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Enzo instantly falls still, arm falling limp at his side. “Sorry, little bird. I’m not allowed to say.”
Axe pulls on his jacket, straightening it needlessly, then offers a crooked arm to me.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Not until we’ve made a formal bargain with terms we can both agree to.”
Axe grins. “Ah, that. I hoped you might forget that bit.”
I can’t believe this guy. “Really?”
“No, not really. I hoped because it benefited me. I didn’t think you would. So please, Dove.” He gestures outward. “By all means.”
“I will agree to stay in your lair until you’ve helped me with my problem, at which time you will agree to let me leave.”
“I can guarantee you won’t want to, but fine. I’ll agree to that.”
Good. OK, next. “I agree to participate in your Auction and perform to the best of my abilities.” Axe’s smile goes crocodile wide. “Providing that I decide where the money I bring in goes.”
That perfect smile of his falters. “Excuse me?”
“The money? That people use to buy me? I want it. I think it’s only fair. Since I’m the one being sold, I should be the one to profit from it.”
Chapter Nineteen
It should come as no surprise that the infestation of the moral realm finds every occasion to commiserate their lowly existence with the demonic.
- The Book of Grace - Addendum
Bastian steps forward.“Dove, that money is for?—”
Axe clears his throat, and Bash falls silent. “You have a deal, little demon.”
“Axe!”
“Bastian?” Axe stares at him with a menacing look, daring his enforcer, or soon-to-be, to question him again.
“Uh, nothing. Never mind, boss.”
Axe nods and turns back to me. “Are you ready for your debut?”
The thought roils my stomach. Debut? LikePride and Prejudiceand Bridgerton debut?
“Have you ever been to a vampire-run city?” Axe asks, taking my hand.
“Uh, no. And I thought we were steering clear of vampires.”
He paints on that smile. “We’re avoiding one vampire who happens to be locked away tight in his coven. But demons and vamps have a long history of partaking in each other’s debauchery.”
“Plus,” adds Bastian. “It’s not like we can hold the Auction on campus or even in Blackwood anymore. Not since what happened with the wolves last year. Getting caught would…” His gaze goes distant as he imagines the potential fallout. “Well, let’s just say it would cause problems.”
“OK. So, where are we going?” I’d heard Jess and Stevie idly chatting about shopping in Laurel Cove, the neighboring city. They might have also mentioned it was vampire run, but I can’t be sure.
“Cypress City,” Bastian says, and my stomach drops out from under me.
The city on the other side of the river—according to Stevie, at least—is entirely off limits. Run by a former dictator, the city is home—again, according to Stevie—to the most deviant and dark vampire clubs ever spawned.
Sounds just like the kind of thing the heirs would love.
