AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You staked Prima Lenore, didn’t you? You or Clarisse. You two meant for this to happen—all of it. Jules going blood-mad, then a challenge between Brien and Prosper. Except you thought Prosper would win and you’d end up his lieutenant. Or maybe you were also going to stake Prosper—and blame that on SI, too.”
Matthew’s furious growl told me I’d nailed it. “Enough talking.” The blade’s point bit deeper into the small of my back. “Now, do we have an agreement?”
I dipped my chin.
“Slide your hand behind your back,” Matthew ordered, and when I complied, he pressed a switchblade into my palm.
I closed my fingers around the handle.
“Sunrise,” he murmured next to my ear. “Or your halmoni will die a slow, painful death.”
I slipped the blade into my back pocket. He must have faded into the shadows, because a few seconds later, he reappeared on the opposite side of the circle.
Brien raised his hand for quiet, and the room went silent. The enforcers stepped back into the circle, Talon and Cain retaking their places on either side of me.
Brien invited Prosper back to the center of the circle. “You’ve served the syndicate well,” he told his father’s longtime lieutenant. “It would be a waste to lose you. Swear a loyalty oath to me, and you can stay. But if you can’t serve me as you served my father, then I want your promise that you’ll leave the island and never return.”
Prosper didn’t hesitate. He inclined his head and said, “I’d be honored to serve you, Primus.”
The circle of vampires were clearly surprised, but I saw nods of approval. Prosper obviously had their respect.
Prosper held his hand out to Brien, his inner wrist facing up. Taking the wrist, Brien carefully slashed his dagger across it, opening up a single vein. Blood welled out.
Prosper dipped his fingers in it and drew a scarlet line diagonally across his chest. “I swear on my blood and all I hold sacred that I will be a loyal member of the syndicate under our new primus, Brien Leclerc.”
“So be it,” said Brien.
The vampires muttered approval.
“It was a test, you know,” said Prosper.
Brien’s brows drew together. “A test?”
“The challenge,” Prosper explained. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure you’d have the balls to accept.”
“Are you saying you let me win?”
“No. If you’d lost, I would’ve sent you to the Goddess.”
Jesus. My mouth dropped open; sometimes the ruthlessness of vampire syndicates surprised even me.
But the other vampires seemed impressed, and Prosper had extended his hand to Brien to shake. “Congratulations, Primus Leclerc.”
“Hail the new primus!” shouted several vampires, including Cain.
A chill tightened my shoulders. Unlike everyone else, Clarisse wasn’t paying attention to Prosper and Brien. No, she was eyeing me like the vampires at the auction had, as if I was cattle, not a person.
It was now or never. My halmoni was safe—for the time being, anyway. Frankly, I didn’t trust Matthew worth a damn. Who knew if he’d really call off the hit on my halmoni? Plus, I had a feeling he wouldn’t let me leave the island alive—I knew too much.
And I was so done with being pushed around by these motherfuckers.
I nudged Cain and Talon. They glanced at me, surprised.
Clarisse’s smooth brow creased, so I nodded and grinned at the two men like I was excited Brien had won the challenge.
Cain frowned. “What?”
I dropped my voice to a thready whisper. “Matthew was working with Kuro. While you were congratulating Brien, he gave me a switchblade. Don’t look, but it’s in my back pocket.”
