Page 51 of Club Blood

I approached the present, just larger than a closed fist, bound in black velvet wrapping and tied with a perfect purple ribbon.

“It doesn’t seem like something you’d just keep lying around,” Cecelia said, an attempt to clear the tension in the air. I let out an awkward laugh in return.

“Surely not.”

“Warren?”

“Warren is a far better receiver than a giver,” I said mournfully.

Saying nothing else I placed longer slender fingers under the bow to undo the ribbon. The silk fell around the package. I took a large deep breath, steadying both hands atop the box before pulling off its cover.

Inside was no explosive, nothing that could harm myself or Cece. Something gurgled at the pit of my stomach anyway, and I almost heaved in disgust. Sitting perfectly in the center was an old rotted heart, no longer the bright vibrant color of one in a living being. This one was wrinkled and purpled, and it reeked like something that had been dead for a week.

Careful to shield the organ from Cece, who stayed silent back at the door, I pulled it out, watching as it near crumbled in my palms from the touch. Someone went through a delicate process, dramatically presenting it to us in this way. It was a warning, and I knew the heart, even if I didn’t directly know its owner. It had to have been the heart of the girl that Wade killed. And in guessing,knowingits origins, I knew the source of its gifter. It was the only reasonable explanation for everything.

This was Narcissa’s doing.

Narcissa, who had been the one to dispose of Nathaniel’s body, who’d known where to find Wade and the girl he’d dumped. Narcissa, who Warren caught deceiving me, serving me on a platter to the most powerful vampire in the states. A vampire who also wanted me dead.

“You know how to pick them, Mercy.”

I turned around, hand poised to strike again, before settling at the comforting image of Warren walking through the dark hallway.

“You know better than to sneak up on a vampire,” I chastised, setting the heart next to the box and pulling out the small note I hadn’t realized was on the bottom. My nostrils twitched at the old tang.

“You know better than to let yourself get snuck up on,” he retorted. His presence grounded me, and though I never would have said it out loud, we both knew that Warren was right. I let my guard down, and if it had been someone more dangerous than him, Cece and I would have been dead. I glanced towards her, noticing she had wrapped her arms around herself in sad protection. Warren caught my gaze and stared into my eyes knowingly.

“You are smarter than that, even despite my insults, Mercy.”

I snarled at him, but the aggression wasn’t genuine. Unfolding the paper in my hands I read aloud Narcissa’s scratched words.

I can’t wait until you feel the loss of your human whore and your defector heir. Your death will taste so sweet. The end of your reign is upon you, princess.

“Fuck if she has a flare for the dramatics. Who knew your cunt was that good, Merc,”

I tossed the letter to the ground, stepping onto it as I closed in on Cece. I had every desire to wrap her up and never let her go. I meant what I said, she was powerful in her own right, but she could not be left unguarded, or unprotected. Not with Narcissa running around.

“How is the rest of the estate?” I said, looking towards my new Second. He cleared his throat.

“Cleared. The only other intruder I didn’t recognize was a vampire with severed limbs scattered about. Your doing, I assume?”

I nodded, my gaze entirely on the human girl in front of me. I honed in on the wound that she still held up to her chest. The gauze had soaked through from her excessive use of it.

“Good.” His smile was predatory, “I wished I’d have been there to see it.”

“You’ll have some fun of your own,” I promised, “The vampire who’d attacked Cece?”

Warren’s rage flared to life at the mention of the brute who’d gone after our pet. He nodded fiercely, “Locked down in the cells. I figured you’d want your hand at him.”

While the offer was tempting, I resisted and shook my head. “Myneedhad its fill tonight. Consider it a gift.”

Warren buzzed joyously. I turned and watched as his eyes dilated, how his fingers tingled with fresh new desire. My focus returned to Cece. I placed my hand on her shoulder, pushing her towards my room.

“Let’s get that wound taken care of,” I said quietly. I trusted Warren not to harm her, but as theneedtook shape in his body, I had no desire to test his restraint.

Hearing nothing but the now distant clacks of Warren’s shoes as he paced down towards our prison cells, we kept to the walls of my estate in the opposite direction.

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