Page 15 of Battle for the Shadow Prince (A Bargain with the Shadow Prince #2)

15

The Vampire & Her Mate

ELOISE

T hat night I help myself to a slice of deep-dish pizza Cassius has in his fridge and find a fantasy novel I’ve been aching to read in his well-appointed study. The doorbell rings every now and then, although I keep the lights at the front of the house off. I don’t answer it. Maeve praises me for that bit of wisdom when I text her a play-by-play of what’s happened.

Maeve: The last thing you need is to open the door and for some vampire or witch to connect you with the shade. That could get back to Valeska before you even leave Chicago.

Me: Vampires are going to know tomorrow. He’s taking me to the Star, which is the Chicago version of Night Haven.

Maeve: Goddess help you. Have I ever told you that you attract danger like honey attracts ants?

Me: I try. I’m thinking of taking up sword swallowing.

Maeve: I’m not worried. On a different subject, can I have your green velvet couch if you die?

Me: You want my couch? You know my great-grandfather picked it out, right?

Maeve: It’s vintage.

Maeve: Hey, gotta go. Work stuff.

Me: K. See you in two days.

Maeve: Don’t die.

I climb the stairs to the bedroom Cassius showed me with a cup of herbal tea and the book. Each room in Cassius’s home is outfitted with blackout curtains, but I leave mine open so I can watch the moon and stars as I fall asleep. There’s something comforting about believing that Damien is under the same sky, perhaps gazing at the same moon I am.

My last thought as I drift away is that I have to get him back.

By the time Cassius is ready to take me to the Star the next night, I’m positively vibrating with nervous energy. This has to work. I have nowhere else to turn.

“Relax, Eloise. I can hear your heart pounding from three feet away, and the scent of adrenaline is coming off you in waves.” He casts me a critical look as he leads me to the back of a crowded bar, down a narrow set of stairs, to a metal door.

“I’m not sure what you want me to do about either of those things,” I whisper.

There’s a metal lock but no key. Just a silver panel. I wonder how we’re supposed to get in. A pattern of knocks? Secret password?

“Have you tried deep breathing?” His eyes shift to the side as he presses his thumb to the pad. I hear a click and he opens it for me. A bead of blood forms on his thumb before he sucks it into his mouth, closing the wound.

“The lock samples your blood?” I ask as the heavy door slams shut behind us.

“No one gets in without the blood of a coven member to break the ward, and the spell remembers if there’s trouble.” His eyes shift to me. “I’m trusting you. Don’t make me regret bringing you here. I’m accountable for your actions.” He grins as if he’s joking, but I sense an element of truth in it.

“I’d never. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

We stroll along a hall that descends into a concrete tunnel. “You must be a smart woman, Eloise. Damien would never mate a fool. I’m going to keep this simple. Remain respectful. Give Sabrina exactly what she asks for. She isn’t like Valeska. She’s a fair master, but she’s no pushover. She can be your greatest advocate or your worst nightmare. Don’t do anything to make her the latter.”

My mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. What does one even say to something like that? My heart lurches and gallops in my chest.

Cassius sighs. “I didn’t mean to make you nervous.”

I take a few deep breaths and steel my spine. “Why would I be nervous? I’m just in a sealed cavern under the earth with hundreds of creatures that want to eat me.”

He chuckles and glances in my direction. “You’re holding up well under the circumstances,” he murmurs.

A long walk later, we arrive in a massive underground gathering place. I see why it’s called the Star now. Tunnels lead from each of the Star’s points to this common gathering place. The central area is as large as a football field and teems with vampires coming and going, doing business, exchanging bags of blood, talking and laughing. They stop when I pass, their nostrils flaring, and I flash back to the night in Bad Witches’ Club when Jimmy said he could smell me from across the room. Everyone here must know I’m human. They scan me, their oversized eyes catching on my pulse, but the second they notice Cassius at my side, they turn away.

Cassius leads me to the front of the room where a woman I assume is the master sits on a throne on a stage about three feet high. My first impression is that she’s gorgeous. Bright red hair falls in loose waves around her creamy complexion and piercing green eyes. Her dress is a darker shade of crimson, silky as a rose petal. It matches exactly the color of her lipstick and the rubies in her tiara. This woman exudes royalty whether or not she uses the title of queen. Like Cassius, one look at her long, muscular arms and legs, the way she moves as gracefully as poured water when she repositions herself in her chair, and my instincts tell me she’s lethal. Deep inside, my muscles tense, ready to run. I am in the presence of killers, and she is possibly the deadliest.

And then I see the man standing behind her and understand a new level of intimidation. The apex predator energy coming from the dais isn’t restricted to Sabrina. He looms like a gathering storm behind the throne, enormous—easily as big as Damien—and physically intimidating. There’s something else. A tiny vibration at the back of my skull tells me he’s not a vampire. The way he moves is slower, more humanlike than the vampires around me. Humanlike but definitely not human. I examine him again, trying to figure out what he is. He’s blond and his smile is friendly enough, but when our eyes meet, an electric zing travels through me. I look away.

“Who is that behind the master?” I whisper to Cassius.

“Tobias, her mate and consort,” he whispers.

“But not a vampire.”

“No.” Cassius gives a quiet laugh. “But I’m curious, how can you tell with your human senses?”

I swallow. “I’m not sure. Gut feeling.”

“Hmm.” A line has formed before the throne. “In Lamia coven, royal audience is held once per month. Any vampire can bring their concerns or pleas for help before the master. You came at the perfect time for us to make your request.”

I can’t hear what the coven master is saying to the vampire at the front of the line, but Sabrina’s face is serious, and her lips move like she’s having a heated discussion. I assume their voices are outside the detection of my human hearing, because I notice the vampire at the front nodding his head.

I try not to stare, but my gaze keeps darting toward the master’s consort. Fuck. All I need is for the master of the Chicago vampire coven to think I’m hot for her mate. I’m not attracted to him. There’s just something about him. A pull. I think he feels it too, because we’re closer now and out of the corner of my eye, I see him staring at me. His nostrils flare, and then he whispers something into the master’s ear.

Only her eyes flick toward me. The rest of her remains focused on the vampire in front of her. It’s so fast I barely register it, but I know she’s seen me. He’s seen me. Her lips thin. Is that a smile? A frown? Annoyance? I can’t read the vampire’s expression. Moreover, I get the sense she likes it that way. We take another step toward the dais. I grow restless, shifting on my feet. I wipe my sweaty palms on the thighs of my jeans.

“Are you all right?” Cassius asks in a whisper. “I can hear your heart racing. Do you need a human break?”

I shake my head, although I haven’t peed since we left the house and the question makes me wonder what kind of facilities are even available down here. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” But it’s not nothing. It feels like ants are marching on the underside of my skin. “Do you smell that? Like smoked almonds with cinnamon?” I inhale deeply through my nose.

Cassius shakes his head and gives me a strange look. We finally step to the front of the line. I lift my chin, my eyes grazing along the master’s stunning red pumps, her exposed leg, the silky fabric of her dress, to her perfectly proportioned face.

“Master Bishop, it is a pleasure to be in your presence once again.” Cassius bows, and as soon as I see what he’s doing, I bow too.

“Cassius, how many times must I tell you to call me Sabrina? Tobias and I consider you family.” Sabrina’s eyes shift to me. “But who is this you’ve brought before us?”

“Eloise Harcourt. Her mate has been taken by the Night Haven coven, and she’s here to beseech your assistance in getting him back.”

“Your mate is a vampire?” Sabrina asks.

Tobias leans down and whispers something in her ear.

“No,” I say, trying not to stutter. “My mate, Damien, is a shade like Cassius. Please. He’s being held against his will. I need your help.”

Cassius raises a finger. “Damien is a friend from Tenebris. A warrior. He was summoned here through the same rift as me.”

Sabrina’s brow furrows. “Is he a citizen of Night Haven then, as you and Morpheus once were?”

“Yes,” Cassius confirms.

“But he didn’t leave when you did to avoid Valeska’s attention?” Her voice holds the burn of accusation. Shit. Is she blaming Damien for his own capture? I cringe. Damien would have left if given the chance. I open my mouth to say so, but Cassius shakes his head and does the talking.

“No. But until recently, he was spellbound by witches and was not a viable candidate for her mate. His curse was recently and unexpectedly broken.”

Her green eyes spark with interest. “By whom?”

“By Eloise herself. She is human, but magic runs in her ancestry.”

“What kind of magic?” Sabrina demands.

Cassius looks toward me.

I’m not sure what to say, so I go with how Maeve defined it. “Spirit magic.”

Sabrina frowns, and Tobias again whispers something to her. He’s frowning too and studying me with intense interest.

“Bring me her blood,” she demands.

What? A bald vampire with a goatee appears beside me, holding a blade and a goblet.

I dart multiple glances toward Cassius. “Is this common?”

He gives me an encouraging nod.

Sabrina clears her throat and levels a hard stare at me. “Before I can help you, Eloise, I need to understand more about you. This is the fastest way.” She points a beautifully manicured hand at the goblet.

I hold out my left arm. “Why does it always have to be blood?” I mumble as the bald vampire slices my skin and dribbles the blood into the goblet.

When he’s through, he moves to lick the wound, but Cassius has him by the throat before a drop can touch his tongue. “That won’t be necessary, Zander.”

“I only meant to close the wound.”

“I will take care of her.” Cassius pulls a handkerchief from the pocket of his uniform and presses it to the small cut. His eyes meet mine. “Hold this.”

“You can close it?—”

He shakes his head and lowers his voice. “Damien would never allow it.”

I nod and press the cloth harder against my wound. He moves back to my side just as Sabrina takes a sip of my blood. She straightens as she swallows, her eyes wildly seeking out Tobias’s. She gives him a tight nod. I watch the man drag a deep breath into his lungs and blow it out.

When she turns back to us, the intrigue I know I saw flashing across her face is gone, replaced by a mask of boredom. “I wish I could help you, Eloise, but as Cassius should have told you, relations with Night Haven are already strained. Cassius’s defection from the coven has yet to be forgiven. Lamia cannot become involved in a case involving another coven’s citizen.”

“But… but she’s keeping him against his will!” I shut my piehole when Sabrina levels a deadly glare at me.

“I believe you, Ms. Harcourt. There is no doubt in my mind that you’ve been wronged and are telling the truth about Damien’s wishes. Unfortunately, vampire politics is a delicate thing. I can’t put the safety of my coven in jeopardy. Not for this.”

A lump forms in my throat. All the hope I’ve clung to when it came to this meeting collapses into a puddle of crushing disappointment.

“Cassius, although we can’t help you or your guest, it would be my pleasure of you and Ms. Harcourt would join Tobias and me for cocktails in my quarters before you leave. Your current dress is acceptable.”

He bows. “It would be our sincere pleasure. I’ll show her back.” He takes my elbow and starts leading me toward one of the tunnels. We walk a short distance, but when I’m sure we’re alone, I stop. Cassius, to his credit, doesn’t try to force me to keep moving.

“Do we have to stay?” I’m trembling. I lean against the wall for support. Disappointment, fear, and hopelessness collide within me. Everything feels heavy. Impossible. Bleak. “I’m not sure how long I can hide my feelings. You might have to watch me break down in front of your master. It won’t be pretty. If you knew how close I am to collapsing right now…” I wipe under my stinging eyes, my voice high and tight.

His big hand lands on my shoulder, and his face draws near to mine. I can barely hear his hushed whisper as he says, “Eloise, listen to me carefully. Sabrina and Tobias do not invite others to their table often. It’s so rare I can’t remember the last time it happened. I think we can presume there’s something she wants to tell us in private.”

I draw a sharp breath when I realize what he’s suggesting. Is it possible that Sabrina might offer a covert solution? I try not to allow hope to inflate within me again, but I can’t stop the swelling of my heart. I close my eyes and steady myself. “Thank you, Cassius. Thank you for bringing me here.”

He nods and leads me forward once more. We arrive at what could be a bank vault, a massive silver door guarded by a man in uniform.

“Good evening, Paul,” Cassius says. “We were invited?—”

The portly man coughs into his hand, his thick mustache wriggling with the effort. “They’re already inside, waiting for you.”

He stands and heaves open the door, which is, in fact, as thick as a bank vault’s. I gape in wonder as we enter a spacious, light-filled foyer of what could be a ritzy Chicago penthouse with twelve-foot ceilings and a marble floor. I’m still taking it all in when the door closes and locks behind us. My back is against the wall before I can take my next breath, my shoulders clasped in Tobias’s massive hands. The overwhelming scent of cinnamon and almonds hits me again, and I realize it’s him . He hovers over me, sapphire eyes blazing like an ancient death god ready to take my soul.

His lips peel back from his teeth as he asks, “Why does my brother’s blood run through your veins?”