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Crawl. Crawl, the Blood Oracle of the vampires. Crawl, the seer who had long ago left any humanity he had in the dust. Crawl, who had tried to rip out my throat, who had escaped from a prison he should never have left. Crawl, who had no more compunction about ripping open a baby’s throat as I did about eating a piece of chicken. And he wanted me.
“Check, I have to get out of here. That’s Crawl.”
Check murmured some curse under his breath, but it was Luna who sprang to action. Rex’s car was three spots down. She dove for Rex’s body, rifling his pockets, and came up with the keys. Grabbing Peyton by the arm, Luna dragged her toward the car. I followed, leaving the guards to deal with Crawl.
“Meet us at Altos’s mansion!” I called out, jumping into the backseat next to Peyton. We slammed the doors just as Crawl crossed the street. He was strong, too strong, and Check knew it. He and the other two guards withdrew, waving for us to get a move on.
I cannot go, Cicely. The vampires won’t let me in. The vampires hated the Elementals—they couldn’t read them, and the Elementals could sense things about the vampires that the vampires preferred to keep as secrets.
Then wait outside the gates there for us.
Luna gunned the car, and with Peyton still crying, she floored the gas and we screeched away from the curb. She took the turn at breakneck speed and pointed us in the direction of Lannan’s manor.
“Watch out!” I grimaced as we almost hit the curb.
“I’ll try,” Luna said over her shoulder. “It would help if I could drive.” And with that statement, we went weaving down the street.
Chapter 12
Lannan’s mansion was lit up like a firecracker. As we swerved into the drive, I leaped out, not waiting for the valet to open the door. The guards had arrived, Check was standing by the on-duty security chief, and they looked like they’d been having a talk. I hurried over, with Luna leading Peyton behind me. The car had managed to survive Luna’s haphazard driving and we’d arrived in one piece.
“We need to see Lannan. Now.” I stared at the security chief, whom I recognized from previous visits. “And Regina, if she’s around. And I do mean now.”
After a moment’s silence, he inclined his head and from behind those dark glasses said, “Go in, Your Highness. I’ll call ahead.”
As we hustled up to the mansion, Peyton still a wreck and moving only because she was on autopilot, it hit me that for the first time, we were entering the mansion with at least some power on our side. We—or at least I—was royalty. And that counted for something among the vampires.
Peyton was still covered with Rex’s blood, a fact that struck me as several vamps turned our way. But Regina met us at the door, and she took one look at Peyton and motioned for the maid to take her into the bathroom.
“Clean her up, put her in clean clothes, and then bring her in.”
“I’ll go with her,” Luna said. “She’s had a horrible shock tonight.”
“Very well. Bring them both when they’re ready,” Regina motioned for the maid to take them off, then turned to me. “Come. Lannan is in the study.”
I wanted to burst out with what had happened but decided it was better to wait until we were behind closed doors. As we quick-stepped along the corridor, Regina glanced at me.
“Nice crown.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, and I wasn’t up for small talk. I just nodded at her, catching her gaze. It didn’t do to look vampires eye-to-eye, but right now, I wanted her to see. I wanted her to see my anger and fear and worry. After a moment, she nodded.
“Come. We’ll do what we can,” was all she said as we reached the study and passed through the doors.
Lannan was leaning back in one of the recliners, playing with some sort of puzzle. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants, an open crimson shirt, and a thin gold chain around his neck. The black and red set off his golden hair, and when I entered, he slowly put the puzzle down on the table and crossed one leg over the other knee, lounging back.
“Cicely, how nice of you to drop by. Or rather…Your Highness, the Great and Wondrous Queen of Snow and Ice.” He hadn’t lost the patronizing tone to his voice, but he slid honey over his words, making them simultaneously a compliment and an insult.
“Gee, thanks.” Now that I was Queen, I felt a little less intimidated. It would be harder for him to hurt me and get away with it.
He patted the seat beside him. “Come. Come sit next to me.”
I stared at him for a moment, wanting nothing more than to smack him one, but there wasn’t time. Silently, I took the seat next to him. He started to reach out one hand toward my knee, but Regina cleared her throat.
In a falsetto, she said, “Royalty, dear brother. Remember.”
With a disgusted sigh, he hesitated, hovering over my leg, then withdrew his hand and instead placed it right next to his crotch.
I let out an exasperated breath and turned to Regina. “Leo and Geoffrey kidnapped my cousin. They killed Rex, Peyton’s father, and dragged off Rhiannon. And Crawl is out there, on the prowl. He came after me, but we managed to get away before he could reach us.”
