Page 186 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“That sounds pretty pointless,” she said dryly.

I barked a laugh. “Maybe it is. But it’s something to do, and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands.”

Her eyes went distant, and she fell silent again as though my words had triggered her.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “Sometimes, you don’t realize what you’re searching for until you find it.”

We stared at one another, knowing we were again at the edge of that precipice, so dangerously close to falling into whatever this was between us.

“We should get back to the wedding.” She straightened and took a step toward the door, away from that perilous edge. “I don’t want Thea to worry.”

I followed Lia inside without a word. How long could we keep dancing around this?

We remained silent as we made our way back to the courtyard, but as soon as we stepped out of the Queens’ quarters, Lia paused. “Lysander, there’s something—”

The color drained from her face.

“What is it?” I grabbed her shoulders, feeling a flicker of magic even through my calfskin gloves.

“Something’s wrong,” she moaned. She lifted wide eyes to mine. “We need to find Thea. Now.”

We didn’t waste any time as we cut through the corridors that led to the public grounds of the court. But with each step I took, I began to feel it, too. It began like a trickle of dread that quickly morphed into a low, persistent queasiness.

Before we reached the courtyard, a female stumbled inside, panic-stricken. She took one look at me and lunged in our direction. Out of nowhere, Lia produced a knife.

“You’re Julian’s brother, right?” the woman said. She didn’t wait for confirmation before she grabbed my arm and tugged me ahead.

I didn’t budge. “And who are you?”

“Quinn. I’m a friend of Thea’s.” She kept pulling on me. “Something’s wrong. Come on.”

Lia and I exchanged a glance as we followed her.

“Where were you hiding that?” I tipped my head to her knife.

“Not the time,” she snapped.

“I was just wondering if you had another one.” And where the hell she’d been hiding that one, given that her dress left nothing to the imagination.

“What’s going on?” I turned my attention back to Quinn.

But she was shaking too hard to answer me. I moved twice as fast as the others, my dread deepening as I did. Something was very wrong. Each step I took was a struggle, as though some primal instinct wanted me to stop.

But I didn’t stop. I pushed forward. Nothing could prepare me for what I found.

Bodies littered the ground, and for one horrible moment, I thought they were dead. But there was no blood. No signs of violence. I moved to the vampire closest to me and knelt to check for a pulse.

“They’re alive,” Quinn said as she reached me, Lia beside her. “But they’re...”

“Asleep,” I finished for her. Standing, I scanned the room, my eyes pausing as I spotted my parents and my brothers. Jacqueline and Camila. Even Julian.

But not—

“Where’s Thea?” Aurelia asked before I could.

“I don’t see her.” I turned on Quinn. “What the hell happened?”

She hugged herself, still shaking. “There was a toast, and a few minutes later, everyone just passed out. I think it was the champagne.”

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