Page 8 of Let Sleeping Vampires Lie

Smoothed my expression into controlled neutrality.

And prayed the magic stayed buried just a little longer.

Just long enough for the clan to believe I still had it together.

Even if I didn’t.

Even if I was one spark away from shattering.

CHAPTER 2

Con and I stood in the quiet tension that followed Edward’s departure when my phone buzzed. The vibration cut through the air like a knife. I slipped it from my pocket, expecting another update from Raven or Rene.

Instead, Julian’s name glowed on the screen.

Julian—I found something. Conference room now.

A spark of cautious hope slid through me, easing the coil of power in my chest.

“Julian?” Con asked.

I nodded. “He says he’s got something.”

Con didn’t waste a second. “Let’s go.”

The foyer had mostly emptied, but Siris and his group made no effort to hide their interest as we crossed the space. I kept my gaze ahead, refusing to give them more fuel. Con stayed close, matching my pace with fluid precision while scanning the room for lingering threats.

The tension in the mansion followed us like a shadow.

By the time we reached the conference room door, I had my magic tamped down to a quiet simmer. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Julian was already standing near the long table, laptop open and glowing with several windows layered over one another. His pale eyes were bright, almost feverish with the kind of adrenaline only hackers got from uncovering secrets.

He looked up the moment he sensed us enter, practically vibrating with excitement.

“What is it?” I asked, crossing the room.

“I think I found another piece.” His words tumbled out fast. “Not the exact location, but something close.”

My pulse quickened. “Where is it?”

Julian ran a hand through his blond hair, sending a strand falling over his forehead. “I can’t pinpoint the seller. Not yet. But the artifact itself… has surfaced. Somewhere in the black-market channels I’ve been monitoring.”

Con moved closer, arms folding as he leaned over Julian’s shoulder to study the screen. “Show us.”

Julian tapped several keys, pulling up a grainy image first. It looked like a photo taken from a hidden camera—a box with the contents partially wrapped in dark cloth. The edges of a metallic design peeked through, familiar.

My breath caught. “That’s the same pattern as the others.”

“Exactly,” Julian said, eyes shining. “The listing went up three hours ago. Private sale. Invitation only. The description was vague, but the symbols match what we’ve been tracking since you retrieved the first piece. Whoever has it is trying to move it discreetly.”

“Where was the listing traced from?” Con asked.

Julian grimaced. “That’s the problem. The seller is bouncing signals across half the globe. Standard for black-market relic trading, but this one feels organized. Professional. And expensive.”

I studied the image again. Something about the gleam of the metal, the etching along the curve, made my skin prickle. Another piece of the same cursed puzzle Dimitri and Valerian were hunting.

“Do we know how soon the sale goes live?” I asked.