Page 100 of The Vampire's Seduction

Olivia threw him an annoyed look and he shrugged. “You don’t believe that.”

“No, I don’t, but you don’t have to be here. We might get better answers out of him without you.”

Something slammed into the window to her right. Olivia squeaked and shrunk back, her heart jumping into her throat. A vampire growled at her from the other side, his fangs lengthened and face crazed.

Marek was before the window in a blink and snarled, “Back off.”

Olivia’s hand was over her racing heart when Marek faced her, the tenderness on his face calming her nerves. “Don’t worry. Nobody can get to you.”

She nodded and kept walking. “I need to know what he knows about my family.”

Marek didn’t argue, knowing how important this was for her. She suddenly wished to ask about his family, about what happened to his brothers. From how he spoke about them, she sensed there was more to the story, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

By the time they reached Blackmore and Andrea, several more imprisoned vampires had slammed against the windows of their cell, but she’d been ready and dismissed them, confident Marek wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.

Since when had she started to depend so much on him? On his fierce and stalwart presence.

“Took you long enough,” Blackmore said, his expression blank.

“Sorry,” Olivia mumbled and rubbed at the goosebumps on her arms. She stepped closer to Marek, preferring her mate’s warmth to Blackmore’s ice.

“You’re sure this is safe?” Marek asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder.

“Yes,” Andrea said. “He can’t get out unless someone breaks the ward from the outside.”

In the concrete cell, her attacker stared at her, once again looking like a sexy GQ model. He was no longer in chains and waited impatiently in the center of the ward, made of two circles, with the edges of the outer one touching the walls. Andrea had made it as big as the room. A foot of space existed between the inner and outer circle. Six smaller circles, equidistant from one another, were laid out in the area of the bigger and smaller circles. Within each of them was a Chinese character, though Olivia couldn’t understand their meaning.

The magical lines on the ground flared when Bryan lowered himself onto the cot and raised a haughty brow, like a prince overlooking his subjects rather than a prisoner.

“What’s your plan? Lock me here for eternity?” His full lips curved into a sarcastic smile.

“Once you tell us everything, we’ll reevaluate,” Blackmore said coolly. “Why did you attack Marek’s mate?”

The fact Blackmore only asked for an explanation, not a promise of protection for her, wasn’t lost to Olivia. Regardless, she had her own questions. “What do you know about my family?”

Bryan studied each of them in turn. His smirk disappeared and he said, “I guess there’s no harm in letting you know.” His discerning gaze locked on Olivia as he spoke, his voice turning hypnotic. “Your bloodline holds the key to breaking the seal on an ancient god who’s sworn to destroy vampires and humans.”

Olivia’s jaw dropped. Marek stiffened, his arm on her tightening as his brows furrowed. Julian’s expression was as blank as ever. Andrea’s jaw clenched, her gaze turning hard.

“Is this the same god that destroyed the Ruins in LA?” Julian asked.

“Wait.” Now she was even more confused. “Weren’t vampires behind that?”

“Yes,” Marek replied. “But we later learned that the vampires’ goal was to wake an ancient god. The Ruins contained a part of the seal binding the god. So is it the same one?” His question was directed at Bryan.

“It is. His name is Drakos,” Bryan explained. “He ruled this realm with his siblings long before vampires existed. He was sealed away, along with his followers and allies. Trust me, if he is freed, none of us will survive his vengeance.”

Marek scoffed. “Trust you, right.”

Gold rolled over Bryan’s eyes. “Have I ever given you reasons to doubt me?”

Anger seethed off Marek in waves. “When you tried to kill Olivia, you lost all my trust.”

Olivia placed a hand over Marek, fearing he’d storm into the room to kill Bryan. Her voice trembling, she asked, “You believe my death will stop this Drakos from being freed?”

“It’s not my belief. It’s the truth,” was Bryan’s curt answer.

“It’s not,” Andrea said. “You’re only delaying the inevitable.”