“Yeah, anyway—the snake charmer sent a snake inside the tent.”
He crossed to sit beside me on the bed. He sat with his back towards me and I watched the corded muscles on his back. He was primed and ready to go.
“I think… I’m the tent. The Immortal told me that, but someone was inside of me.”
Roane swung his hypnotic eyes toward me.
I grinned and rasped out, “No, not you. She meant like an empath was inside of me. Sometimes… it’s been known to happen. If an empath is skilled enough, they can find someone and look outward—look at where they’re at. I did it. I had Blue do it to Kates for me.”
“You think that someone was inside of you to see where you are?”
“I know it.” The moment my eyes had opened, everything flooded to me. “Kates told me that Blue was in a coma. If I’d gone further inside of her I would’ve seen that Kates hadn’t put Blue in a coma. She took her captive. Blue was being held in the same castle where they took me with Emily and Adam. I didn’t search inside of her enough.”
Roane stood and crossed to his closet. I watched as he flung open the doors and quickly rifled inside. “Tell me more.” The command was thrown over his shoulder.
“Blue was inside my head. They made her go in when I had my shield down.”
Roane paused and looked at me.
I swallowed painfully. “She got inside and they’re coming here.”
“That’s what he intended the whole time.” Roane suddenly stopped and straightened to his fullest height. Each muscle on his back stood out, primed and livid.
In that moment, I was suddenly aware of how Roane was a vampire. He was a predator and now he’d go against another predator. Roane was a Hunter. Their skills went unmatched by other vampires. It was why they were chosen to be the hunters of their own kind, but… Lucan was his human brother. And he led, what Kates believed to be, a revolution.
“They had no intention of you delivering a message to the Immortal. Let me guess, they have her boyfriend and they hoped she’d give herself up for him?”
I nodded. “How’d you know?”
“I can read thoughts. The girl they think is the Immortal has no idea what a shield is—and your shield was down too, Davy. I read that they’d taken Adam and Emily. I know that Kates used you.”
“Did you read inside of my head what your brother really intends to do with the Immortal?”
Roane paused.
“He wants my blood because he wants his Family to have the Immortal’s powers. He’s hoping to have an army of unstoppable vampires so that they can reverse the decree. The one that states they can’t hunt, bite, or kill humans. The one that started the Hunters in the first place and the one that’ll allow Kates to do all the slaying she wants.”
I looked at my hands, lifted them upwards, and gasped as I saw a glimpse of the sparkling diamond blood that I’d dreamt about. My eyes closed and then my normal skin was back. But I swore….
“No,” Roane clipped out. “My brother doesn’t just want to reverse the decree. My brother wants to rule the entire Vampire nation.” He lifted his eyes once again to me. Then he reached inside his closet and pulled out a lethal sword. He strapped the sword diagonally across his back and lifted a gold necklace over his head. It hung on the apex of his chest. I wondered at the significance when I saw that a small leaf emblem that dangled from the chain.
“Well…,” I searched for something to say. “At least he’s ambitious.”
Roane clipped out, “His ‘ambition’ just sealed his fate.” Then his jaw clenched, unclenched, and clenched again. “He wants you. He can’t have you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Gregory came for me. He knocked once and announced his presence through the door.
“I’ll… give me a second.” I glanced around with a heavy head, drooped shoulders, and my heart was… not in my chest, but I moved my body as if it still belonged to me. Gregory knocked once more before I opened the door. “Okay. I’m ready.”
He nodded with that same look in his eyes that I’d seen the first time. They were shrewd and he still looked at me in distaste, but I might’ve detected a small bit of sympathy. I wasn’t sure. I was just happy that it wasn’t Wren.
Gregory led me out. As we passed a circular stairwell in the middle of the hallway, I heard the buzz downstairs. The floor shook underneath my feet. The excitement in the air was addictive. I felt their thirst for blood. Every muscle in their bodies was stretched to the fullest from their anticipation.
A war was brewing.
As soon as we hit the outside air, something reeled inside of me. I felt another frenzy of excitement, rage, and carnal desire. Unlike inside, this frenzy was twice as bad. I looked out and saw one thing. I shouldn’t have been able to see Roane, but I did. He stood on a hill, a dark figure among the shadows around him. He was a vampire and at that moment, I felt with confidence that he was the best.