Page 89 of Inked & Bloodbound

“Fine,” I say, exasperation creeping into my voice, “but I don’t want to spy for a thing like you. I don’t want to be blackmailed and manipulated into doing something that will harm other people. Even if those people are vampires.” I jut my chin up defiantly. “That’s just not who I am.”

Lazaro’s face darkens, the kindness in his eyes disappearing. He rises to his feet so he’s towering over me and places his thumb under my chin, turning me and forcing me to look at him.

“You’re going to help me,” he says, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper, “because it’s no different from what you have already been doing. Your friend Cassini has already been using you for his own purposes. Haven’t you, Cassini?”

I feel the blood drain from my face as I turn to look at Cass. The guilty expression on his face tells me everything I need to know.

“You see, my dear, your vampire may have convinced you that your gift was an altruistic act to save the Fontaine girl, but in reality, it was much more. Every time he encouraged you to use your gift, every moment he pushed you to listen harder, to reach further—it was all so he could locate her and end his bloodbinding with her father. He wanted his strength restored, you see, and you were the key.”

The room spins around me.

“That’s not true,” I say, but the prickling sensation on the back of my neck tells me different.

“Tell her, Cassini,” Lazaro commands, his grip tightening on my chin. “Tell her how your strength was fading with every passing day. Tell her how weak you were getting. Tell her how you needed her to break the magical binding that was killing you so you could be strong enough to go on the run again.”

Cassini’s mouth opens, then closes. He shifts uncomfortably. The laser sight remains fixed on the center of his chest, and I can see the conflict tearing him apart. Finally, he speaks, his voice barely audible.

“Lily, I—yes. But you have to understand, the pact was killing me, and I needed to be strong enough to protect you from?—”

“Protect me?” I cut him off, my voice breaking. “You used me to save yourself?”

“No, that’s not—Lily, please, it wasn’t like that?—”

Lily, please.

But I’m already slamming my mental walls up, cutting off any attempt he might make to reach me. The betrayal cuts deeper than any physical wound—he turned my pain into a tool for his own survival.

The tears come thick and fast. Rolling down my burning cheeks and splashing like summer rain on the taco I’ve been neglecting.

Lazaro hovers behind me, awkwardly patting my head like I’m a Labrador. “My sweet girl. Let me tell you something, right here and now. I’ll always be a monster—that will never change. But I promise you, I will always be honest about it.”

I lift my wet face up to look at him. His expectant face is soft again. Friendly, like it was before, except now it just feels sinister.

“So?” he says, pulling out his pocket watch and flipping it open with a single, fluid movement. “My once-in-a-lifetime offer has a shelf life of five minutes.”

He places it in my palm and turns his back to me, walking away and reclaiming his place at the head of the table.

“The clock is ticking. The choice is yours. Become a bright, shiny beacon for every power-hungry vampire in the world. Or take your rightful place here, among the Sixth. Under my protection and mentorship. What’s it going to be?”

29

CASSINI

“No.”

Lily’s voice is steady, unwavering, and even though she’s outnumbered, she shows no traces of fear or concern for her own survival. She offers no further justification or useless details. She says a single word as if it’s a complete sentence and leaves it hanging in the air.

Pride and terror battle in my chest. She’s incredible—and she’s signing her death warrant. I want to reach across the table and kiss her. To tell her how sorry I am for hurting her. For using her.

But right now I know it wouldn’t be welcome. It would probably just piss her off.

Instead, I watch in awe as she turns down the most well-connected and powerful vampire in a five-hundred-mile radius like it’s nothing. Like she has a choice. I know he won’t appreciate the rejection, but I silently pray she’ll change her mind.

Lazaro’s expression doesn’t change, but something hot ignites behind his eyes. “How disappointing, Miss Vervain. I had expected more from you. Truly.”

He crosses his legs and grabs his goblet from the table, holding itup to the light like fine wine and studying it curiously as he swirls it around the rim of the glass.

“Disappointing?” Lily’s laugh is bitter. “You want me to help you torture and kill people. Good. I’m glad. I am happy to be a disappointment to you.”