27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter 27
S omething was wrong.
Rieka expected to see the guards surrounding the moat. Instead, they stood armed and at attention. Something darker quickly replaced the excitement she had been feeling.
“Stay here,” Dante ordered.
She scoffed at the command as she moved around Dante to get a better view, grateful that she’d worn sandals instead of heels to the gala, despite Sypha’s protests.
The metallic stench of blood in the air stopped her short as she entered the secure room. She waited for the crystals, half embedded into the wall, to be activated, but nothing happened. Silently cursing that her eyesight hadn’t improved with the rest of her heightened senses, Rieka stayed next to Dante. In the darkness, she couldn’t hear the guards move but she could sense them. Their aura of lethality danced at the edges of her newfound senses. Light suddenly exploded around her. Rieka slowly blinked, waiting for the black spots to disappear as her eyes adjusted to the ambient light.
The black marble pedestal stood untouched. A small bridge, no wider than a foot, appeared over the chasm. They could now securely cross the moat. Her heart raced with undulating excitement. And then she saw it. She forced her hands by her sides as she stood ramrod straight. The glass encasing the statue had shattered into a million shards. Pieces were scattered along the ground, glistening in the muted light.
The statue was gone.
She clenched her fists as she scanned the mess. Rieka walked closer to the edge, her gaze never leaving the pedestal. She tapped the bridge with one foot, unsure if it could still take her weight. The smell of blood was stronger where she stood. She wrinkled her nose. The guards were paying zero attention to the atrocity in front of her. Following their gaze, she tilted her head to the ceiling. Her mouth opened without a sound as the pit of her stomach dropped. Pieces of flesh and blood clung to the jagged rock, dangling precariously from their perch.
“Idris?” Rieka asked. She hadn’t seen him at the ball. Nausea threatened to overwhelm her. She took a step back and pressed against Dante.
“He has not left the gala.”
Rieka looked up at the familiar voice. It had been too much to hope that their close encounter on the balcony was enough. Dressed in pale silver from head to toe, he looked like he’d had a fight with a snow globe and lost.
“Which is more than we can say for the hybrid.”
“It is Dr. Sinha,” Dante answered, his tone Antarctic cold and just as unforgiving.
Rieka wanted to hide behind Dante. The balcony had been a moment of respite. But she wasn’t a coward, and she didn’t let other people win her fights. “It has been a while, Lord Kai.”
Kai sneered at Rieka. His pale amber eyes grew large and sinister. His perfectly coiffed black hair made him appear like a movie villain. It was unlikely Kai personally had anything to do with the guard’s death. The Atlanteans’ aversion to manual labor and blood was almost comical. She’d witnessed it firsthand the summer she interned at House Mestor’s Japanese summer palace. The year she had identified their statue of Vandana as a forgery.
Dante pinned Kai with a glare. “I find it hard to believe that you have suddenly become interested in the contents of the vault, outside of the crown jewels.”
Kai looked flushed. Deep red marks crossed his features as he glared daggers at her. Even his perfect bone structure couldn’t hide the ugliness within him.
“Interesting that this—” Kai started with a flourish, ignoring the accusation. “Occurred while Dr. Sinha was down in the vault, alone.”
Rieka opened her mouth to respond. She was an archaeologist, not a thief or a vandal. Or a murderer. From experience, what she had to say would make no difference. Money talked. As did bloodlines. And she had neither.
Dante didn’t budge. “Rieka wasn’t alone.”
Kai shook his head as if he didn’t comprehend what Dante had said, huffing up with indignation. “Anhur will hear about it.”
“I look forward to it.”
This time, there was no mistaking the dismissive tone as Dante turned his attention back to her. She wanted to add a snarky comeback, but she was far more frazzled than she’d been ten minutes earlier. And her brain was still comprehending what was in front of her.
The statue was missing—the only clue she had to finding out who she was. Not to mention that someone had turned the vault into a scene from a R-rated horror movie.
Dante squeezed her hand in reassurance as he whispered, “Once you return to the upper levels, Talik will escort you to your room.”
For once, she would not argue.
D ante waited until Rieka had left the room before turning his attention to Kai. “What are you doing in the vault?”
He surveyed the damage. Something had torn an able-bodied guard to shreds and feasted on the body. Pieces of matte-black uniform held together by chunks of flesh were scattered throughout the area. The attacker had been extremely large and vicious and hungry. The smell of decaying flesh was faint but unmistakable. It had to have been a serpopard. He filed away the information. He would need to discuss it further with Anhur.
His watch vibrated; Talik had gotten his message. Rieka would be safe.
“I have the same right to be here as you do,” Kai said. “The guard belongs to House Mestor.” He moved to stand closer to the edge of the moat, a sneer on his face. “What was on the pedestal?”
“A statue of Vandana.”
Kai swung around to look at him, his face molten. “You brought that hybrid into the sacred vault to do what?”
“Careful, Kai,” Dante warned. He took a step closer to the bridge. Blood continued to drip from the ceiling. The guard had been slaughtered like an animal. “You still haven’t explained why you were here. As far as I am aware, only I had been given permission to access the vault.”
Kai stumbled. Perhaps he had come to the vault for a discreet rendezvous. Or perhaps something more sinister. The guards behind them moved, spreading out. They were no longer alone.
“If it isn’t my two favorite cousins,” Khalida interrupted, staring at both of them. She still wore her long black dress from the ball, but her hair was different, messier. “I am thankful that both sides of my lineage have gifted me with so many relatives.”
Dante snorted. “One of us is.”
Khalida stared at him. Her yellow eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Lord Anhur has ordered this area be restricted until further notice.”
Kai opened his mouth.
“That means you, Kai,” Khalida said slowly before turning to Dante. “I assume you have no objections?”
“No.”
There was no reason he needed to stay. The statue was gone and standing around within the vault would not help him find it.
Someone else wanted the statue. And they were willing to kill for it.