Page 72 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

Nothing was safe. The world wasn’t safe. The apartment wasn’t even safe.

Evie hadn’t let terror overwhelm her at first, even after Vex was gone.

Natalya was hurt, and it made her forget the fear.

Natalya almost collapsed after Vex vanished, and it was only Evie kissing her that allowed her to stay standing.

She’d kissed her again right afterward, even started to demand they do more than that just out of frightened concern.

Natalya had refused, and only after repeating over and over that she was alright did Evie let fear overtake her.

Natalya had put on fresh clothes before calling Aleksander.

The King of Chains had arrived shortly after with an entourage in tow.

Drago was there, as well as a Night vampire Evie didn’t recognize who introduced himself as Hasan Khara.

Lily was there too. Hearing there had been an assassination attempt in the high-rise, Aleksander didn’t want to let her out of his sight.

Evie paid attention to none of them. She sat on the couch, curling into Natalya’s side and burying her face in the fabric of her dress, as the people around them spoke of things Evie didn’t want to hear.

At first, there was cursing, mostly from Aleksander.

Then worried questions about Vex herself.

What type she was, if she was greater or not, what she had said exactly.

Natalya answered it all, stroking Evie’s arms as she spoke.

When Aleksander started asking Evie a question, Natalya made such a frightening snarl it shut the vampire King up immediately.

“Not now, Aleksander. Not you.”

The vampires withdrew, the two men talking amongst themselves while Drago paced near Natalya. He kept his eyes on the shadows, reminding Evie of a wolf looking for prey.

“Your hovering is admirable, Drago,” Natalya said. “But there is no need. The danger is gone. You’re the only threatening thing in here.”

The fiend rumbled out a truly terrifying noise. He stopped pacing, though he still watched the shadows.

“You sure she’s gone?” Evie asked quietly.

“I’m sure,” Natalya said. “Her marks lit up. It means she was either summoned back by her Master or did it on her own. Likely the latter. We’re safe.”

“I can’t believe they’d send an assassin,” Lily said. She was sitting next to Evie, holding onto her hand. “They must be getting desperate.”

“I don’t get it.” Evie shook her head, confused. “She could have killed me. She had so many chances, but she…”

Evie’s jaw hurt from Vex squeezing it. She could still feel where her fingers had closed around her throat.

“Envy covets,” Drago rumbled, looking at Natalya. “Be it knowledge, memories, or life itself. They crave it. I suspect she wanted to steal as much as possible from your Evie before taking her life.”

Natalya’s eyes grew distant. “You’re probably right.”

Something was wrong. Natalya wasn’t at ease, which was understandable enough given what had just happened. But there was more to it. Her expression was taut with confusion and frustration, like she was working over an unsolvable riddle.

“She said she was here for weeks,” Natalya said, her brows furrowing.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Aleksander said. The vampires had turned back towards the couch. “If her purpose was to kill an escaped slave, there would be better ways and times to go about it.”

“Maybe her purpose was broader,” Hasan said. “Weeks of watching. Listening. She’s probably the one who told Stefano that Natalya would be leaving the high-rise, so he knew to be ready for her.”

Aleksander ran a hand through his hair. “It would also mean she knows we plan to move against Varro. If this Dominic Fane is cowed enough to let Varro utilize his fiend, the King is more powerful than any of us thought.”

“You cannot make a warlock like that cower. Not one who has bound a greater fiend.” Natalya tensed a little, her brows furrowing. “Fane is at the estate of his own volition. And he seemed more than comfortable talking to Varro when I met him. Whatever relationship they have is symbiotic.”

She went silent, her face still wrought in a frustrated grimace. Though the others didn’t notice, Evie caught the hidden worry in what Natalya had said.

It was obvious what Varro got out of working with the warlock. Information. A spy and assassin. But what did Dominic get out of it other than the risk of losing a bound fiend?

“I want Evie out of the high-rise,” Natalya said to Aleksander. “Tonight. You should consider sending Lily too.”

Evie and Lily both straightened at the words, but Evie was the only one who spoke.

“No… Please, Natalya. Don’t make me go. Don’t send me away.”

Natalya held her tighter. “I know you don’t want to, darling. I don’t want it either. But right now is the only time I can be sure no one’s listening. The only time I know this Lady of Envy can’t overhear where you’re going. She may return. I cannot take that chance.”

“How do you know she isn’t just going to come back immediately?” Aleksander said.

“I believe she’s at Varro’s estate.” Natalya turned to Evie. “Fane was at Varro’s for a while before I showed up. Isn’t that right?”

Evie nodded. “He lived in the east wing. No one other than Dominic, Varro, and Stefano could go in there.”

Natalya looked back at Aleksander. “Any warlock worth their sacred salt wouldn’t set up in a new location without taking certain precautions.

One such precaution is making fresh binding circles for their fiend.

The Lady of Envy said black eyes watch her circle.

That black eyes watched Evie. Regal ones.

Wherever this demon returned to, it’s a place with a royal vampire who has a keen interest in something that’s mine. The fiend is at Varro’s.”

That information set Aleksander and Hasan off again, the two men returning to a tense, muttering conversation filled with frustrated hypotheticals. Evie didn’t listen. She was busy watching Natalya.

She was uneasy. Tense and anxious. Like she was slowly coming to a horrible realization.

There was something off about everything that happened after Vex had shown herself. It infuriated Natalya that she didn’t know what it was.

Vex had been foolish. No, outright stupid .

She’d shown herself and hadn’t fought as ruthlessly as she could have, going for slowing or incapacitating injuries rather than lethal ones.

Had she been a lesser fiend, Natalya would have blamed her foolhardy approach on that, but a greater fiend of Envy was cunning incarnate.

Vex’s mistakes were so obvious and manifold that they appeared intentional.

“I don’t like this.” Hasan was doing a worse job staying composed than Aleksander.

The man was pacing. “Our forces are already in place. They were to begin drawing out Varro’s people in just five days.

If they know we’re coming, it’ll be a bloodbath for us.

So why be so obvious? Why let us know she was here and give us time to withdraw? ”

The comment made Natalya more uneasy. Hasan was right.

Evie had been alone several times in the past few weeks, at least alone enough that Vex could have easily killed her.

Even during the attack, she’d shown herself rather than remain in the shadows.

When she’d attacked Natalya, she’d torn at her clothes more than her flesh.

And she’d left. When Natalya was barely standing, and no help was coming, she had vanished. Not just in the shadows but entirely, returning to her summoning circle willingly. With a warning no less, and information. Information she didn’t have to share. That Natalya hadn’t even asked for.

Bound fiends were constrained by their orders. They couldn’t refuse them. If Vex had been told to kill Evie, she wouldn’t have fled until her task was done or her life was in danger. Neither had happened. She’d just left.

What was her purpose then? What orders had Dominic given her? The motivations of a witch or warlock were easily reflected by the company they chose to keep. By the coven they joined or, in this case, the fiend they had bound.

A warlock who sought out Envy was one who coveted.

Who craved. A jealous man who wanted more than he had.

Or who just wanted something specific. Whatever Varro had promised Dominic must be valuable if he was willing to part with a greater fiend for any period of time, let alone the months Vex had apparently spent in the high-rise.

And Vex had been purposefully foolish. Purposefully restrained. As though her intention hadn’t been violence or death but instead something else. Maybe she had never planned to kill Evie. Maybe she had a different target.

Maybe the sudden burning pain Natalya felt along her hips and waist wasn’t from her injuries at all.

Conversation persisted around them, but Evie didn’t hear it. All her attention was on Natalya and her thoughtful features that slowly stopped looking concerned and instead looked terrified.

She’d seen Natalya afraid before, but then it had only been for Evie, and her fear was filled with worry. This wasn’t that. This was a terror Evie knew herself. The panic-inducing feeling that your freedom was about to be taken away.

“Natalya?” Evie sat up, forgetting her own fear seeing Natalya so frightened. She moved in front of her, but Natalya looked right through her. “Natalya, what’s wrong?”

Everyone went quiet. They hadn’t noticed Natalya’s expression until then. Now it made them all silent.

Natalya didn’t speak. Evie grabbed her arms, shaking her. “Natalya, say something!”

Her eyes found Evie’s. They were filled with fearful realization. Then it vanished in favor of sudden resolve.

She rushed to her feet, moving away from the couch towards Drago. Her eyes were shining, hard and unyielding. It made the other fiend’s usually impassive features twist into surprise.

“Evie wasn’t the target. I was,” Natalya said. “She saw them. The fiend saw my marks. Envy remembers everything they’re set to covet.”

For a moment, Drago looked confused. Then he looked as horrified as Natalya.

“Keep Evie safe.” Natalya grabbed the other fiend’s arm, the touch making him flinch. “They might still come for her. They might even make me do it. If that happens, you must kill me.”

Drago didn’t say anything. He was stunned to silence, unable to look away from Natalya. She squeezed his arm tighter.

“Say you’ll do it, Drago.” Her voice had no fear in it now. It was a commanding timbre that could bring mortals to their knees. It made Drago’s jaw set. His expression turned dour.

“Yes, Lady.”

Natalya’s shoulders slumped in relief. She turned back towards Evie. Her face was wrought with pain, fear, and sorrow.

“Natalya, I don’t know what’s going on. What’s hap—” Evie stopped. She’d been so distracted by the desperate look in Natalya’s eyes she hadn’t looked at the rest of her.

She’d discarded her ruined clothes for a black wrap dress that covered most of her still-healing injuries. It made her look stronger than she probably was. But even with the clothing hugging her body, it didn’t hide her marks that had started glowing brightly through the fabric.

Shocked silence engulfed the apartment. Aleksander and Hasan gaped, and Lily put her hands over her mouth in disbelief. Evie was the only one who moved.

She rushed to Natalya, horrible understanding filling her as she crashed into her and hugged her as tightly as she could.

“ No .” Evie shook her head, refusing to understand. “No, they can’t .”

“They can.” Natalya hugged her back hard enough that it hurt. Evie held her tighter as her arms started to grow hot. The embrace burned. It was like her body was filled with flames.

Lily took a step towards them before she was pulled back by Aleksander. Hasan stared with an expression of shock on his face. Evie clutched Natalya harder until Drago pulled her away. She fought him, trying to get free, never taking her eyes off Natalya’s.

“I love you, Evie,” Natalya said as flames started licking across her body, whirling like a portal around her. Her eyes glinted with tears. “I love you more than anything.”

The blaze swirled around her, moving like a hellish inferno. The heat was searing and consuming. In the roar of the infernal fires, someone screamed.

When the flames vanished, nothing was left behind save scorch marks and stunned silence.