Page 72 of Vampire So Vengeful

“Shit,” Eve muttered. “There’s no pulse.”

Zoey rushed in, kicking a fallen cup on her way, giving Antoine a puzzled look. She knelt on Cally’s other side. “How much did you take?” she asked, not looking up. Instead, she had one fingertip each side of Cally’s sternum, finding the center.

“You know CPR?” Eve asked.

“Yeah.” Zoey’s hands interlaced over Cally’s chest, and she pressed hard with sharp, repetitive movements. Cally’s ribs gave way with a crunch. “Do you? Can you breathe for her?”

“On it.” Eve tilted back Cally’s unresponsive head, kneeling beside her.

“Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty,” Zoey counted, a compression with each number. “Two breaths.” She looked up as Eve leaned forward, blowing into Cally’s mouth. “How much did you take, Antoine?”

He watched Cally as he adjusted his robe. She would be all right. She was his bonded, and far stronger than Éliane. She’d already be healing. He turned away, feeling so much better. Her blood nourished him, and he could feel his muscles filling back out. The sense of weakness had faded, and he was almost back to his usual self.

He left them to it, and went to find Noah.

Twenty

Antoine couldn’t remember the last time he’d set foot inside his study. Months, if not years, before he was entombed. But Marcel had kept it clean and ready for him. An antique mahogany desk dominated the room, far larger than it needed to be, with a single lamp casting a soft light, and a computer he didn’t know he owned. He rather suspected Marcel was the only one with the login.

Noah arrived as he flicked through the bookshelves, discovering novels he had forgotten and were worth a reread.

“You asked for me?”

“Yes. We have work to do.” Antoine pulled a book from the shelves and carried it to the chair behind the desk, waving for Noah to sit opposite. “Has the Curia left?”

“I don’t know, to be fair,” Noah said as he sat down. “Keeping Roberto’s house under surveillance was less of a priority these past few weeks.” He looked around. “Why are we in here?”

“The living room is occupied. I take it the Curia’s rules haven’t changed again? No reversion to the previous Code? Are we still at war?”

“I don’t know, Antoine. Gabe hasn’t said anything, if that’s what you mean.” Noah tilted his head. “Who’s in the living room?”

Antoine rested his elbows on the arm of the chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin, trying to compose himself at the mention of Gabe’s name. “Have you spoken to Gabe much?”

“Depends how you define ‘much’. We spoke quite a lot while we went through the logistics involved in getting you out, but not about anything vampire-related.”

“Could you have done it without his help?”

Noah paused, his eyes narrowing. “Probably, yes. Eventually. It would’ve taken weeks longer. Why? Should I have refused him?”

Antoine waved a hand like it didn’t matter, even though it did. He still felt robbed; the thought of killing Gabe had kept him steady for so long. And he’dtouchedCally.Fedon Cally. Not just once, either. Twice, if his comment before the Curia wasn’t a lie. ‘She does taste nice’… yes, she tastes nice. For him alone.

What if he’d formed a bond too, like Belle had warned?

Well, that would be ironic. Without Cally, he wouldn’t be able to feed. Revenge in its own way.

“I want you to send thralls to Milton and Dedham. Find out where Nico and Tobias live.”

“Vampires?”

“Yes.”

Noah shifted in his chair. “Those are big places. It will take a while.”

“Then start soon.”

“Sure, of course.” He held Antoine’s gaze thoughtfully, the study quiet around them. “What’s the goal?”

“I’m going to kill them.”