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Be smart and go find Law.
The struggle is real as the devil and angel on my shoulders fight to steer me in opposite directions. Should I embark on this alone or should I be safe and wait?
I decide to follow him. He’s up to no good and I have to know what it is. For Julian’s sake I need to know if he can truly trust Count Dupré.
I give him a generous head start, because the last thing I need is to give myself away while in an abandoned hallway. For every five steps he takes, I take two, continuing to keep enough distance between us. He is a vampire and I’m still only human.
I’m considering my next moves because obviously I’m not about to jump the count to get to the key. I almost miss when he does the unexpected and takes a left down the hall, leading him toward the forbidden wing of the manor. He’s heading toward Julian’s father’s rooms.What the hell?
I pick up the pace, not wanting to lose sight of him. When he gets to the heavy double doors leading into the main suite, he looks up and down the hall. I throw myself into an alcove, back pressed up against the wall, before he can see me. Counting to thirty, I peek to see he’s no longer in the hall.
As nervous as I am for what’s about to happen, I know that I have to do this. I have to know what he’s up to. If I went in search of Julian or Law, it would be too late. Dupré would likely be gone by the time we got back, and we’d never know why he was here. I need to know if this vampire that Julian is working with can be trusted.
I take several deep breaths and march forward. Grabbing hold of the knobs, I throw open the doors and stop short when I see he’s found the secret door. Impossible. He found it far too quickly not to have known of its existence. Without thinking it through, I dive headfirst into a diatribe that is likely to get me killed.
“What are you doing in here? This area is off limits. How did you know about that room?”
Count Dupré turns toward me, jaw clenched. “You,” he jeers. “And what does a slave know about off limits? I am a count, human.” Both slave and human are tossed at me like slurs, but I don’t react. I won’t allow him to think I’m scared of him. Even if my legs are shaking underneath me. I tip my chin up high and proceed with aplomb.
“I may be a human, but I’m no slave,” I correct, leveling him with my most heated glare. “The Crown saved me.” I glare at the condescending count. “I’ll ask once more. What are you doing in here?”
He snickers, stalking toward me with evil intent. I see it in the way his hands fist at his sides, in the maniacal sneer spreading across his face. He has no intention of answering my question or allowing me to leave this room.
“Don’t come any closer or I’ll scream,” I threaten, but he only smiles wider.
“You underestimate your importance, girl,” he jeers. “I’m his ticket to greatness. He won’t survive without me. You... you’re disposable.” He continues to slink closer and closer until my back is up against the wall. “I know every secret that he needs in order to rule. You might be opening your legs for him, but he’ll tire of that.”
My arm shoots out and my palm strikes his cheek. The red print of my hand is barely visible over the crimson coloring of Dupré’s entire face. Uncontrolled fury radiates from him as his nostrils flare and eyes darken to black slits. “You’ll die today.”
I whip toward the door, hands wrapping around the doorknob, but it’s too late. His beefy palm covers my mouth, smothering my scream, while his free hand clamps down on my arm, pulling me into his chest.
“Stupid human,” he grits through his teeth, spittle landing on my ear. “You’ve brought this on yourself.”
I’m dragged backwards, legs flailing as I try and fail to thwart whatever devious plan he’s concocted since I entered the room. A sharp blow to my head has the room spinning and the fight draining out of me. I’m thrown onto the floor of the secret room.
“No one will ever find you in here,” he taunts. “You’ll take the knowledge of this room to the grave with you.”
In a last-ditch effort, I pull the one card that could save me. “I have the box.”
He stops, eyes narrowing even further. “What doyouknow about the chest?”
Bingo.
That’s what he was looking for. He knows about the contents of the box.
“I found it and I’ve hidden it.”
He seems to ponder what I’ve said. “You wouldn’t know what to do with it,” he sneers. “If it’s in this place, I’ll find it.”
I try to speak, to say something more, to give him reason to need me, but my mouth is dry, and the words don’t come out. The door begins to close, and it takes all the strength I can muster to pull myself to standing. I’m upright just in time for the wall to click into place, shutting me in and effectively burying me in the wall.
My hands search the area, looking for a lever or anything to get this wall open. The darkness makes it impossible to see anything. Panic rises and claustrophobia threatens to pull me into madness.
“Let me out!” I scream at the top of my lungs, pounding my fists on the wall. This side of the barrier is a solid sheet of steel covered by a layer of heavy rock—effectively soundproof. Nobody can hear my screams.
I slink to the floor, sweat beading on my brow as the panic turns to hopelessness. I’m not getting out of here.
Julian’s plea for me to stay out of sight torments me in this moment. If only I’d been honest with him. If only I’d just gone back to my room and freshened up like I was supposed to.
