Page 26 of The Vampire Court
He’s hiding something.
“What is so important that you had to drag me halfway across the castle?” I narrow my gaze at the man, taking him in from head to foot. His nostrils flare. I hold up a hand, recognizing the tell. “And don’t lie. You never knew how.”
He presses the pads of his fingers against his forehead and blows out an exasperated sigh. Dropping his arm back to his side, he looks me in the eye again. His mouth opens and shuts a few times. Then finally, he says, “It is complicated… You need to see this for yourself. I wouldn’t know where to begin. It’s better if she explains it to you herself.”
She. The word instantly raises my hackles. “You said this wasn’t about Elizabeth.”
He clamps his mouth shut, and after a few seconds, he says, “It’s not.” A pause. “Elise is here. In the castle.”
My brows pull together. I don’t understand.
“Wasn’t she one of your staff?”
She’s lucky another vampire hasn’t found her and made a meal of her yet. It is a death sentence for a human to come to Nightwich without a vampire escort. Demons and saints, how could she be so stupid to come here?
“Yes,” I say, “but I let her go for her indiscretions.”
Lawrence raises a single brow, his expression suddenly intrigued. “Oh? Do tell.”
I glower as I push past him. “Don’t be a gossip. It is below your station.”
He snorts. We both know I don’t give two demon shits about my station.
Lawrence hurries ahead, walking backward. “She said you were expecting her. It was a lie of course. I knew better than to believe you would send for a servant.”
His gaze travels back toward the garden as if he could see Clara through the stonewalls. I pick up my pace.
“I just couldn’t figure out why she would lie about that… or about everything else.” He rubs his chin as he turns to walk at my side again. “Do you have any idea why she’s here?”
“None,” I say. “She tried to kill Clara the night before you showed up while I was out hunting.”
Lawrence’s jaw drops. “And… she still lives?” A thoughtful expression passes over his face.
“Clara begged for her life,” I explain.
We turn down the hall that houses each member of the court—all except for me. Elizabeth has always kept me separated from the others as a way to isolate me. It tells the others that I am above them, both literally and figuratively, effectively preventing me from allying with anyone.
And it had worked for decades until I finally left Elizabeth and her endless games, behind.
“Meet me in my chambers,” Lawrence says.
“Why all the secrecy?”
“You will understand shortly,” he says. Then he turns down the narrow servants’ hallway.
When I enter his quarters, I go no farther than the small antechamber that doubles as a drawing room. There is a sofa and one chair in front of a desk with a porcelain teapot and a single cup resting atop the silver serving tray.
Like every other court member’s room, this one is built for a single occupant, discouraging any from entering into a relationship. Elizabeth has never expressly forbidden it, but it was made clear in the death of two of the newer members one hundred years ago. They disappeared after the winter solstice of their first year and found impaled on spikes in front of the castle the next morning. I shake my head, ridding myself of those morbid thoughts.
A fire burns in the hearth, snapping and popping. It warms the room a degree or two above comfortable. I pace back and forth, waiting for Lawrence to return. When he does, he is alone.
I look past him into the hall before the door closes. He keeps his hand on the doorknob.
“What in the Otherworld is going on?” I demand.
He inclines his head toward the sofa. “You should have a seat.” When I don’t move, he huffs, exasperated, and says, “Fine. Have it your way.”
Opening the door, he reaches out. A woman swaggers in, head bowed and hands clasped in front of her. The emerald hat she wears partially obscures her face and makes her red hair more vibrant. Her silk dress is a deep green that wraps around her thin form. She looks as though she belongs in court.