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“You are the barmaid.”
The voice was unexpected. Its source was unknown. Her gaze flew everywhere, trying to place it but unable to find the source of the echo.
“I was,” she replied, aware that she was being watched. “Where are you?”
“You weren’t lying when you said that wasn’t your main line of work.”
“Where are you?”
“The question is, who are you?”
The voice was light as if the man wasn’t the least bit fazed that he was trapped. Nicola continued moving again so she wouldn’t be caught.
“I’m Nicola of Ostrov Krov. I came to the Sky to follow your symbol and was never sure if you were the culprit or someone else was just using your mark—the mark of the pirate lord, as it turned out.”
“That was a good disguise. A powerful vampire turned slutty barmaid.”
Where in heavens was he?
“It was you all along. The creature you sent to our island had that mark on its feet just like the rest. Your skull symbol. Your tattoo.”
“Did it?”
“Why did you do it? Why did you attempt to assassinate the vampire king?”
She waited for more deflection and was prepared to keep goading him to confess. The words that flew out of him instead caught her off guard.
“Maybe you should ask that old asshole why his son attempted to drain out my crew years ago.”
“What?”
Ven scoffed. “He thought he could use his son to further his power and take my creatures—the onesI worked hard to get. His son didn’t get them, but they killed that ship’s crew in the process.” Tension coiled in the next words. “I’m the pirate lord. I never forget.”
Another day, another sin. Such was the life of a Hendricks as she recalled her ruthless, then steadily ill father, who died at the hands of her cruel mother, who pulled the strings of her corrupt brother. Her heart hurt so much as she questioned if her father had tried to use creatures to advance his power or if it was her mother’s doing all along. But there was no one to answer her now.
It’s too late. They are dead. Move on.
She took a deep, calming breath.
“He's no longer the king.”
“What?”
“He was murdered,” she announced. “His son was killed, too, along with his wife. There is nothing left of House Hendricks. The new king is from a different house and not connected to any of them.”
“Oh. That changes things.”
“It does.”
“Or maybe it doesn’t. They are all the same.Youare all the same. Someone has to pay.”
“And killing the king would do that?”
“What made you think I would have stopped at the king? I have plenty of assassins at my disposal—”
“Had.”
Isaiah’s voice echoed as much as Ven’s. Yet hearing it made her feel like everything would be all right. She sprinted to her right, trying to place it, but the man was as elusive as the other.
