He looked to Adreona, and she sighed. “We won’t be leaving her alive.” She waved a hand dismissively. “If you want to talk, then talk.”
She rolled her eyes as Lorenzo rubbed his hands together. “It is quite the story, and I never get to share it. Secrecy and all.”
I really fucking hated him.
“Did Luka ever tell you of his cousin who went missing?”
“He did, your daughter, Este.”
A muscle feathered in his jaw. “Yes, my precious daughter, she was all I had after my wife died. My dear Este went missing one day, never to be found again. We searched for her for months with no avail, not even a clue as to what happened to her. My father declared her dead after six months and everyone stopped looking, but I never did.” He rounded Adreona’s desk to sit perched on the front. “Some might say it became an obsession, but I was a father searching for his daughter. I would not stop until I discovered the truth.”
The list of disappearances we found in Arlo’s office, Luka had been correct about the connection. But it didn’t sound like Lorenzo knew his father was looking into the disappearances, that Arlo didn’t think Este’s disappearance was a one-time occurrence. But what did any of this have to do with me?
“For years I searched, until several years ago, my father told me of reports of an ancient vampire rebel group resurfacing. The Vanir were leaving victims dead across the Blood Court. I thought for certain it had to be them who were responsible for Este’s death. I tracked them for months. I learned their habits and routines until I was able to break into one of their camps. But my plan failed, they caught me and held me for ransom against my father. He paid a hefty sum to free me and insisted I stop looking or it would cost me my life.” Had the Vanir threatened Arlo? Why would he tip Lorenzo off to the Vanir just to tell him to stop looking into it?
“But I couldn’t stop. I had to find answers. So I went back to the Vanir, this time I walked in their front door, and told them what I wanted. They promised me information on Este, but I had to do something for them in return.”
Aslow, cruel smile crept up his face. “They had gotten intel that someone had the information about a spell that could reverse vampirism.”
The breath stilled in my lungs. There was no way—he couldn’t have known my father had that information. I swallowed, trying to quell the panic climbing up my throat and the pit growing in my stomach. “So you went searching for the spell?”
His gaze narrowed in on me as he smiled cruelly. “I didn’t need to search for it, someone else had already found it for me. I just had to retrieve it.”
My stomach clenched. I knew there was a reason I never trusted Lorenzo.
“You helped the Vanir kill my parents,” I said through the lump in my throat.
“I only let them in the front door.”
“How?” I choked out. It hadn’t been Arlo after all, it was Lorenzo. I should have fucking known.
“An old friend of mine worked on the Star Court Royal Guard. All it took was a generous bribe, and he let the Vanir in—opened the front gate.” Who? When I got out of here, I’d question them all, find the traitor in their mix. I’d gut them. No wonder our enemies were getting in so easily—they were beingletin.
“They weren’t supposed to kill your parents, that was an added bonus.”
“And taking Nol?” I choked out.
“They were going to kill him, but they realized after killing your parents having the new High King as a captive would be beneficial to them.” His nose scrunched. “We were all disappointed to learn the power descended on you instead. So we had to shift our plans.”
“The Vanir and Panateia have always been at odds,” Adreona interjected. “The Vanir didn’t want vampires eradicated as we did, but when Dhampirs continued to infiltratetheir camps, we struck a deal. They knew I was in need of a witch and since the documents your father had gathered were nearly pointless, they gave us your brother in exchange for protection from our Dhampirs. That’s why Dhampirs have made their way into the cities in the last couple of years; we had no place to put them anymore.”
I turned my attention back to Lorenzo. “What does this all have to do with Este?”
“After I helped the Vanir into the palace, they directed me to the Panateia; the Vanir suspected it was a Dhampir who killed Este. But it was Adreona who told me it was a vampire in blood lust that killed Este, they found her body, drained of blood, in the woods outside Cel Nox.”
“Poor Lorenzo was devastated when I told him it wasn’t a Dhampir after all, but a bloodthirsty vampire that took his precious daughter, like my partner was taken from me. With little convincing, Lorenzo joined our fight.”
I slid my gaze to Adreona, I didn’t believe a word from her lips. If it was a vampire that killed Este, why didn’t Lorenzo find her body before the Panateia when he had been searching for her so mercilessly?
“Anyways, Lorenzo is now a large supporter of our organization,” Adreona continued.
“Does Arlo know what you’re doing? What you aim to accomplish?”
Lorenzo scoffed, “My father caught wind of a large amount of coin I was taking to support the Panateia, when I explained to him what it was for I thought he’d want to join, avenge his granddaughter. But no, all he cared about was the impact this would have on Luka. He’s been trying to shut us all down ever since.”
So Arlo did know, but he wasn’t doing anything. He was letting this all happen under his nose and doing nothing. Was this—was this the dark things he had been alluding to? If so, why hadn’t he told me when he had the chance?
“But enough about me, I came to deliver a message.” Lorenzo pushed off the desk, producing an envelope from his pocket. “It appearsyour husbandhas told the entire continent of your disappearance.” A tiny seed of hope bloomed in my chest. Luka was looking for me. I hoped he was, but this confirmation?—
