woman who raised her but Cova captured her face in her hands.
“Listen. I know your world is absolutely shattered right now. And I want to tell you everything. I want to fix this. But I won’t have that chance if we die in this horrible place.
So, please. You need to come with us and do exactly as Reyva says. Okay?”
The poor girl sniffled and my heart broke all over again for her. Everything I had done, everything I had gone through, it had all been to keep her safe. But despite my efforts, she was here all the same.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” Cova echoed before turning back to me. “What’s the plan?”
Destruction was all around us as we snuck through the wreckage. What had once been grand and golden was now bloodied and broken. A Hive of absolute ruin.
“Did they not mean to make this place their home?” Cova whispered, looking down her nose at the haphazardly discarded items.
“I’ve seen their home. It’s not much better,” I muttered back to her before pausing at the end of a corridor.
I lifted a finger to my lips. Cova’s knuckles blanched on the hilt of a small dagger. A moment of silence, then two. When I was sure the coast was clear, I motioned for Cova and Lydia to follow me.
We would freeze at the sound of shuffling boots, sinister laughing, or a fearful scream. The culling was ruthless. We needed to get to Dommik. I needed to get to Dommik. But there were countless places Vaspar could have taken him for his sunrise execution.
I knew little about Eryx, but what I had learned in my limited time with him was that he appreciated pageantry.
If he was a part of planning Dommik’s public execution, it would be spectacle.
Something visible from various parts of the Hive so none of his followers would miss it.
I needed to get my family safely to my rooms. From my balcony, I would be able to see a clear view of the south side of the grounds.
It would help eliminate a few possible locations for Dommik to greet the dawn.
Moving quickly while remaining undercover was a careful balance. My heart leapt when we reached the familiar hallway to my chamber door. Only when the latch clicked softly behind us did I give myself permission to fully exhale.
“Let’s be quick,” Cova instructed as Lydia sank into a chair.
I grabbed a satchel, threw a few pieces of jewelry I thought we could barter with into it and then made my way to the armoire.
It would be a shame if we managed to survive escaping Eryx and the Hive only to become ill or die from the cold of the Eckwood.
I removed the hangers holding shawls and furs and handed them to my sister.
Cova was fastening a fur-lined cloak around Lydia’s slumped shoulders when the sound of an approaching conversation froze us in our tracks.
Ever so carefully, I closed the armoire doors. Everything looked as it had. I motioned for everyone to move to the bathing chamber as the handle to my room twisted.
“If I could bottle this smell, I would,” a voice declared, their words laced with hungry admiration.
Cova and I exchanged a glance in the dark corner of my lightless bathing chamber. We were barely hidden and a sense of defeat descended on me. This was it. We would be found, sent back to the dungeon or brought straight to Eryx, killed eventually—all of us.
“Her aroma is lovely. And if the regent wants her this bad, I bet she’s delicious,” a second voice agreed.
My hand found my sister’s in the dark and gave her an apologetic squeeze. Sorry for failing her. For failing Lydia.
The sounds of the two vampires inspecting objects drew closer until one of the shadowy frames stood in the bathing chamber doorway. Cova released my hand and sent her fingers wide.
The featureless figure sniffed. “It is absolutely ripe with her in here.”
“Of course it is—it’s a bathing chamber,” the shadow’s companion replied like they were bored of this task.
“There’s something else though. A second scent. Come here,” the figure insisted.
Cova’s shoulder trembled next to mine. We were going to be found.
A second shadow appeared. They wafted a hand in the air, welcoming the fragrances of the room. After a silent moment, the second shadow disappeared. “Have you even smelled a clean human before?”
“Huh?” The figure’s profile showed a long nose scrunched in confusion.
“It’s soap, idiot. These vampires keep their humans like pets. They see them cleaned and treat them as equals. You’re smelling what a clean human smells like.”
“But—” A small step forward from the shadow pushed us farther into the dark corner.
“It’s nothing. She’s not here. Let’s mark this room as searched and move on.”
Go. Please go.
The door to my room slammed shut but the figure remained in the bathing chamber doorway. The long-nosed vampire stepped into the room. He came closer, and closer. He should have been able to see us. Why couldn’t he see us?
Cova’s hands shook. She was using her magic. She was shielding us. And by the way she began to slouch, I could tell she was fading.
My sister let out a soft, exasperated breath and the vampire snarled. “I know someone is here.”
Just when Cova’s body fell to the floor, I rushed the vampire, pressing the serrated blade of Dommik’s sword to his feeble neck.
I was close enough now to see his face move from surprise, fear, realization, and then a confident smugness in the matter of seconds.
“I knew it!” he said as he threw me effortlessly against the opposite wall.
My back crashed into stone and pain erupted throughout my limbs as I fell forward to the floor. Dommik’s sword bounced and clanged on the marble next to me.
If the commotion wasn’t loud enough to draw attention, he would be. We had to kill him quickly before he called for any more guards.
I coughed as I pushed myself to my hands and knees. My lungs refused to draw a new breath. The vampire approached, snickering to himself, “I don’t know what a clean human smells like…pshh.”
“Where—is—Dommik?” I managed to gasp despite my restricted airways.
The vampire dropped to a crouch in front of me. His hand grabbed a fistful of hair, lifting my gaze to his. “He’s about to greet the dawn. And I don’t want to miss it.”
I shook my chin, coughed, and rasped, “Where?”
A fang-filled smile looked down at me. “He’s with my regent. Tell you what, I’ll bring you to him.”
My yelp of pain echoed off the marble as he pulled me upright by my hair.
“Drop her!” Cova growled, her fingers curling on the marble floor. Lydia bent to help her stand.
“Or what?” My captor turned. “Are those weak little arms going to try to do what she couldn’t? Pick up that sword and have a go? Nah. I think I’ll take her to Eryx and get a nice reward for this prize. He might just make me a lord.”
Lydia braced Cova, who seemed to be regaining strength. She staggered, but she stood, and then my ferocious sister hissed, “Last chance.”
The male sighed, “Miss, we both know there’s nothing you can d—”
I was suddenly released and thrown to my knees again on the unforgiving floor. My jaw dropped as I took in my sister.
Twisted vines of swirling smoke flew from Cova’s outstretched hands. The vampire grunted as shadows shackled him to the wall around his wrists, ankles, and neck.
She wore a look of wonder and surprise while Lydia’s form slumped behind her. “How is this possible?” Cova gasped.
“Just—hold—him—” Lydia strained, her hands flat against Cova’s waist and back.
This was it. This was her power. She could amplify magic. A conduit to the invisible energy that activated our inherited skills. My own bristled beneath my skin at the proximity.
“Yes,” I agreed as I moved to stand. “Hold him.”
I approached the vampire who was all teeth and fury beneath the magical restraints.
“Where is Dommik?” I asked slowly, my anger thinly blanketed with clarity and calmness.
The seething, sputtering immortal didn’t offer a response. He just struggled against the wisps of rope.
“If you won’t tell me. I’ll look for myself.” I took a step closer and the vampire snapped at me.
From the corner of the room, Lydia gasped. “Hurry.”
I nodded to her, sensing her draining energy somewhere in the invisible ether dancing around us.
The vampire’s dark eyes grew even more menacing as I reached out to touch his arms. As I made contact, I thought of Dommik.
Of his stormy gaze and preferred black leathers.
In my mind, he was smiling wide. A grin that lifted his cheeks and dipped his dimple.
But what came to me as I searched the vampire’s mind was a distorted version of the Dommik I knew.