Page 28 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

CHAPTER EIGHT

JACQUELINE

I’d been gone for a few hours, and all hell had broken loose. So, what was new?

“You going to drink that?” Sebastian asked me, nudging me in the shoulder.

I looked down at my glass of Scotch. I had no idea how long I’d been sitting here, clutching it as its wood-smoked scent unfurled in my nostrils. Glancing up, I realized daylight streaked through the windows.

I stood and shoved the glass toward him. “It’s all yours.”

“Not into day drinking?” He downed it in one swift swallow.

I didn’t bother to tell him that I’d been sitting here all night. We’d gotten back to court hours ago empty-handed. Camila had invited me to her room to talk, and before I could decide if that was a bad idea or a very bad idea, Lysander had broken the news about Thea and Julian.

Dead. Resurrected. Crowned.

I had no clue where Camila had gone or when she had left. I’d just sat here, numb from shock, waiting for morning to go and see proof that they were both breathing for myself.

“I need to find Julian,” I mumbled.

“Yeah.” He nodded, no sign of the usual smirk he wore. “Last night was...” Instead of finishing the thought, he reached for the bottle. I couldn’t blame him. He’d witnessed it. At least he’d been there to help. I hated that I’d been off on some fool’s errand—off thinking about Camila while my best friend lay mortally wounded.

“You okay?” I asked, my voice thick.

“I will be.” He took another drink. “It’s just...” Sebastian sighed, blond hair falling into his face as he searched the contents of his cup for what he wanted to say. “They love each other.”

“They’re mates,” I said, shrugging slightly.

He nodded. “I didn’t think that existed. Mates. True love.”

“You’re sounding dangerously sentimental,” I warned him.

“Maybe.” He finished his drink. “I just can’t imagine being loved like that.”

I thought of Camila, of everything we’d gone through and all the ways we’d failed each other. “Neither can I,” I said in a hollow voice. “I better go find him before he gets himself killed again.”

Sebastian smiled at that and raised the bottle. “I’ll drink to that.”

I left him there with the bottle. The court itself was built to be a maze, much like Venice itself. A wise defense strategy, if slightly claustrophobic. Murals depicting the court’s magical history decorated the walls along with unnerving, marble statues stationed like silent guards. With the court in ruins, there were no living sentries in sight. That would have to change if Le Regine returned to their former glory. If Thea…

I knew I was heading in the right direction when I turned and found myself facing a woman in a flowing red cloak. A black, mouthless mask protected her face, and she stood as still as those motionless statues.

Her head turned when I paused to look at her, wary eyes staring out at me.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m looking for Julian. Is he around here?”

She didn’t respond, and I wondered if the mask was more than part of her uniform—if she actually couldn’t speak.

“Never mind.” I started past her. I only made it a step before she was in front of me, sword drawn. I froze hands up in surrender. “Whoa. I’m his best friend. I just want to see if he’s okay.”

Her vigilant gaze watched me for a moment as if measuring me up. She must have decided I wasn’t a threat because she stepped to the side, sword still in hand, and pointed to a door down the hall.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

I’d lived long enough to know a bodyguard when I saw one. I wondered how Thea was going to feel about that.

Or how she was going to feel about any of it.

---