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“Great. But who the fuck is going to save her?” Hell. I’d told Avianna that this was my idea of hell, and I meant it. Loving her, being mated to her…none of that made any sense, not with my background. But leaving her? That was fucking impossible. And I would condemn her, condemn Alek, condemn our whole society to a bloody civil war if I couldn’t get my shit under control. I looked over at Ajax. “When the time comes, if I cannot walk away, you’ll have to…” I swallowed.
Sadness pooled in his eyes. “When the time comes, I will not let you fail. I’ll carry you out over my shoulder if I have to.”
I nodded, my gaze straying toward Samuel. “Just make sure you unarm me first. I’d hate to have to kill you.”
Ajax smiled, but it lacked his usual mirth.
“I fucking hate you for what you’ve done to her,” I muttered at Samuel.
Dagon and Ajax stayed quiet.
Two days. That was all I had. All we had. And I sure as hell wasn’t wasting another moment sitting by the fire with these two. “We done?”
“We’re done.” Dagon nodded.
“Put your hands back up or he’ll know,” Ajax ordered.
We all raised our hands just like they had been when Ajax bubbled us in the time-freeze. In a snap, the world continued again. Samuel passed us by with a nod, heading toward James in the corner.
I stared at Ajax, marveling at all he could do with that gift. I would have stolen Avi away and lived with her in a bubble for the rest of eternity. Sure, we would have snapped out of it for food, but only seconds at a time. I would have kept her safe, kept her untouchable, kept her sheltered from the pressure of her title.
“What were you thinking just there?” Ajax asked as we walked out of the smoking room.
“That I’ve never envied anyone’s gift the way I envy yours.”
Because time wasn’t stopping. Not for me.
16
Avianna
It’d been five long nights at Deveraux Hall.
Five nights of sneaking around to feed from Hawke and him from me.
Five nights of trying to steal any moment I could with him.
Because time was up. Tomorrow evening, the betrothal ceremony would take place and there would be no escaping the decisions I’d made.
Restless, I’d slipped into something far more comfortable—my invisibility power—and walked around the estate without fear of running into Samuel or James or Bianca or any of the other vampires who resided here. They’d been kind enough, but it all felt extremely…fake. Like they were all pretending at being a family when I’d left behind a genuine one. And maybe that was what everyone felt like when marrying into a new family, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness whenever it came to the interactions of the vampires here.
They were all too stiff, too obedient, almost skittish in the way they operated on a day-to-day basis. And yes, Saint’s bloodmadness and what he’d been doing would be enough to make anyone jumpy, but he wasn’t here. Samuel was, and he appeared to be nothing but kind and gracious to his staff and family. So, I’d taken it upon myself to snoop for answers. After all, what was the point of having these powers if I didn’t use them to my advantage?
I slipped easily past Dagon, who stood guard at my door, Hawke and Ajax having ventured off the property earlier to update Alek with a nightly report. Which was to say there was nothing to report. I was safe. Samuel was still being agreeable. Even Lady Bianca had grown on me. But there was not even a whisper of Saint’s presence, like I’d so hoped there would be. Surely he had contact with his twin someway, and I wanted to be there when it happened.
I padded barefoot down the tiled hallways, the whole no-high-heels choice a better option when trying to remain silent and invisible. I’d already admired all the paintings on the main floor of the estate and had explored the upper levels, not finding anything of note except for Samuel’s chambers, which were three times as big as mine. He certainly acted like royalty. It made me wonder if he even missed his Hunter brothers, missed doling out justice like those of our Onyx Assassins, or if he reveled in the seclusion from his crew.
Another left turn and I reached the door I’d eyed four times in the last three days. It led to the lower levels of the estate, which Samuel had told me were musty, old, and not interesting at all any time I asked about them. He might as well have begged me to look.
The damn door creaked as I tugged it open, but the hallway was mercifully vacant, so I slipped through easily enough. I shut it behind me as quietly as possible and padded down the spiral staircase leading lower and lower beneath the estate. I was dizzy by the time I reached the bottom, but managed to stay upright well enough.
