Page 16 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal (Kennedy Rain #4)

We reached the stairs, and that’s when my memories crashed in.

My feet rooted to the floor. My throat tightened, and it became a struggle to draw in enough air.

I’d almost died down there last week. With Satine here now, it was just as dangerous.

I’d taken so many risks these past few months.

This might be the time I didn’t make it out alive.

Blake might not make it out alive.

He either sensed my fear or felt me fall behind because he stopped and turned. “Their magic is strong. You don’t have to come down.”

Right. The magic. That extra bit of manufactured doom. My fear was real and justifiable, but this place enhanced it. It would not smother me. I just needed to take a step.

“I can help,” Blake said. “Like at Beltane.”

Beltane, where he’d used his magic to counteract the fey’s. Instead of being enchanted by them, I’d allowed myself to be mesmerized by him. I’d dropped my defenses, and it had felt good—easy—like it was the most natural thing to be laughing and flirting with him.

“I can handle this,” I said. I’d survived Arcuro without Blake’s help. I’d survive Satine too.

We’d all survive.

He nodded once, then began the descent again.

My feet finally obeyed my command. I followed Blake, counting the uneven steps carved into the rock. I’d never been to the bottom of the compound before. I hoped that stayed true for today.

Luck must have been on my side. Blake left the stairs and entered a chamber just thirty or so feet underground.

The cool air tasted like metal and ice, and it took effort to enter the den of the awaiting vampires.

They faced the room’s center, where Satine had stretched out on a green velvet chaise.

Eight vampires stood behind her. Almost double that amount watched from the back of the room, and to my left stood Jared with five vampires at his back.

The tightness in my chest abated some. He appeared unharmed.

There was no rage or anger in his eyes, no emotion.

That was status quo for him. Still, I was surprised he didn’t show something when Nora reached his side.

Despite being naked in a room full of vampires, she didn’t appear vulnerable or self-conscious.

There was no need to be when she had zero flaws.

And Blake? He had a few scars, one that curved over his hip and down his muscled thigh, but that only made him look more dangerous, more dominant, and more in control.

The latter might be an issue, especially with the way he surveyed the room like he was the master of the compound.

“Nora is pack.” Blake’s words were bold and audacious. They were a threat that warned if any harm came to her, the vampires would be hunted and slaughtered.

Nora’s gaze dipped ever so briefly downward. She tried to hide the submission, tried to appear both unmoved and apathetic, but everyone experienced Blake’s power. Satine’s head tilted curiously, and the majority of the other vampires fastened violent eyes on the alpha in the room.

Jared stepped in front of his wife, his sneer revealing his sharp fangs.

Unconcerned, Blake faced him. He didn’t hold back his magic. He used it, all his charisma, authority, and strength. His death-dealing brutality and primal, destructive magic. His power rivaled Lehr’s. It might even have surpassed the alpha’s.

Nora placed a hand on Jared’s shoulder. I moved closer to Blake and touched his arm. His influence seemed to expand even more, so I leaned forward to whisper into his ear. “Now is not the time to provoke him.”

Blake didn’t acknowledge my words. He didn’t react at all until Satine’s laughter filled the chamber.

“Do continue,” she said. “I find this situation so very entertaining. Kennedy, come sit with me.” She patted a space beside her on the chaise.

It felt like my soul lurched forward. My gaze fixed on her, and just like it had aboveground, my foot lifted.

No. I tightened my grip on Blake’s hand. I breathed in his strength and confidence, but Satine owned the air. She would only allow me to draw it into my lungs if I obeyed her command.

“Release her.” Jared’s order thundered through the room.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Tried harder to breathe.

“Kennedy.” Blake spoke one word, just my name, and Satine’s control over me snapped.

It was sudden and complete and disorienting.

The room tilted and spun. I widened my stance and focused on controlling my own consciousness.

I’d spent my youth aware of magic and resisting it.

Nothing on this level, but if I focused on myself, focused on the reason we were here, I could rebuild the foundations of my defensive walls.

Vision clear, I raised my eyes to meet Satine’s gaze. She had to go. The best way to do that was to firmly establish that Jared was the compound’s new master.

Time for a tightrope performance.

“Arcuro banned you and your associates from The Rain,” I said, my voice strong and steady. “Do you want that to change?”

Her red lips smirked. “It already has, child.”

I ignored her condescending tone. My words weren’t for her; they were for the rest of the vampires in the room, especially those who didn’t stand with Satine or with Jared. They hadn’t chosen an alliance. Yet.

“The Rain no longer accepts the presence of any paranorm who is a threat to me or to my associates.”

“Oh really?” She stood and glided toward me.

Jared, Nora, and Blake quickly closed in, blocking Satine’s path.

I scowled at their backs, at their wall of muscle and magic.

I appreciated their united front, might even point to this later as evidence that they could work together without snarls and threats, but they were currently weakening my position.

I tried to slide in between Jared and Nora. When neither budged, I sidestepped to the right to get around Blake. He didn’t let me move farther than his side.

Fine. I’d accept being with the group rather than in front of it.

Satine’s expression soured. “I allowed the puppies to enter. Where is my thank-you?”

“Jared controls the compound,” I said. “I control The Rain. I decide who can or can’t stay, and when necessary, I consult people I trust for insight and opinions.”

Her eyes hardened. “If you trust Jared, you’re a fool. He might have tolerated you these past few months, but as soon as you’re no longer needed, you and your frivolous changes will be nothing to him.”

My response was simple and straightforward. “I’ll reevaluate our relationship at that time.”

“You are welcome to stay until dusk,” Jared said.

Well played, Jared. Perfect timing. Perfect cadence.

Satine slowly shifted her attention from me to him.

I kept my expression blank, my heartbeat steady.

Jared had finalized his claim of the compound with that statement, and he was forcing Satine to recognize his authority.

If she stayed, it would look like she was accepting an invitation.

If she left, it would look like she’d ceded the compound.

Of course, there was always the not small chance Satine would choose a third option and decide to kill us all. Given Satine’s intense glare, the latter seemed much more likely.

“Would you like The Rain’s email to apply for a room?” I asked, hoping to pull her attention away from Jared.

It worked. Despite the promise of death in her eyes, I kept my breath even. She couldn’t kill me outright. Did she know she could hurt me though? Arcuro had figured it out. So had Malachi, the vampire who had replaced Jared as Arcuro’s henchman. If that information had spread…

The tension in the room ratcheted tighter and tighter. I did my best to project calmness to my companions. All three were lethal statues ready to leap from their stone pedestals.

We were so focused on Satine and her vampires no one noticed the danger at our backs until it was too late.