AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Okay," she replied and stepped toward him. His huge hands lifted her easily, and she wrapped her hands around his neck. His smell of spice and winter forest was even stronger than usual. She touched his skin that was impossibly warm against hers. "I thought you'd be cold."
"I am in my full stone form." Vladik grinned, showing his fangs. "Now, hold on tight to me."
Zori swallowed her yelp as he launched them up into the sky, his powerful wings beating. She clung to him, her eyes shut tight as the ground fell away, and they were gliding between buildings.
Vladik made a rumbling noise that sounded like laughter. "You can open your eyes, Zori."
"No, no. Bad idea," she said.
"You'd better open them because we are about to be over the balcony, and you need to see where I'm going to drop you," Vladik replied, and she opened her eyes.
"What do you mean drop me?" she squeaked in terror.
"I can't land on the balcony because of the wards Maxim has all over the building. I'm going to lower you onto it while I hover," he explained.
The top of the tower was underneath them as they sailed around the penthouse. Zori kept her eyes on it, and not the drop beneath her.
The balcony came into view, warm lights illuminating it and the concrete barrier around it. It was higher than she remembered. Vladik moved over the balcony and began to lower towards it. He lifted Zori down and dropped her to her boots.
"Message me, but be careful what you say. We don't know if your phone is being monitored," he warned her.
"Thanks for dinner," she managed to call before he was disappearing into the night.
Zori went to the glass sliding door and was relieved when she found it unlocked. She stepped inside and scanned for any guards. There was no one, and there should be no need of them with Maxim away.
It would give you a good opportunity to snoop around,Zori thought as she stared at the door leading to Maxim's office. It would have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest, or Nina would bust her.
Zori walked out into the hall and slipped in through her bedroom door just as the elevator binged.
There was a knock on the door before Nina came in. Zori smiled sheepishly at her.
"Thank God you're back. I really didn't want to have to tell on you, dear," she said, looking her over. "Should I ask where you've been?"
"I went out for some dumplings, that's all. I just needed the fresh air," Zori replied. The air had been damn fresh high in the sky. She pulled off her jacket and rolled up the sleeve of her sweater.
"I never asked you what Maxim needs my blood for every night. Do you know?" she said.
Nina shrugged. "It goes to the lab. He's monitoring for any daily changes. It's a little above my pay grade. Why? Have you been feeling dizzy or anything? I can make sure you have more iron in your diet to help with it."
"No, nothing like that. Just curious." Zori watched her fill the vials and thought about what Vladik had said. Her blood had magic in it. It seemed like such bullshit, but shehadflown with a gargoyle that night. What she classified as bullshit was changing rapidly.
Nina finished with the vial and handed her the pills. Zori took them and hesitated.
"You okay?" Nina asked.
Zori got up and clutched her stomach. "I think something was wrong with the pelmeni. I'll take them, don't worry. Thanks for tonight, Nina." She didn't wait for a reply before hurrying to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
Zori sat on the edge of her bathtub and stared at the red and yellow pills in her hand.
At least stop taking the poison he's feeding you. You will see for yourself it's harming you,Vladik had said.
On one hand, it would be the quickest way to find out if what he said was true. On the other, if he was lying to her, she would get sick not taking them.
Zori chewed on her lip. She had never questioned the blood or the pills. She'd just taken Maxim at his word, even as she became an adult. The fear of losing her mind like Alisa had been enough to do whatever he asked.
But Alisa hadn't been crazy, and Vladik said that her grandmother could prove it.
Her grandmother.
