Page 49

This is a stupid idea.

The doors flew open as Vlad marched me up the stairs. I opened my mouth to scream, but Vlad slapped a hand over it.

“Remember, you so much as peep, and I take off one finger at a time.” Vlad’s voice carried, booming through the entryway and echoing back along the walls. It was equal parts frightening and perfect because it surely called everyone in the house, if they weren’t on their way already.

The heavy doors slammed shut behind us, bathing the space in darkness. My breath caught. Not only was Julian closed off from us, but I was the only one that couldn’t see through the blackness. I tried to calm myself with the understanding that they both wanted me around and that Julian could turn the doors into toothpicks, but my body wasn’t listening.

The sound of my breathing filled the space, and I was sure even a non-vampire could hear the blood rushing through me, forcing my heart into a thunderous race.

A chuckle broke the moment, and my head whipped toward it. But as I waited, nothing happened. Until hot breath fell over my opposite ear.

“Welcome home, my pet.” It was unmistakably Mordock’s voice. And the heat coming from him said he’d just fed and fed well.

A finger pressed to my lips as I opened them.

“Tut, tut. No talking. I hate to rip out that pretty little tongue when it can be useful in so many ways. Don’t worry, my pet. You’ll speak when you’re spoken to without a second thought once I’m your sire.”

His finger pulled at my bottom lip then slid down my chin and my neck, trailing down between my breasts. I whimpered in response.

“I like my women accommodating. So we’ll just have to make you that way. It’ll all be over very soon. But I do so enjoy playing with my food. Bad habit from childhood, I suppose.”

Vlad let go of my arm and I stumbled forward, stopped by Mordock’s grip on my neck. My arms automatically closed around his forearm, which felt like cement.

“Lights!” he yelled, and the room blazed so bright I squeezed my eyes shut only to find dancing orbs behind my lids.

I blinked a few times and things came into view. We were in the center of a tiled hall with a winding stairway in the rear. All around us, vampires and their pledges gathered as though they were watching a street fight. There had to be thirty, at least, but my gaze locked on the woman standing partway up the stairs. Lydia’s hair hung in loose raven waves over her bare shoulders, a tight red dress fixed to her body like a bandage. Her owl-like eyes glinted but showed no particular emotion, and her lack of aura gave no clue. Was the woman I knew in there? Or was she simply watching along with the others for some form of entertainment as they played with me?

If it was the latter, I deserved it. I’d let her down.

“And where is your vampire friend?” Mordock asked, bringing my attention back to him. He’d grown back his arm, I noticed, just as muscular and whole as it had been before Julian ripped it off.

His grip on my neck tightened, letting me know I wasn’t to actually answer. Instead, Vlad stepped forward and knelt on the floor before him.

“Dead, Master. I used the new GoDKiller you gave me.”

“And how did it work?” Mordock asked, dark eyes flashing with scarlet.

“Slowly,” Vlad said, raising his head to look at his master. “He reached out for this one, but I held her back, let her watch with my hand over her mouth.”

“Aww,” Mordock pouted, turning his attention back to me. “Did that hurt to watch him suffer?”

Bringing tears to my eyes was easy when I thought of what I’d let happen to Lydia. Mordock took that as an answer, laughing cruelly.

“Clean cut seems to be your type. No matter, you’ll soon enough be drooling to get a piece of someone a bit more modern.” He flexed his tatted bicep before flicking a lock of white hair over his shoulder. The crowd laughed in response.

I gurgled beneath his grasp, and he squeezed my lips shut with his other hand, releasing his hold on my throat.

“Shh, my pet. The only question now is whether to turn you in the privacy of my own room or let my friends here enjoy the spectacle.”

The crowd roared with approval as he smiled, fangs descending, veins darkening around his now entirely red eyes.

In private, I willed. It would make the plan go so much smoother. The truth was I didn’t know if we could handle this many of them at once. Who was I kidding? Of course we couldn’t.

Mordock released me, stepping back. I gasped, unsure what was happening, until he stalked toward me again, lifting my chin to look in his eyes.

Yes, you fucker, mesmerize me. The charm from Zoe still lay between my breasts, ready to intervene.

“You will do as I say,” Mordock intoned. “You will do nothing to harm me or mine. You are my willing slave.”