Page 5 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

Evie cowered. She hated when they did this.

Sometimes, rarely , they liked to talk to her before doing anything.

They asked about her life before, about her interests and hobbies.

She’d come up with a story for them. That she’d gotten an opportunity to escape her old life and serve a powerful King.

That her family had disowned her, and she’d found refuge acting as a servant to the Court of Night.

It was easier than the truth. That she had no family.

That she was a foster kid turned stripper.

That her girlfriend was dead, and Stefano had kidnapped her.

He’d talked to Evie during a shift at the Love Light and followed her when she left the club.

He’d been the first to taste her. She still had the scars.

“I asked you a question.” Natalya gently touched her hand, reclaiming her attention. “Would you like me to call you something else?”

Evie stared at her for another long moment before she found her voice. “Evie. I preferred that… before.”

She wasn’t sure what made her answer truthfully. It wasn’t because of the calm Natalya had produced in her. Natalya said herself she’d forced the emotion, so what else could she force on Evie if she proved troublesome? It didn’t make Evie trust her any.

But the small act of covering her up, shielding her body, was a kindness. Evie had experienced enough trickery to not trust it from the vampires, but Natalya wasn’t a vampire. She was breathing, and her skin was warm.

“Evie.” Natalya said her name with nothing but softness. She grabbed Evie’s chin, holding it lightly, and looked deep into her eyes. Her skin tingled a little where they touched, and she was surprised by how nice it felt.

“Evie, darling. I requested you because I feel responsible for your reaction in the parlor, not because I required your services. I will leave you alone for the rest of the day. I will not touch you, not even if you ask me to. I know Varro expects you to service me, so I will tell him you did so and that you did well.”

Evie blinked, not fully comprehending. “Why?”

“Because I can. And you need it.” Natalya let go of her, and the absence of her touch left Evie’s body feeling strange. Like it had lost something.

Leaving Evie on the bed, Natalya went to sit in an armchair in the corner. She doffed her suit jacket, leaving it on the armrest. The white shirt beneath was taut against her arms and chest. Several of the top buttons were undone, and a long steel necklace drew Evie’s attention to her cleavage.

Heat rose in her cheeks, and Evie looked away, letting the awkward silence calm her down.

“So, what do you want me to do?” Evie asked. Natalya shrugged.

“What you want. What you can. Read. Talk. Sleep would be my suggestion.”

Evie was too anxious to sleep, and there were no books in the room. That just left one option.

“Is it true what you said in the parlor? About letting Varro’s people go?”

Natalya inspected Evie with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

Evie pulled the bedsheet tighter around herself.

She remembered Varro’s overly polite smile and his sugary tone.

These strangers wouldn’t know the difference between Varro being genuine and deceitful.

He walked the line too well. She had become intimate with his ways these past many months, so she could read him better.

It was obvious to her that these people trusted a promise he wouldn’t keep.

“Just curious.”

“We plan to honor the agreement,” Natalya said. “If he stays out of Chains territory, we have no reason to hold his people captive.”

Evie didn’t sense any deception from Natalya. It made her stomach tighten.

“Varro honors deals with his allies,” Evie said with emphasis.

“We are not allies. The Court of Chains lacks friends, but not enemies. Until today, Varro and his kin were firmly in the latter category. Our goal is to avoid a war that would cause too many casualties. It seems Varro shares that goal.”

They really didn’t know Varro at all. Stefano was outwardly violent, but Varro more than matched his progeny in capability for destruction.

His violence was the slow, calculating kind.

One that played out over days, months, or years.

Though Evie didn’t know the purpose of his games until they concluded, she had seen enough to know Varro never compromised.

And he despised the Court of Chains. He’d had several Regents visit with the hopes of forming an alliance and destroying the Court by force.

In the chair, Natalya rested her head against her hand, eyes closed. She wasn’t sleeping—she was too tense for that—but she was more relaxed. She looked so harmless in that state, an ethereal beauty at rest. It gave Evie a sprinkle of courage.

“You’re not safe here,” she whispered, voice so low she expected Natalya not to hear her.

Then she opened her slitted, violet eyes and fixed them on Evie. She didn’t look so harmless anymore.

“How do you mean?”

Evie didn’t say anything.

In a blink, Natalya had moved from sitting in the armchair to standing by the bed. Her face was right by Evie’s, and her hands settled on either side of her hips. They didn’t touch, but the bright sheen in her violet eyes and the terror they produced held Evie in place as effectively as shackles.

“How do you mean?” she repeated, her voice dark, and it reminded Evie that this woman could bring a vampire to its knees using only her eyes.

“Varro’s not going to honor your deal,” Evie said quietly.

“He plans to betray us?”

Evie nodded.

“How do you know?”

Evie started shaking. “I can tell when he lies.”

Natalya frowned. “Why would he allow us to rest here if he has no plan to honor our agreement?”

“He has people everywhere, but they can’t move in the daylight. If you left after the meeting, he wouldn’t be able to follow you for long. He wouldn’t insist you stay unless he planned on causing an accident.”

Evie had heard Varro discuss the topic many times.

He always stationed vampires at all nearby roads whenever he had guests.

Sometimes, these guests disappeared before they could leave the area.

No one could blame Varro for accidental deaths.

It kept his hands clean. It was just rare the guests were daywalkers.

Natalya narrowed her eyes. “Are you a spy?”

“No.” Evie’s voice was little more than a whimper.

“Why did you feel the need to warn me?”

“I…” Evie didn’t know. She hadn’t earnestly meant for Natalya to hear her. It was too much like working against Varro. It came with too much risk. She’d just felt a need to do something to repay her kindness.

She regretted it now. She wished she’d never said anything.

Natalya’s brows furrowed, and she looked at her watch.

“There are several hours of daylight left, and this place has limited human staff. Do you know the layout?”

Evie nodded. Varro’s estate was an expansive property outside New Orleans. She’d been taken everywhere on it, save for the east wing. No one except Dominic, Varro, and Stefano were allowed in there.

“Do you know where the other slaves are?” Natalya asked. “The humans that were with you in the parlor?”

“They could be anywhere.”

Natalya muttered something that sounded like a curse. She pulled at the sheet wrapped around Evie’s shoulders, avoiding her skin.

“Come with me.”

“No!” Evie knew what happened if a slave tried to escape. It didn’t matter how rare she was or how favored. Her uniqueness wouldn’t save her from Stefano’s whips.

“Who do you think Varro will suspect? When he finds out we were tipped off to our lack of safety?” Natalya said. “He’ll find out it was you. And even if he doesn’t guess, he’ll enthrall you and make you tell him everything.”

Evie shook her head. Not in denial of what Natalya was saying, but in denial that this was even happening.

“I can’t.”

“You can. I know you can.” Natalya held out her hand to Evie. She still hadn’t touched her. She’d said she wouldn’t, and she hadn’t.

Natalya was right too. Escape attempts were one thing, but there would be no mercy for traitors. Evie’s death would be assured, but it would come slowly and painfully enough that she would go mad long before it came.

Shaking with fear, Evie took Natalya’s hand.