AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A light tap sounded against the door, and I jolted to my feet. Erianna's voice sounded through the wood. “Olivia.”
“Coming,” I whispered, knowing she could hear me from here. I looked back at Azia. “I know we are supposed to leave for the castle in the morning, but please don’t tell them I’ve gone. I need to bide my time, because I'm warning you, Sebastian will try to divert us. I know him.”
“I won’t tell them you left,” he promised. “If they wake up, I’ll say you went somewhere else on my orders.”
I smiled, knowing I could count on him. I shouldn't have hesitated to ask him earlier. My ears strained as I listened to Sebastian’s snores from the other side of the house. He was still asleep, but I couldn’t chance him waking up and finding me gone again.
NINETEEN
Olivia
Iwalkedinsidethegreen, dimly lit building as we hurried, knowing the others could wake at any moment and find us gone again. At least this time, Azia could let them know we’re okay.
The man guarding the entrance into Malum Dominor ran his fingers over my shoulders as I entered, whispering the word‘sorceresses’into my ear. Gulping hard, I stepped away from his touch. Erianna shot him a glare, her fingers inching closer to her dagger, and he turned away from us.
She matched my steps as I marched down the hallways.
“Fucking animals,” she cursed.
“It’s okay.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at the doorman, her glare boring into his back. “It is, because if anyone tries anything, I will skin them alive.”
I looked back, and he tried to hide a shudder as her words echoed down the corridor. She grabbed my hand in hers, a show of unity, then led me toward the main room. A wall of smoke hit me as she turned the diamond encrusted doorknob. I followed her inside, aware of the eyes on me as we passed by several men wearing suits and silver rings.
Erianna paused at my side and wiped her palms against her armored shirt as she looked around the dark room. Salvor's face was cloaked in a wreath of smoke under the low light of the lamps. Standing on either side of him were three men.
I shifted my gaze to Erianna, whose eyes narrowed into thin slits as she studied the intricate symbols tattooed on Salvor's skin. Across the room, I made out several sorceresses reclining on rich green velvet couches, two of them with round bellies, revealing their pregnancies. I recalled how sorceresses were the only ones who could carry a vampire’s child, as we shared a blood connection through the gods.
Erianna leaned over the round table between us and Salvor, her dagger glinting in the dim light. Her gaze shifted from Salvor to his two bodyguards and back again. “I would say it’s nice to see you, Salvor, but...” she trailed off, tapping her knife on the tabletop. “We both know that I'd be lying.”
He lifted a glass of brown liquor to his lips, downing its contents with one quick gulp. A suited man appeared at his side moments later with a fresh glass, cold ice cubes filling it until they threatened to spill over the rim. “What do you need?” he asked. “Finally come to join us?”
“Right down to business then,” she said, her tone steady. I sunk deeper into the cushions, staring at the two as she cleared her throat.
Salvor slid his gaze lazily from her to me, his green eyes narrowing. “You must be the infamous Seraphina,” he said, a smirk curving his lips.
“It’s Olivia,” I corrected.
“I’ve waited a long time to meet you.” He leaned forward, a hunger in his eyes that reminded me of a predator sizing up its prey. “The secrets hidden behind those eyes…” he trailed off, and my heart raced. “Tell me, my queen, are you here to take back your throne?”
I tried to exude confidence, my power thrumming inside of me as a reminder that I should not be afraid of him. Looking at him made it harder to believe that Erianna was ever involved with him. There was nothing behind his stare, just an iciness carved by centuries of murder. “I’m here to kill Salenia,” I said, knowing there was little point in holding anything back.
Either they were going to help us, or we’d be quickly on our way. No matter what, once Salenia found out I was alive, she’d assume I was on my way to her to fulfill the prophecy.
His muscles bulged as he leaned back, draping his arm across the side of the chair. “I’m not sure what you think I can do.”
He wanted me to feed his ego. I recognized the glint. “We both know the connections you have.”
Erianna cut through his next words. “Enough, Salvor. I know you can help us, else you wouldn’t have agreed to this meeting.”
A smirk played on his lips. “Maybe I just wanted an excuse to see you again.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “We can offer you many things,” she said, ignoring his remark. “When she becomes queen, she’ll have power over the entire kingdom and access to anything,” she said, counting her fingers. “We have stagma, although I’m certain you have enough of that, and we’re willing to offer you more trade routes once Olivia has control back of the castle.
He licked his lips, the men around him shifting from one for to the other as they watched Salvor carefully, the tension palpable as if he might flip his mood in an instant. “What if I want you, Erianna?”
“I’m not for sale,” she responded. “I know you want something else. Just spit it out.”
