We found ourselves standing around a table back in the grand foyer that was deserted now that the Emperor had summoned a guard to take his Thrall back to her room. I barely suppressed the feral growl that threatened to escape as the vampyre had swept her into his arms. I didn’t want any other person, let alone another male, to touch her again. I wanted it to be my arms wrapped around her. I wanted to see her head fall into the crook of my neck for comfort. I wanted her to wake up feeling my warmth surrounding her.
“I was saying that we cannot let ourselves be derailed from the mission because of that woman.”
My hackles rose at his tone, but it seemed I wasn’t alone. Kolvar went eerily quiet, his body stilling as his head turned slowly to hold Elijah’s gaze. “If you call her ‘that woman’ in that flippant tone again, I’ll make you regret it.”
Tipping my cup of blood up and taking a large gulp, I considered our situation.This was beyond complicated.We’d never come to a head over a woman before.
Chuckling as I placed it down on the table, I raised an eyebrow and tried to prod at Elijah’s true feelings. I knew he had them deep down… They just happened to be buried under ten feet of concrete, wrapped in barbed wire, and blazing with hellfire to keep him away from them.
Placing my elbows on the high table, I leaned forward with my chin resting in my palms. “So, you’re telling me that if he brought her back out right now and offered her blood up to the remaining vampyres, you wouldn’t feel any type of way about it? You would just stand there and watch, completely unfazed?”
The thought of that happening made me want to flip this table over and slice the heads off of every vampyre here. I had no issue with killing my own kind, especially the pieces of shit that seemed to inhabit this empire.
The rumble of anger from Kolvar echoed that sentiment once more.
While Elijah was a master at wearing a mask at all times, the tell-tale tick in his jaw gave him away. He could act unaffected all he wanted, but I knew that his feelings didn’t align with his words.
“I don’t think anyone should be treated that way,” he responded diplomatically between clenched teeth.
I wasn’t going to let this go. Not when it was so clear that there was something special about this woman, for her to call to each of us in such a brief time of seeing her.
“You told the Emperor you weren’t going to drink her blood after he demanded it. You were willing to wage war with those words, Elijah. Admit it,” I demanded, a smirk on my face.
Before we could hash this out further, we turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. The guard who took her away appeared in the arched entrance to the room, spreading his hands and looking beyond pleased. “Ah, just the men I was looking for.”
We all went on high alert, standing to our full height, and I couldn’t help the way my body naturally tensed to fight. I had been on edge since entering the empire, and after training for so many years, the instinct to always be prepared for battle was ingrained.
His silver eyes flashed with something that looked strangely like respect as he took his time closing the distance between us. “I love to see that fire in your eyes. We’re going to need it if we’re going to succeed, and failure isn’t an option.”
Elijah stepped forward, folding his arms across his chest in what I’m sure he thought was an imposing stance. “What are you talking about?”
If this man was the guard of the Emperor’s precious Thrall, there was no way he was to be trusted.
He walked around us in a circle, sizing us up before stopping and holding his hands behind his back. “I don’t recognize you, and the manner in which you held yourself back from the Emperor’s Thrall doesn’t reflect the characteristics of a Lord from these lands.”
Fuck. We were going to have to kill him. Then we were going to need to get out of this damn place before anyone suspected us of doing it.
As I stepped forward to handle him, Elijah stuck a hand out, holding me back. “Wait.” His eyes still on the guard, he demanded, “If you have something to say, simply say it. Or are you too scared your own cover will be blown?”
Wait, what?
The arrogance of the guard faltered, and shock flitted through his eyes as his lips thinned. “It appears I’m not the only observant one in this empire after all.”
That sounded a lot like praise, and it only served to further bewilder me.
Kolvar and I exchanged confused looks, but we allowed Elijah to take the lead, as this was his mission appointed by our ruler.
“We could dance around the topic all night,” the guard said while running a hand through his short, messy white hair. “Listening to my gut has allowed my family and I to survive this long, so I’m going to continue to do so.”
None of us responded, waiting for him to explain further.
“Kyella felt a pull to the three of you. She said there was something different about you, and I’m inclined to agree.”
Kyella? Was that the name of the enchanting woman? She felt a pull to us as well?
The sentiment made my heart swell at the same time my cock did.
“After observing your body language as the Emperor tried to force you to feed from her, paired with how you didn’t show up with your own Thralls…”
