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“Oh. No blatant assistance, only behind the scenes. Kind of like the politics in my world, too.” Her mind latched on to it. “You came from that world.”
“Maddox and I were born in this world.”
She gaped. “You and Maddox are related?”
“I didn’t say that.” But there was a flush to Hilda’s cheeks. “We grew up together and stuck together. That’s it.”
There was more to the story, but it was obvious that the woman wasn’t willing to share. Winter let it go when they walked into unfamiliar territory, the halls darker and the rooms barely visible with their black doors. Lamps hung above on the walls, but the lights were dim and flickered madly.
“Whose house is this?”
Hilda shook her head, cluing Winter in that they needed to be quiet. Intrigue warred with nerves, but they passed by without a problem. The next set of hallways was golden and polished, the displays of wealth more visible. She wrinkled her nose, then paused and peered at another hallway when she glimpsed movement.
Coldness wrapped around her body at the muffled scream before she heard bones breaking in sickening cracking sounds. Then a crumpled body lay on the floor, blood pooling from skin torn open. A ball was stuck in the thick red…no, not a ball.
An eye.
Her gaze locked in on the man, glistening from sweat and pale under his silk clothes. They shone with blood, the features so bright and so similar to someone she knew that it squeezed something inside her. Her hand flew to her mouth when the man, the most beautiful there was, grabbed another woman with a viciousness that seized her throat. With a drag and another muffled scream, the door was slammed, leaving the lone body on the ground. Winter stepped forward—
And was immediately pulled with the sheer force of a slim, determined hand.
“No,” Hilda said firmly. “There’s nothing you can do for her.”
“She could still be alive—”
The hand squeezed tighter to the point of pain, but it was enough to break through her desperation. She whirled to face Hilda’s stern face.
“Look again. What part of her is still alive?”
She did look out of stubbornness and felt her heart breaking at the sight of the woman’s open chest and unseeing eyes. But the sorrow didn’t last long as anger spurted out, even while Hilda continuously tried to drag her away from the scene.
“So, I just leave her be?”
“Yes.”
“Is that how heartless you are?”
At that, Hilda stopped in her tracks and whirled back, glaring.
“As opposed to what? Charging in there and protesting against the crown prince? You give him a piece of your mind and it only takes one strike for him to kill you—and with a party like the one he has going on, it won’t take long before you end up like that dead woman.”
“It’s wrong.”
Something in the woman’s stance softened, but she turned brisk again and didn’t acknowledge the words. “We are making too much noise. He’s on the hunt and will ignore us, but I can’t say the same for his guests.”
Vampires hunt their prey with focus, and they select their prey individually once they have their scent. Stay out of their way so you won’t become a target when they are in predator mode.
Frustration rose at the helpless feeling, even more so when she found her feet automatically shadowing Hilda’s hasty retreat. When Hilda paused, so did she. When Hilda stiffened, Winter tried to look around for a weapon.
“Ladies. Are you here for the party, too?”
The vampire was tall, handsome, and hungry. That hunger zoned in on them, lingering on Hilda’s slender neck. When Winter tried to block the view, Hilda stepped forward, head held high.
“No, Master. We are just passing by on an errand from our house.”
Dark eyes latched onto the seal on Hilda’s shoulder, then Winter’s shoulder, depicting a golden crown and two golden swords in an X mark below it. The vampire blinked, immediately becoming less threatening as he smiled at them.
“I see. I apologize for delaying your errand. Good evening.”
