I was always better at strategy than my brother. It’s why Tudor made me the head of the illegal side of the business.
And I hope for Amara’s sake that I’m right, and that she’ll have an easy time breaking everyone out. We’re taking a big swing, but we don’t have any other option.
There’s someone stationed at the top of the stairs. Not to stop me, but to warn Cedric and the others that I’m coming. There’s a supernatural blur as they disappear down the staircase.
But I’m angry. And I’m not playing this game.
I’m faster than this young vampire, and I easily catch them by the back of their black shirt. They shout when I grab them and hoist them up.
I toss them to the side, and kick in the emergency exit door. It flies off its hinges and into the club, knocking over several standing tables and barstools.
As I enter the club, the thick, hazy air permeates my skin, and a slow clap greets me.
My brother sits on a velvet chaise from my private suite, which has been mounted on top of the oval bar in the center of the club. He looks like a prince on a throne. He’s surrounded by at least a dozen other vampires, all darkly attired, at various vantage points around him.
This isn’t going to be easy.
“Well, well, look who decided to chooserevengeover love,” Cedric says in a slow drawl. “You never disappoint, sis. So incredibly predictable. I guess I really do know you better than anyone.”
The last thing I want to do is engage with Cedric’s evil monologue. I cross my arms and survey him with narrowed eyes.
“Must be hard for you,” he continues with a sigh. “She was quite pretty. Although I know you’ve never been the one to keep pets. I guess that is out of character for you, C.”
“Don’t call me that,” I hiss, a flare of fury in my chest. “Only my sisters call me that.”
“Well, Iamyour brother. And I’ve known you the longest of themall.”
“You’re not my brother.”
“That’s not what you said after our Creator turned us. You weresoyoung then, don’t you remember?”
My jaw tightens.
“No? Well, then let me remind you. Tudor had just brutally murdered your little sister and your entire family, and turned you into a vampire against your will. I dug you up, if you recall.”
He reaches down beside him and takes a wine glass from the top of the bar. It’s full of thick, red liquid. He makes a show of taking a long sip, then wrinkles his nose.
“Yikes, this isdisgusting.Our sister really has too much time on her hands, doesn’t she? She was always a spoiled brat.”
Instinctively, I move toward him. But immediately, half of his guard tighten their stances, and I stop.
My eyes flick quickly between all of them, assessing their strength and number.
Fuck, there are lot of them…
Cedric laughs, a whooping, chaotic sound. “So loyal! But loyal towho, Celine? Our sniveling, naive baby sister? Our self-absorbed Creator who cares more about the witches than his own progeny?”
He stands, and throws the wine glass to the ground. It shatters, christening the hard club floor with glass and blood.
Then he jumps down from the bar.
“It wasme, Celine,” he declares. “Iwas there, when you were turned.Idug you up. You were so frail, and so terrified. Those first years…it was just you and me. Tudor never cared for us, you know that. He wanted to be powerful, to establish himself. Even then, he was always preoccupied with his own business dealings. We were pawns to him.”
He moves closer. I can see the wild whites of his eyes.
“It was just you and I, sister. And I told you that I would always be there for you, always be your brother…”
My eyes and fingers itch. I need him to stop talking.
