As I came to a stop at Drake’s side, it took everything in me to not show a reaction to the sight that met my eyes.
The woman’s bloody hands were tied in front of her, and she wore no shoes. Three fingers with perfectly manicured nails lay on the ground directly in front of her feet. Her clothes were ripped and torn in some places, and it looked as if her body had been cut open from the way blood soaked into each spot. There were no open wounds, but that meant nothing considering how quickly we healed from flesh wounds.
She was bent at the waist with her head hung low, long dark hair covering half her face. As it was, I wasn't sure who exactly this was yet. Piss pooled beneath her, and I had no doubt that she was sitting in whatever didn’t make it to the ground.
I’d heard of Drake’s and Lo’s vicious natures, but to see it was something else entirely. I wasn’t afraid of them, or even disgusted by their ways, I just hadn’t been expecting it this morning. When they’d told me we were conducting meetings today, I hadn’t thought that it meant torture sessions.
The sound of a low chuckle drew my attention to the side where Drake and Lo watched with amusement. Lo held an empty glass of what looked like whiskey in her free hand.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, waiting for someone to catch me the hell up.
“She wasn’t begging like this until you walked in,” Lo answered, a smirk on his lips before downing the rest of the liquid. “She thinks she can use you as a weak link to free herself.”
I was actually fucking offended that whoever this was thought so little of me.
“Prior to your arrival,Comoara,she was telling us, in graphic detail, how Jeoffrey planned to kill each of us,” Drake rasped, voice dark and void of emotion, gaze entirely focused on his victim.
And with that, the woman leaned back in her chair and lifted her head up to gaze at me. The manic look to her eyes instantly put me on edge. She watched me with something akin to rabid hunger as she licked her cracked lip.
“Do you want to know the plan for your death, hmm? It’s the most delicious of them all.”
Chapter21
ALINA
My upper lip curled as I shook my head. "Nah, I'm good. It's probably as basic and dull as Jeoffrey himself."
Her face contorted with rage, and she inhaled sharply through clenched teeth. Her eyes dilated, swallowing the unique purplish hue of her irises that struck me as familiar as she leaned forward with a sneer. "Don't you dare insult him like that! He will bring us into the future instead of keeping us oppressed and in the Dark Ages like Dracula!"
The Dark Ages? Oppressed? Yeah, I’d say the life she seemed quite comfortable living with the wealth and power of a board member was far from that.
Despite my nonchalant attitude toward her, I couldn’t help the tightness in my chest at the thought of Jeoffrey’s plans. There probablywasa special place on his hit list for me, considering my bond to his son seemed to be the catalyst that exposed his plans. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been on his quest to gather forces to take over the board, but I had to imagine it had been a while. All it took was a week with his son for me to blow it straight to hell.
That probably destroyed him on the inside. How many times had he cursed my name in a scream of rage by now?
The thought gave me a sick thrill and quickly blotted out any fear that began to creep in. Fuck Jeoffrey. He’d used fear to manipulate people for too long. I was only sorry that no one had exposed him earlier.
Dismissing her rant, I turned to look at Lo and Drake. “Is that Silvyn?” I asked, trying my damnedest to remember the names and faces from the party where I’d met everyone. Silvyn was a Rook, if my recollection was correct, but I wasn’t willing to bet on it.
Lo nodded in confirmation. “Yes. She was assigned upon hire to protect both Jeoffrey’s and Lincoln’s fathers. Ever since we lost Allan, she’s served Jeoffrey directly. The other Rook, Tania, tipped us off this morning, after our actual meeting, of her suspicions.” She lowered the torch to hover dangerously close to Silvyn’s head, showcasing the green and yellow bruises that littered her face. “Apparently, Silvyn here has been doing Jeoffrey’s dirty work since he went into hiding, pushing those not loyal to him into supporting him with scare tactics.”
A cackle rang through the air from Silvyn as she tipped her head back and let it all out. She rocked back and forth on her chair, threatening to tip or break the chair if the groan of the wood was any indication.
“Is she on drugs or something?” I murmured as we stood and watched, her laughter quickly increasing into hysteria.
I knew you had to be fucked in the head to support Jeoffrey, but this was some next level shit. With the way vampires metabolized everything so quickly, whatever she was on had to be some strong stuff.
“It would appear so,” Drake muttered before flashing to grab her face and force her to stop rocking around. He was eye to eye with her, and his voice was glacial as he seethed, “After everything I’ve done for you and your family Silvyn…You fucking disgust me. But I’m willing to forgive you if you give up Jeoffrey’s location and the names of the rest of the traitors on the board.”
She let out an amused huff, eyes darting between Lo and I before turning her attention back to Drake. “These bitches might believe the shit you serve to them on a silver platter, but I learned not to give any merit to your words after you fucked me a year ago and told me to leave my husband for you.”
My stomach dropped. He said he hadn’t been with anyone in so long.
She’s lying to rile you.
I believed him instantly with the anger and disbelief flowing through him and chided myself for entertaining her words for even a split second.
Drake’s grip on her jaw tightened as she tried to continue, cutting off her words as I saw the bone giving way beneath his hand. She cried out, and I heard the crunching continue slowly as he hissed, “You’ve now lost the privilege of any chance of redemption, Silvyn. Say one more thing to try to rile my mate, and I’ll cut your tongue out.”
