by Amy Sparling
“Stunning.” He kisses my neck.
“Beautiful.” He kisses my breast. “Absolutely beautiful.”
I can’t help but smile as he makes love to me. He is gentle, and sweet, and he takes his time. I feel safe with Theo. I feel loved.
I know without a shadow of a doubt, that this is where I belong. And that’s why I will fight to stay with him until the day I die.
Chapter 27
“It’s time,” Theo says. Riley and I are in the middle of painting our nails, and I look up at Theo, wondering if he really means it this time. We’ve spent the better part of three days hanging out on that balcony, waiting for Alexo to show up. Everyone thinks we’re locked up in our room, having crazy sex or whatever, and that’s the lie we’ve chosen to stick with. Even Riley is in on it. Alexo and the other guys don’t suspect a thing.
I cap my nail polish, frowning because I’ve only got two nails done and they’re not dry yet. I reach for a cotton ball and rub off the wet polish. “How do you know?” I ask.
We can’t talk details, but we can talk vaguely, and that’s what Theo does now.
“Trust me.”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Riley says, but she stays right where she is because everything we say in my room is a freaking lie. “Have fun, lovebirds.”
I sneak out with Theo, hand in hand. We head to the kitchen, where we run into a couple of the guys and Theo tells them we’re going on a nature walk. He grabs two bottles of water for show and then we slip into the library.
The hidden door is nearly imperceptible, and if Theo didn’t know exactly where to push, I’d never be able to find it. I wonder what other secrets this mansion has as we walk up the narrow staircase to the balcony. Theo and I have had some wonderful chats in our time up here. The balcony door makes a lot of noise when you open it, so there’s no chance Alexo would overhear us. We’ve chosen a place to hide out that’s behind a thick wall of ivy. Behind it is a wall and then the sloping of the roof, so we’re pretty sure Alexo would never bother to come this way.
We go there now, and I sit on the concrete bench that’s been long forgotten behind the overgrown ivy and flowers. Theo sits next to me.
“So what makes you think this won’t be another wasted day?” I ask as I brush his hair out of his eyes.
“Alexo got a call while we were having a business meeting just now. He stepped out of the room to answer it, and I excused myself saying I had to take a piss. I really just spied on him. He told the caller he’d call back in forty five minutes.” Theo looks at his watch. “That’s ten minutes from now.”
“Sweet.” This is the first lead we’ve got, and it’ll be the first time we’re not just blindly waiting around up here for something to happen.
He leans in for a kiss and then stops when the balcony door creaks open. My heart leaps with the thrill of finally being able to spy on Alexo’s phone call.
Soft footsteps cross the balcony, going straight to the ledge. I lean forward and peek through a small opening in the vines. It’s not Alexo.
It’s a woman.
Dressed in a sheer flowy sundress, she’s tall and beautiful, with black hair cropped short around her heart-shaped face. It spikes out in all directions, but somehow it looks amazing. Her lips are pink, her skin pale. She wears several rings and has black polish on her nails as she taps them across the top of the balcony railing. I can only see her profile from here, but I can tell from the side of her face that she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
She stands there, silent and contemplative. I tear my eyes away from her and look at Theo. His eyes are wide. I want to ask him if he knows who she is, but I don’t dare to speak right now. I don’t even want to breathe for fear of making a sound and alerting her to our presence.
Minutes pass and the door creaks open again. I peer through the vines, my heart thumping hard as I watch Alexo step onto the balcony, his eyes on his phone.
“Alexo.” The woman’s voice is soft, but fierce.
He shrivels when he sees her, and nearly drops his phone. “Lady Em!” He clears his throat. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a personal visit?”
I look at Theo, mouthing the words Lady Em?
He shrugs and turns back to the scene in front of us.
“Your own idiocy is the reason I am here, Alexo.” Lady Em turns sharply around to face him. That’s when I see the necklace splayed across her chest and my heart catches in my throat. The ornate collar-style piece of jewelry is exquisite, a silver design that spreads across her entire chest. And it has about a dozen immortality stones in it.
Theo draws in a sharp breath. He sees it too.
Alexo clears his throat and takes a step backward. “Lady Em, as I said on the phone, things are perfectly in order.”
“In order?” she says, her voice higher this time. “You lost a lifeblood today because she didn’t follow your rules. It is not hard to enforce one single rule onto children you’ve bribed with cash and luxury!”
“Lady Em, all I can do is tell them not to remove the bracelet. I can’t follow them everywhere to make sure they comply.”
“You scare them into complying!” She puts a finger on his chest. “You tell them you will end their lives if they even try to go against the rules, do you understand me?”
“I don’t feel that would be the best course of action, Lady Em. I create a comradery with our lifebloods. I take lonely girls and make them feel like they’re part of a family. They don’t take off the bracelet because they want to preserve their place in the family.”
“And that works out so well, does it? We lost a lifeblood today, Alexo.” Lady Em sighs and then steps closer to him. “You better hope she didn’t talk to the other girls. You better pray she didn’t post something on the internet!”
“We are investigating that right now,” he says calmly. “Her computer history was wiped, but we’ve got the best IT guys trying to recover anything they can.”
“Of course it was wiped,” she says with another sigh. “If she posted about the bracelet, or told any outsiders about it, this could be the end of us, Alexo! We would be found out. You know Dover clan has people scouting for us. They’ve no doubt got a trace on the internet as well. You talked me into this—this humane—treatment of lifebloods, but I’m about two seconds away from throwing them all in a fucking dungeon!”
Alexo sighs, grabbing the bridge of his nose. “Lady Em, we know that doesn’t work. We’ve tried it. They just rip off the bracelets and let themselves die. The lifebloods need a reason to wear it. They need to be bribed and they need to stay healthy and happy or else their use to us wanes within a couple of months. This is the only option.”
“We could take away access to the outside world,” she says. “No cell phones, no internet.”
“How long will that work?” Alexo counters. “Young people can’t live without internet these days. They’ll leave.”
Lady Em inhales sharply, then turns back to look over the edge of the balcony. “I did not risk everything in Dover to create a clan that would not hold up even a few decades,” she says, sounding almost somber now. “I will not fail, Alexo.”
“You won’t fail, my lady. You have my word.”
“What have you done to fix this?” she says without looking at him.
“We’re being careful. We’re vetting the other girls, making sure Jayla didn’t tell any of them about her suspicions.”
“And?”
“Her best friend is clean. I think she knew better than to put her at risk like that, especially since she thought we were demons. But we have one girl who needs further investigations. Riley, the spunky one I told you about.”
My skin turns cold. Why the hell would Riley be under suspicion? I’m the one sneaking around with Theo. I’m the one hooking up with a member of the freaking clan.
“What does she know?” Lady Em says, turning back to face Alexo. Her sheer gown flows in the gentle breeze. With her smoky eyeshadow
and bright blue eyes, she looks like she should be on the cover of a fashion magazine.
“She is the only girl who didn’t show any emotion when we announced that Jayla had died accidentally,” Alexo says. “I found it unsettling, but as Kyle has mentioned, Riley wasn’t friends with the girl. Maybe she just doesn’t care.” Alexo adjusts the collar of his jacket. “We are looking into her.”
“No,” Lady Em says simply. “There’s no reason to delay anything. Take care of her now.”
My breath catches in my throat. Beside me, Theo stiffens.
“She’s a healthy lifeblood,” Alexo objects. “We still haven’t replaced Jayla, and removing another one would mean twice as much work. Russell is drinking the last of our stores to keep himself alive until he finds a replacement lifeblood.”
“I don’t care!” she hisses. “You have failed at your job and you will work extra hard to fix it. Go get the girl and end her.”
“Of course,” Alexo says, dipping his head toward her. He turns to leave, and I lose my composure.
I stand and throw myself over Theo, pushing off the vine wall until I’m out in the open. They don’t see me at first. Alexo’s hand takes the door handle and he pulls, but I won’t let him leave this balcony. He won’t kill my best friend.
He won’t even get close to her.
Theo grabs for me but I’m too quick. I see red, and black, and the blue of that immortality stone. I know we’re supposed to stay hidden, but I am too pissed off to care about that right now. This bastard will not take another life today.
“Over my dead fucking body!” I scream, launching myself at Alexo. “You will not touch my best friend!”
Chapter 28
Everything goes black. I haven’t passed out though—Theo has leaped in front of me. His black shirt blocks my vision and I try shoving him out of the way, but he’s too strong. In just a few seconds, he’s blocked me and pressed me against the wall, his arms outstretched to keep me from getting away. I pound on his chest, but he’s not moving.
“Alexo,” Lady Em says sweetly. I peer at her from around Theo’s tightened bicep. “Do you understand why I questioned your ability to run this clan? Two members have been spying on us this entire time, and you had no idea.”
Alexo’s jaw tightens and he stares at Theo with a look that says he’s truly betrayed right now. With all his scheming and spying, Alexo had no idea Theo wasn’t loyal to him. “Please tell me this is your secret hookup location.”
Theo hesitates. I can tell he’s thinking about taking the easy way out, lie and say we were just up here making out. But even if that were true, it doesn’t matter. I clearly heard everything they said. I’ve put a big red target on my chest by revealing that I’m here.
“Who is she?” Theo asks. “You have kept very important information away from me.”
“That doesn’t matter—” Alexo begins, but Theo cuts him off.
“I am a member of this clan now. You have not revealed this woman’s existence to me, and that is a grievous mistake. You have betrayed the clan, Alexo.”
“Don’t talk to me about betrayal,” Alexo hisses.
Lady Em steps forward. “So this is the Embrook refugee,” she says, her eyes taking in Theo from head to toe. She gets so close I can smell her perfume, floral with a hint of cinnamon. The look in her eyes tells me she’s not immune to Theo’s good looks.
It makes my blood boil more than it already is.
“You speak of betrayal,” she says to Theo. She really is stunningly beautiful which makes it even easier to hate her. Her crystal blue eyes focus on my boyfriend, who stands rigid, ready to fight. She tips her head to the side, then her lips stretch into a thin smile. “You speak of betrayal and yet I can see it in your eyes. You are not loyal to my clan.”
“Who the hell are you?” he says through clenched teeth.
She stares at him for three seconds and then says. “I am your queen. I could have made your life wonderful,” she says, running her hand down his cheek. It takes everything I have not to slap the bitch’s hand away from my boyfriend. Her expression hardens. “But you cannot be trusted.”
She whirls around, her piercing stare turning to Alexo. “You are more worthless than I even imagined,” she hisses. Alexo visibly shrinks back, the pain of her insult slicing through him.
“He was vetted,” Alexo says, trying to stick up for himself. “He passed every test. He has been a valuable asset to the clan.”
“And yet you don’t see the very truth that is in his eyes,” she says, throwing a slender finger toward Theo. “This man is a traitor.”
“There is no evidence—” Alexo says, his voice sounding more pleading with every second. For all his might and power, he’s like a coward when faced with Lady Em.
“The evidence is right there!” Her voice seems to echo off the walls. Birds in a nearby tree scatter into the air, flying away from this vicious woman. “You do not see because you don’t have the sight, Alexo.”
He stutters out an objection. Lady Em swings her hand in his direction and he flies backward, his body landing with a crack against the balcony railing. My eyes widen. She was too far away to physically hit him, yet he reacted as if she did. There’s no way…she can’t be that strong.
It doesn’t work like that.
Lady Em turns to Theo. “Move.”
He stays where he is, shielding my body with his own. “Fuck. Off.”
She quirks an eyebrow and then flicks her hand through the air. Theo’s body launches to the left. He stumbles, but doesn’t fall. Anger fills his gaze and he tries to come back to me, to put himself between us, but she holds out her hand, and although it is dainty and thin, he can’t move. He is frozen on his feet. Lady Em stands between us. She looks at me and smiles. Her eyes trail down to the bracelet on my wrist.
“You’re a lifeblood,” she says evenly. “Pretty, no doubt. But how did you manage to make an immortal fall for you?” She casts a glance back toward her victim, my boyfriend, who she’s still holding paralyzed with her hand. “Especially one so handsome as this one?”
I don’t reply. I stand straight, and try to be strong.
Her eyebrow quirks. “You knew he was immortal.” It’s not a question, so I don’t bother answering it. She steps closer to me, so close I can see the sparkles in each of the twelve immortality stones on her necklace. “What makes you so special?” she wonders aloud. “There is something in you.” She glances back toward Theo and says, “You were absolutely right to choose her. She’s special.”
Theo drags in a ragged breath, which seems to surprise Lady Em. “What are you?” he says. It sounds like his vocal cords are about to burst, but he forces the words out. “Who are you?”
Lady Em gives him a scrutinizing glare. “I would love to answer that question if you weren’t a filthy spy.”
She flicks her other hand and Alexo is pulled from the floor. With another twist of her wrist, he is upright, standing on his feet again. He seems dazed for a few seconds but then fear flashes across his features. “I trust you with everything,” she tells him, “And I come here and find you have an Embrook spy living in my mansion. Do you want to die now, or after I’ve finished killing these two?”
“My lady,” Alexo says, his eyes filling with tears. “My lady, I never meant to harm you. I will make this right.”
“No, I will make this right.” She uses her powers to slam him against the wall again. He droops to the floor, his eyes fluttering open and closed. Satisfied with her treatment of her former clan leader, she looks back at me and then turns to Theo.
“What was your name? Theo?”
He doesn’t say anything. She lowers her hand and his body softens as he regains control of it. He looks at me and there’s a pain in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. I feel it too, I want to tell him. We are totally screwed. Instead, I stand strong for him. I won’t show weakness. I won’t make him feel guilty for my own fate.
“Theo,” Lady Em says again.
“As in Theodore Price.”
He flinches. Lady Em laughs softly. “It is you. What a pleasure,” she says, a coy smile playing on her lips. “You’re even more handsome than the rumors say.”
“Leave,” Theo says, his voice hoarse. “Go now, or I’ll kill you.”
“Oh I’d love to see you try,” she purrs. “You could wrap those hands around my neck anytime.” She winks at him, then runs her fingers across her chest, where the massive necklace stretches from shoulder to shoulder. “Powerful as you are, Theodore Price, you only have one stone. I have a dozen. Now here’s what we’re going to do. You will bring me to the leader of the Embrook clan and I will spare your life. Do it without any attitude or objections, and I’ll spare your girlfriend’s life as well.”
Theo doesn’t hesitate to say, “No.”
“No?” Lady Em pouts. “Aw, that’s not the answer I want, sweetheart. Do my powers betray me, or do you actually love this girl? You might want to think twice about having to watch her die.”
“You will not hurt her,” Theo says. His hand clenches into a fist at his side and he glances at me for just a second. “You will leave, now.”
“Why would I do that?” She lifts her chin a little bit and seems genuinely curious about how Theo can be so bold in the face of such a strong opponent. I want to think that he can move mountains and save us from any situation, but she was right. He has only one stone, and apparently, all of hers are strong enough to give her telekinetic powers.
Theo’s stern expression morphs into a cocky smile. “You will leave now. Because if not, I will recite the keímeno.”
Lady Em’s eyes flash with fear. “There is not a soul on this planet who knows the keímeno.”
Theo shrugs one shoulder. “Probably because I lost my soul when I became immortal.”
A muscle in her jaw twitches. “You’re lying.”
“I will enjoy seeing the look in your eyes when I kill you with the most powerful immortality spell there is.” He cracks his knuckles like he’s getting ready to do it. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but it seems to scare Lady Em enough to take a step backward. She’s considering it.