Behind an iron fucking door.
A warlock shot out of the last bedroom, pure evil in his eyes as he raised his hands toward me, defending that door.
I killed him with a single shot to the head.
“No, Hawke!” Ajax roared.
But I’d already sheathed my dagger, my hand reaching for the iron doorhandle. White hot burning pain shot up my arm, and I yelled, the sound a garbled, tortured cry.
What was physical pain when there was nothing left of my soul? Who cared that iron was stripping away my power, my strength, when I had no one to care if I made it home? When I no longer had a home?
I channeled my rage, my grief into one forceful pull and the door flew open, the metal slammed into the stone wall.
Dagon moved like lightning, throwing one of the hall tables in front of it so it couldn’t swing closed again.
I grabbed for my useless arm as it hung at my side, trembling and numb, and stumbled into the room, angling my body so my Sig still pointed toward the fear. Dying without vengeance.
That was a good one.
I spun, nearly dropping my weapon as I saw a vampire slumped against a wall, his wrists and ankles shackled in iron. He was emaciated, starved not just for blood, but food.
“Holy shit,” Ajax said from behind me as he and Dagon poured into the room.
The bone structure of the prisoner was unmistakable. The dark hair. The darker eyes. The aristocratic slash of his prominent cheeks and sharp chin as he managed to lift his head.
“Samuel,” I whispered. Fear overwhelmed every other emotion, paralyzing me. He must have been here for weeks…months. That slow heartbeat and waxy skin tone meant he was close to death. Maybe even hours away. If Samuel was here, chained to this wall…then that meant Avi was trapped in a house with—
Black eyes that promised death met mine.
At least he hadn’t gone bloodmad.
“That’s not Samuel!” Dagon shouted, pushing past me, already tearing at his wrist to open a vein with his fangs. He shoved his arm at the prisoner. “Fucking drink!”
The vampire latched on and fed in heaving gulps.
“Get a witch down here to get those off him,” Ajax ordered, his voice shaking. “It’s Saint.”
18
Avianna
I couldn’t go through with it.
I stormed through the estate, my crimson betrothal ceremony dress billowing behind me as I searched for Samuel. The minute Hawke left, the minute the mating mark disappeared, I knew what an incredible mistake I’d made.
I loved Hawke. It wasn’t just the sensations of our bond, and yes, I didn’t want to put my family and kingdom at risk by choosing him over Samuel, but I just couldn’t go through with it.
Where was Samuel? Our meeting to sign the contract before retiring to the party was set for an hour from now. He should be close. And he wasn’t sleeping in his chambers, like Lady Bianca had suggested.
I clung to the hope in my heart that I wasn’t too late to set this right. And since Samuel was an honorable vampire, he’d understand, right? Hell, he was a vampire, same as me, so how would he be able to deny a mating bond? I’d find some other way to tie Samuel into the royal family. I’d grant him a position of the highest honor, anything to keep our alliance strong and Saint away from my family.
I groaned when I couldn’t find Samuel anywhere on the estate grounds. I’d searched the upper levels, the kitchens, the river, hell, even the movie theater, all to no avail.
Halting outside the door to the basement levels, I realized it was the last place I hadn’t checked. Driven by the need to sort this out right this second, then track down Hawke and beg him to take me back, I flew through the door, not bothering to close it behind me. I made quick work of the spiral staircase, not bothering to hide myself this time.
“Samuel!” I called, my nerves fraying, my broken heart aching.
“Avianna. God, you look stunning.” Samuel came out of one of the doorways in that long hallway, head tilted as met me halfway. His hands were gentle as he clutched my shoulders, studying my tear-stained eyes and frantic features. “Are you all right? Has something happened?”
I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to remember my training, trying to remember how to be a goddamned princess. “Yes,” I said. “Something has happened.”
Samuel tried to maneuver me away from the still-opened doorway, but I had to get this out right now, so I halted him, gripping his forearms as he held my shoulders. “I can’t do this, Samuel,” I said on a rushed breath.
“Can’t visit me in the basement right before our ceremony?” he asked, a sweet smile on his face. “I would say not. This is no place for my future queen—”