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“Mm-hm. ” He gave a rueful shrug. “We must survive. And to survive we must feed. ”
We. I couldn’t let myself get too comfortable with Carden McCloud. He was unusual, informal, irreverent, plus we were tied together by this bond I didn’t entirely understand. But he was still a vampire. And although something had happened during our kiss that’d blunted my urgency, I told myself I would escape.
We’d been walking for a while, and I’d lost sight of anything remotely resembling a trail. “Do you know where you’re going? Alcántara is waiting. ”
“I know how to find Hugo,” he said, his voice flat.
But then he stopped suddenly, bristling. He grabbed my arm and put a finger to my lips to shush me.
At the feel of his touch once more on my mouth, I had the most preposterous thoughts…that his skin wasn’t as cold as Alcántara’s…and that maybe he’d kiss me again. I glared at him, my eyes demanding an explanation.
“They follow,” he whispered. “Make haste now. They may lose our scent closer to shore. ”
We broke into a run, and glimpsing beyond him, I saw the charnel house come into view. We reached the head of the cliff and scrambled downhill toward the beach.
Alcántara stood in the distance, waiting before the mouth of the cave. His arms were crossed stiffly at his chest, and I told myself it was my imagination that he radiated fury.
“Be warned,” Carden said as he handed me down from the trail onto the strip of coastline. “He won’t be pleased. Remember what I’ve told you. ”
What had I set in motion? I now had a secret from Alcántara. I’d disobeyed him, thrusting myself between two very different vampires. Events had taken on a life of their own, and I was being barreled along, no longer in control.
I looked around, frantic. What about my escape? But the mere thought of it had me tripping over my feet, my movements slowed and my head muddled.
Dread filled me, cold and heavy, because I knew—I could try to run, but as long as we shared a bond, I’d never be able to leave McCloud’s side.
We walked down the beach toward the cave, and as we closed the distance, it became clear: Alcántara was furious. I could see it in the way he held himself, unmoving, as though he were seething, barely containing his rage.
I’d disobeyed his orders, changed his plans. Had he really even wanted to save Carden in the first place? Had he truly planned on returning with me alive? Would Alcántara slaughter me for freeing him? Would he sense our bond?
I wanted to reach out and take McCloud’s hand, but I dared not. Maybe we could escape, together. These two vampires didn’t exactly strike me as old friends. “Should we turn around?” I tried to catch Carden’s eye, but his focus was only for Alcántara. “We could run. ”
He paused for the barest second, and in that instant, my hope soared. But then he murmured a reply, his face a stoic mask. “The others pursue us from behind. We have no choice—we must go with Hugo. ”
“But some of those other guys were monks once,” I whispered quickly, desperate now to convince him. The closer we got to Alcántara, the more distant my chances became. “How bad could they be?”
“We’re vampires,” Carden said under his breath. He met my eyes then, and his were bleak. “We’re all bad. ”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Alcántara’s features were carved from ice. His eyes narrowed on me, pausing, weighing my fate.
But then he turned his attention to Carden, greeting him with chilly courtesy. “What a delight to see you, McCloud. For a man held prisoner, you seem the picture of health. Have you fed?” His eyes flicked to me and back again, and it took every ounce of my concentration to remain composed.
Carden’s easy manner was one of the more impressive things I’d ever witnessed. “I killed a serving girl. They keep their feeders well nourished, and she more than sufficed. ”
“I see our resourceful Acari Drew decided to free you herself. ” Alcántara meandered toward me until he was right up in my face. He recoiled, his eyes snapping into a hard glare on me. “I smell him on you. ”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Carden beat me to it. “The girl was attacked. ” He tugged my sleeve up to show where he’d fed, lying calmly. “One of the brothers began to bite, but I stopped him. The girl was too weak—I had to carry her out. ”
Alcántara pinned his gaze back on me. “Is that so?”
I nodded slowly.
“What e
lse happened? Things must’ve been eventful indeed for you to stray so far from our plan. ”
I was so freaked I might accidentally spill the beans about the bonding, I babbled my report. The Synod of Seven. A meeting in a private room. Brother Jacob. The dance. All the serving girls, and black aprons, and white aprons, and feeders in satin dresses.
