Page 18

12

MERCY

I shouldn’t have lostmy temper with her, but she drove me batshit crazy.

Still in a daze from our conversation, the short walk to my own room felt like it could have taken a thousand years. Cecelia had a way of getting under my skin in a way no other could. For one, it was her body. She was dressed down in just her pants and a tiny bra, and by the Devil it was hard to look her in the eye when there was so much more of her to look at. My hands twitched at my sides, still feeling the pressure of her soft skin and the slow pulse of her heartbeat against my fingertips. It took every ounce of my patience to let her go and walk away.

Hot and bothered, I snapped my fingers as I opened the door to my lavish room and Narcissa materialized beside me.

“Mercy. Why thehellare you still playing games with the blood bag? It is unlike you.”

My patience was also running thin with Narcissa. She had continued to forget her place, and it was not the first time that I debated on dismissing her. If only she wasn’t a good, loyal second, I would.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of sleeping with her.

“Jealousy is unbecoming of you,” I snapped back, and laughed lightly when her returning hiss came.

“I am not jealous ofher,” she replied, “but I am worried that she is a distraction from the final goal. Where do you think she is going to fit in your perfect life, Mercy? Do you think you can keep her chained here forever? A prisoner kept locked away—even in a place as lovely as this—is still a prisoner.”

I frowned and looked away, eyeing the open bags on my bed. It was just last night Narcissa was there with me, our limbs tangled together in bliss and ecstasy. I wished I could have taken that back. I walked over to my closet, pointing at several articles of clothing and watching as another tiny vampire grabbed and folded each shirt and pair of pants neatly into my bag.

“I can smell your heat,” she continued, taking on a tone that very much reminded me of a jealous girlfriend. “Just fuck her already and get it over with. You’ll feel so much better when you taste her and remember she is absolutely ordinary.”

“I don’t know what your end goal is, Narcissa,” my tone was low and threatening, “but I suggest you stop while you’re ahead.” She rolled her eyes at me.

“My goal is to watch you build your empire,” she said earnestly. “I want to rule by your side.”

“I do not court,” I reminded her. An oath I took long before I started rising in our kind. A partner made you an easy target, and I was not full of weaknesses like the rest of them.

“Maybe not a consort, but a partner, then,” Narcissa continued, relentless in her efforts. “I want power, just like you. And when you are . . . insistent on certain needs being met, I promise to deliver. Have I not been everything you have asked of me?”

My thoughts drifted once again to last night. The way her tongue roamed freely over my bare chest, the way her fangs felt as they trailed along my collarbone. Narcissa was good at helping me forget the stress— she was a good distraction. I found myself nodding along.

“It is hard work to run Sin City, and will only become more difficult as you take over the Southwest region. I am only here to serve you, Merc.” Her voice sounded dangerously close to my ears, and soon I felt her breath hot against my skin. The hairs on my neck stood on end, and I could feel the need rushing into my cheeks and to the pit of my belly.

Before I became incoherent, my attention snapped to my now packed bags waiting at the door. I moved away from Narcissa and turned to face her.

“Please have a prepaid phone delivered to Cecelia’s room,” I said formally, catching her by surprise. I noticed dark circles shadowing her eyes and I averted her gaze. If I had looked right into those perfect eyes, I would have to be dragged out of here naked.

Her surprise quickly turned to frustration, then seething rage as I turned to walk away from her. Still, she said nothing, no confirmation, no quips of anger. She was simply silent— and Narcissa was not that type.

“She is allowed to call me in case of emergencies,” I continued, bending to pick up a bag and allowing the tiny vampire in the corner to take the others to load them in our car out front. “If so much as a hair on her head is harmed, I will have the entire staff in this residence killed. Do not cross me on this, Narcissa. I do not care what your problem is with having her around, but it is a problem I will solve when I return.”

Eventually, I would have to figure out what to do with her, but that would be a problem in a few days time. For now, I didn’t think I could trust Narcissa to keep to her word— and that was a terrible realization.

“I will not be taking you with me.” I said, and I watched again as several stages of emotions crossed her features, settling on rage. It was so much easier for us to be angry than disappointed.

“Like hell you won’t!” she said finally, that pent up aggression seeping out of her with each word. “You promised me. Youmusttake me! Once you are named Nate’s replacement, they will name me your number two, and you know how much I need that.”

“What you need to do, Cissa, is listen to me.” I was not wavering in this decision. “I need you to find out what they know about Nathaniel. I need everything. What they think they know, what they have. You must promise me that you will find everything. If it comes out that we were responsible, they will be out for blood. You could kiss your rank, and your life, goodbye. Right now that is far more important than this ceremony.”

I was afraid she wouldn’t listen to me. I was afraid that this was the moment when I made an enemy out of Narcissa. There was the briefest of pauses, where there wasn’t anything in the air between us but silence. Finally, after what seemed like ages, her head dipped and she muttered a quiet “Yes”. Feeling adequately satiated, I nodded once and opened the door, leaving Narcissa alone in my bedroom.

She had one thing right, and that one thing bothered me all the while as I slowly walked down the hallway, nearing Cecelia’s door once more.A prisoner kept locked away—even in a place as lovely as this—is still a prisoner.She had been given fresh new clothes, a room fit for a Queen, and free rein of a home there was no way she could ever afford on her own. Though it seemed like heaven, even I couldn’t shake the anger that rolled off of my little flower in waves when she said almost the exact same thing.

I had taken her against her will, and I had no intention of letting her go.

What was this weird fascination with the human girl? She was nothing special, ordinary, as Narcissa had claimed. Maybe it was simply just that Iwantedher. I had been intimate with a human before, but it wasthishuman that made my legs quiver with excitement.