Disregarding him, I walked over to a vampire standing sentry by a black car. He immediately opened the back door for me, his gaze downcast.
Ask my brother if the compound staffing reports were a lie,I told Ismerelda. There hadn’t been enough vampires to provide adequate security, yet here was one playing chaperone. Seemed a bit conflicting, given what I’d been told by Mira.
Not a lie,Ismerelda replied after a beat.He says this vampire belongs to Robyn.
Robyn?That was unexpected.
But as my brother began explaining himself to Ismerelda, I started to understand. “Cane has recruited reinforcements from his royal allies,” I told Damien. “There are several more vampires in the city now.”
The driver met my gaze in the mirror and cleared his throat. “Uh, yes,” he said, apparently believing I’d been speaking to him.
Which I supposed made sense, as he couldn’t see my microphone or earpiece. In his mind, who else would I be talking to?
“Five of us came with Robyn,” he went on, the information thankfully useful. “I’m not sure how many came with Ayaz, Helias, and Jasmine.”
“Jasmine?” Damien repeated, a frown in his tone. “Maybe that’s the fourth jet…”
If the vampire in the front seat heard the other man—which, according to Damien, he shouldn’t have been able to—he didn’t show it.
Instead, he cleared his throat again and started to drive.
Unlike Keys, this male obviously knew who he had in his back seat. Because he was sweating—a rare physical reaction for a vampire.
But this one appeared to be young.
Similar to Abigail.I frowned.Where is Abigail? Was she on the plane with you and Cane?
Not that I saw,Ismerelda replied.Should I ask your brother?
No. I’ll ask him when I arrive.Which would be soon, as the airport wasn’t far from the compound—something Lilith had apparently done while renovating Rome. Apparently, the human-made airfield had been too far away for her liking.
“There’s, uh, also a few lycans,” the driver added, causing my brow to rise. “They came with the Thida and Kostenka Clan Alphas.”
My brother is working with lycans?I asked, my shock making it sound like I was demanding that Ismerelda explain it to me.
Fortunately, she understood what I’d actually meant and instead voiced it as a question to Cane.
His response was loud in her mind.“Where do you think our test subjects came from, brother?”The question possessed an irritating mix of derision and superiority.
Fuck,I thought.
“Or… or is it Winter Clan?” the vampire rambled. “I… I often get confused by what it’s called. I think the alpha, uh, Jenkins, refers to it as Kostenka Clan now.”
“Your driver appears to be a useful idiot,” Ryder deadpanned into my ear, his unexpected voice nearly causing my eyebrow to jump.
“It’s Kostenka Clan, but a lot of vampires still refer to it as Winter Clan,” Damien clarified. “If you want to educate theuseful idiot.”
I didn’t.
I was too busy processing this new information.
“It’s amazing what lycans are willing to provide for just a little bit of promised favor,”my brother was saying to Ismerelda now.“Of course, Lilith helped me identify the most willing of alphas. Ones who craved power over love.”
MyErositafought a grimace in response to my brother’s chilling smile, her mind berating him for essentially turning the wolves into pawns.
“Alas, I will say, breaking the lycans of their penchant for familial bonds has proved to be quite cumbersome,”he continued.“My brother once told me that would be my biggest hurdle in convincing the wolves to join my plight. In addition to turning them against humanity, I mean. Overall, He was right. But degrading the clan matriarchs—the alpha females—has somewhat helped.”
I wonder how Mira feels about that,Ismerelda muttered to herself.
