Page 24

Chapter 23

Adeline

J uliette’s wild hair was woven into a thick braid and tucked under a fur hat. Each member of the coven had ski shoes on their feet and looked wind-chapped. Juliette, though, appeared practically perfect with the flush of the cold winter wind on her cheeks. Adeline smiled to herself, remembering all of the love she once held for the blond fae.

But now? Juliette was as much of a killer as Adeline, and her moss-colored eyes skittered around the room, cataloging the scene laid out before them. Would she believe the story Adeline chose to tell for them?

Juliette’s nostrils flared when the smell of fresh blood hit her nose.

“You’ve found him, then.” Juliette tilted her head, eyes narrowed. “No head?”

“No Erik?” Adeline quipped back, refusing to move from the doorway.

What a fucking coward . Erik not being with them meant he had bigger plans for Adeline. Just the very thought of it swirled her stomach, and she wanted to retch. His evil knew no bounds and she knew if she didn’t succeed tonight that she—or Rolf—would be on the receiving end of gods knew what.

Underneath a mask of calm disinterest, she met the vampires’ eyes, one by one, each looking away quickly. Only two held her stare: Juliette and a young vampire who stood with shoulders too straight and an eyebrow that quirked in a way that made him look cocky. These two would take the longest to kill, particularly because Adeline did not want to kill Juliette.

Some part of her still loved her ex, still felt connected to her, and she wished Erik had sent anyone else but Juliette. But that was never his way. He wanted to cause the maximum amount of harm with the least amount of effort.

Erik knew what he was doing. He was always two steps ahead.

“Are you going to let us in?” the young, cocky one asked.

Juliette didn’t wait for an answer; instead, she stepped forward and pushed Adeline out of the way. Her ski shoes clattered on the wood floor, and Adeline cringed, hoping the wolf below stayed quiet.

“We traveled a long way to find you,” Juliette said. She waved her hand around airily, as if Adeline should be apologizing for getting stuck here. As if this wasn’t all a part of Erik’s scheming.

You bitch , Adeline wanted to say while she clawed out those heartless eyes, but instead, she sighed and rubbed a bloody hand over her forehead, hoping Rolf’s blood coated her skin enough. “Lucky for you, I’ve contained the were-shifter for your viewing pleasure.”

Juliette raised an eyebrow. A century ago, Juliette had been able to read Adeline like a book. They had relied so much on each other underneath Erik’s strong-armed rule of the vampires that it was more about survival than connection. At least, that’s what Adeline had told herself when she left the coven the last time. But for Adeline, Juliette had meant something, and there had been a deeper connection there—only, it didn’t last. And among the many things she regretted, leaving Juliette was the biggest. In a life that had felt so out of her control, once Adeline felt the confidence to regain it, she never looked back.

Now she realized that she should have. But it was too late. Adeline had made her choice, and others had suffered because of it. She only hoped that the space between them made it harder for Juliette to read her.

Because so much hinged on the next few moments.

Time to shine, Adeline . She stood a little straighter.

She had bested the conniving minds of courtesans, manipulated kings, and fought alongside countless armies to secure a political future for vampires. Surely, she could best this small hunting group so she could spend eternity with her wolf. “Come, I’ll show you.”

The coven members filtered into the small cabin, the tension pulling at the air around her. She discreetly licked some of Rolf’s blood off her fingers, a renewed sense of energy and purpose settling in her stomach.

Juliette walked around to the bed and lifted the sheets with a dramatic flourish. Adeline almost cringed, hoping her former lover didn’t scent anything else.

“You slept here,” she said, disgust dripping from her mouth. “With him ?”

Jealous?

Adeline smirked and stood barefoot in a puddle of Rolf’s blood. She wiggled her toes in the cooling liquid. “What was I supposed to do, sleep outside? Juliette, what kind of deviant do you think I am? Even I have standards.”

One of the coven members had walked over to some blood splotches on the wall. He leaned in and inhaled. “That’s wolf blood, all right.”

“Of course it is, you git,” Juliette said. Her green eyes turned to Adeline, flashing with an emotion Adeline hoped was jealousy. “The whole place stinks of wolf and sex and your blood .”

Ooh, jealousy looks good on her…

“And?” Adeline shrugged, needling Juliette more. She met the green-eyed stare straight on. “I’ve done far worse than fuck a wolf.”

Juliette crossed the room to stand in front of Adeline, nose to nose. Adeline swallowed, trying her best to slow her heartbeat by thinking of something other than the fact that her trap might not work. It was a trick she had learned centuries ago when Erik had first sent her away to kill a king. Which king? She couldn’t remember anymore. They all blurred together after a while. As a vampire, she had a slower-than-normal heartbeat, so anything that set her mind racing could trigger an increase in pulse. She couldn’t have that.

Think of Erik. Think of how slimy his voice sounds in your head. Think of what might happen if you don’t kill everyone tonight.

Juliette’s eyes narrowed, as if she were cataloging every minuscule muscle twitch and movement on Adeline. Her pupils dilated slightly, and Adeline frowned. Voice lethal, she said, “You know, then.”

I know so much more than she thinks. Adeline tilted her head and smiled at Juliette.

“Of course I know. I’m not as slow as you seem to think I am.” Adeline turned and gestured to the cabin. “Why do you think I fucked him like I did?”

One of the vampires at her back huffed a laugh, and Juliette shot him a look.

Hoping against hope that this was why Erik had made them track her down, Adeline leveled a casual gaze at Juliette. “Do you want to bear witness as I kill the were-beast or not?”

Juliette waved her hand dismissively. “Why would we have gone to all this trouble to track you down if we didn’t want you to show us your loyalty?”

Juliette twitched a finger, and a vampire stepped forward. Adeline tried to recall her name, but she hadn’t bothered to learn the names of the newest members for a reason. She’d wanted nothing to do with them these past hundred years.

Adeline reached for one of the wooden weapons she had stacked on the counter. The entire room tensed, and Juliette tracked Adeline’s hands. Adeline twirled it in the air, flipping her hand around the shaft before slamming the butt end of it on the roof of the trap door. She didn’t know if Rolf’s wolf would remember what they had discussed before he turned, but she hoped that the solitary thud was enough of a warning.

Here’s hoping.

Juliette stepped forward, as did two other vampires, their bodies tense and waiting. Adeline laughed. “Apologies for the assumption, but did you think that I was going to kill the were-shifter with my bare hands?”

Juliette hesitated, thinking it over, but then nodded and gestured for Adeline to continue.

Adeline pressed her lips into a tight line. Then she bent down and lifted the rug from the floor.

Juliette’s hand snatched at Adeline’s shoulder. “If you try anything, I will quarter you alive and answer to Erik myself.”

“Understood,” Adeline said, looking over her shoulder to give Juliette the stare-down. Was she coming across as genuine enough? Adeline didn’t care anymore; she just needed them down in the cave.

And then, almost imperceptibly, Juliette mouthed, “Addie.”

Adeline kept her face blank, but Juliette’s eyes flickered around the room.

What is she trying to tell me? Adeline’s heart jolted.

A little over a century ago, when Juliette had first come to the castle, she was half-delirious with rage. Erik had tossed her limp body at Adeline, and it was expected that Adeline would train her, feed her, and show her how to glamour and use the small bit of darker magic vampires had when they were turned. Erik wanted Juliette to become Adeline’s new apprentice. But Adeline had a soft spot for the new vampire. And soon they became inseparable. Adeline finally had a confidante and a friend, a friend who turned into a lover. Juliette was the balm to Adeline’s isolated existence.

Adeline finished moving the rug, revealing the silver door beneath. A murmur traveled through the Vampire at the sight, and the entire room tensed when she grabbed an iron poker from the fireplace. She rolled her eyes and palmed it dramatically, flashing Juliette a sardonic smile.

Juliette huffed and crossed her arms, making Adeline chuckle under her breath.

Adeline threaded the steel through the handle, turning it to unlock the trapdoor. Moving as slowly as she dared, she grabbed the lantern from near the fireplace. A glance outside, and she knew she had less than thirty minutes until moonset and over an hour before sunrise if she had calculated her timing right.

Returning to the entrance of the tunnel, she held the lantern over the hole to double-check that the rope ladder was still secured to its hooks. Barefoot, Adeline climbed down the rope rungs, hoping she had covered herself in enough of Rolf’s blood that she wouldn’t trigger the wolf too soon.

Slow, slow, slow, she told herself over and over. A mantra she hoped wasn’t useless.

The rope swung as one of the younger vampires followed Adeline down. And then another. And another. Adeline’s feet touched the wet ground, and she took a moment to center herself. She wanted to reach up and palm the hidden whittling knife she had strapped to her skin, but thought better of it until the coven was farther into the cave.

Once all the vampires were on the ground, Adeline led them down the tunnel as slowly as she dared. She lifted her head a little higher, hoping Juliette would buy into her display of fake loyalty.

Her were-shifter huffed the echo down the tunnel, a shot to her heart. She hoped with all of her lifeless being that he wasn’t in too much pain. When Rolf had suggested that he chain himself up, she had protested, not wanting him to be too injured in case he couldn’t fight back. He had kissed her nose and told her not to worry, that he would be okay.

But she couldn’t stop worrying about him the closer they got.

An enormous shape loomed in the dark, and the clink of chains sounded each time he took a breath. The space between them vibrated with tension, and Adeline gripped the shaft tightly, sending a prayer to whatever gods chose to listen tonight.

A solitary lantern hung down the tunnel on the right, the amber glow a beacon of hope.

Juliette was at Adeline’s shoulder in the blink of an eye. She kept her voice low, but Adeline could feel the fear running through her as she asked, “How did you manage to chain the beast?”

Adeline turned to Juliette, held a finger up to her mouth, and shook her head slowly.

Juliette visibly swallowed, and Adeline would have laughed if she hadn’t been so confused.

Of course, she’s afraid, Adeline chided herself.

She had never let Juliette go with her on any of her missions, wanting to keep her from the depravity of Erik and the things he made her do. And maybe Adeline still felt protective.

After all, she had shared a connection with Juliette that she hadn’t experienced in so long, and Adeline’s loneliness had subsided when they became even closer. Precious stolen moments, when Adeline had Juliette all to herself and no one, not even Erik, knew. They snuck around and stole time with each other whenever he was gone. If Erik had caught wind of Adeline feeling even remotely intimate toward Juliette…Adeline shuddered. It would have ended in the worst possible way.

And now she’s here.

A shot of guilt tore through Adeline, knowing it was because of her that Juliette now did Erik’s dirty work. It was the one thing she had tried to shelter Juliette from. And she had failed.

What else had happened once Adeline left?

She shook her head. Thinking about such things now would only spell disaster. She had a plan and needed to stick to it before the sun came up.

Adeline stepped over to her wolf, noting that most of the chains holding him down were caked in mud, except the most visible one around his neck. That one glinted silver in the low light. Adeline shuffled her bloodied feet next to his snout. The warm breath caressed her skin and, when his eyes met hers, she swore there was a flicker of recognition behind the amber-colored orbs.

Here we go , she thought, and palmed the wooden spear.