Page 43 of The Serpent’s Bride (Bloodlines #1)

But one of them was going to continue to be alone with her. Raziel.

So…she would have to settle for the Serpent’s head on a pike. At least for now. And he was the most important one to remove from this world. She would go on the little boat ride with him to his ancestral home and kill him there.

Then, her options were either to flee into the Wild and find a new fae clan to join or to make her way back to the metropolis to start again.

The idea of sneaking back into the family as Raziel popped into her head very briefly, but it was so ridiculous that she barely kept herself from laughing. She might be able to look and act like him. But when it came to being a vampire, and all the powers that came with it? She’d be hopeless.

Kill Raziel…then what? Flee? Or return?

She remembered the look on Luciento’s face as he died. As the life left those iridescent green-blue-yellow eyes that were so very similar to hers. He’d died so she could kill all of them. Not just Raziel. If she’d been willing to settle for only the Serpent, he’d be long dead already.

Nadi’s choice had already been made. She was in this until every last one of the Nostroms lay dead.

No matter how long.

No matter the cost.

Nadi was right. She saw nothing of Raziel the entire night. Which was fine by her, honestly—she nestled into the thick velvety blanket and fell asleep. While having another wild romp with her new “husband” was tempting, it was better for everyone involved if she avoided him.

Even her dreams had the kindness enough to leave her alone that night.

But the next morning, she had to brace herself for what was going to happen. A garden party at Lana’s house. And even though she knew that convincing Volencia to change her mind about the sacrifice was pointless, Monica certainly would want to keep trying.

A knock on the door and a muttered warning told her she had one hour to prepare.

After showering and doing her hair and makeup, she picked out an outfit from the closet.

Something that said she was Raziel’s possession and wife, but nothing that would upstage Lana.

After all, it was Lana’s party and Lana’s home that she was visiting, even if the party was being thrown in “Monica’s” honor.

A crimson dress that clung to her curves— Monica’s curves— but didn’t reveal too much skin or give away too much of the goods.

She kept her hair down, except for a few locks that she twisted into a braid at the back of her head. Then she fitted a red rose into it, one that had survived the wedding with only a small patch of charring. A nice reminder to anyone who noticed the detail.

Slipping on a pair of black stiletto shoes and a black coat, she headed out of the room. Raziel was waiting for her by the door, his expression grim. Hank stood nearby, and she didn’t miss how the guard’s gaze locked immediately onto Monica’s assets .

Meanwhile, Raziel didn’t even glance at her as she walked up. She knew he heard her. His vampiric hearing would have picked her up, even if she weren’t wearing ridiculously loud stiletto shoes on a marble floor.

“You look like we’re going to a funeral not a luncheon.” She tucked her hands into her pockets. “Keep this up, and I’ll start to think you don’t like your siblings very much.”

Raziel huffed a quiet laugh but said nothing as he walked toward the expensive black car that was idling in the driveway, waiting for them. Hank was staying behind, likely to watch the house.

The chrome of the car was recently polished and shone even in the clouded sunlight of the dreary day.

Not great weather for a garden party, but great for vampires who didn’t much love the sunlight, she figured.

She wondered what the plan was—Raziel had alluded to something.

Following after him, she climbed into the vehicle—a servant held the door for her, he didn’t—and sat in silence in the back as they drove.

Vampires were weaker in the sunlight. Which meant gathering at a garden party—even in overcast weather—would make them vulnerable. She didn’t know if she’d have time to take advantage of such a situation in the future, but she took note of it.

Hubris was a curse all vampires seemed to suffer from in spades. She would have to find a way to wield that to her benefit if she wanted to dismantle the Nostroms from within.

Raziel was staring out the window, his expression dour. Furrowing her brow, she glanced at him, and then to Ivan, who was driving the car.

Something told her that this “garden party” was going to be miserable .

It gave her time to mourn her bad plan of sneaking into the Nostrom family to kill them all. She had figured her performance with the Iltanis would have bought her a few weeks at least. But it seemed his mother was keen on getting rid of her quickly.

That was a detail that would be good to know. It changed her approach. “Whose idea was it to schedule the trip in two days?”

“Mine,” came his simple, curt reply.

Wincing, she turned her attention out the window. “So you’re ready to be rid of me, huh…”

Silence.

Why did that actually hurt ? The sudden emotional sting made her laugh. Resting her forehead against the glass, she couldn’t help it. She laughed.

That finally got Raziel to look at her with an arched eyebrow.

“Sorry. It’s just…such a farce.” She shook her head.

“You never wanted to marry me. I never wanted to marry you. And yet I’m sitting here with wounded feelings.

” She laughed again. “It’s ridiculous.” Looking back out the window, she sneered at her faint reflection in the glass that wasn’t even her own face.

And he didn’t even realize how much of the truth she was really telling him. “I actually care .”

“There’s a great deal of upheaval on the way,” he said.

“With the destruction of the Iltani family, the balance of power across the city is going to shift. I want this matter between us resolved before the battles begin. Even then, most of my men will be staying here. I have permission to take only two bodyguards with me.” Raziel’s tone was unreadable. Matter-of-fact.

“Why just the two?” That would be Ivan and Hank, surely?

“Mael needs the others to secure the mayoral election. Certain parties need to be…pressured. Others, protected. So our manpower is going to be thin.” Raziel sighed heavily. “I only get to keep the two with me.”

Now that it was clear she was working on a shorter timeline and with a hitlist consisting of just one man—Raziel—Nadi’s position had changed a great deal.

She was no longer gathering reconnaissance.

It was no longer about positioning herself within the family in order to pick them off carefully without drawing suspicion.

Now it was about making sure she could take Raziel out with a good escape route for herself. And when one could breathe underwater and had a fish tail, where better than a boat at sea?

Ivan, Hank, Raziel, and “Monica” would be the only passengers on the yacht besides the crew. That made things far more accessible, as far as dispatching Raziel went. But it’d make her a lot happier if there were only one guard on board.

Wheels started to turn in her head about how to rid herself of either Ivan or Hank.

The decision on which one of them to kill was immediately clear.

Hank, for three reasons—one, he was a third Ivan’s size.

Two, he’d rubbed her the wrong way from the first moment she’d set foot in the house. And three?

He hadn’t stopped staring at “Monica’s” body like a dog staring at raw meat. That made him a very easy kill.

Staring out the window, Nadi let the conversation dissolve into silence as she started to work out her plan in her head. This would work. Raziel had given her just the piece of information she needed. Maybe it was because when all you had was a hammer, everything looked like a nail…

She smiled.

But it was a damn good-looking nail.