Page 182 of The Vampire's Bride

CHAPTER 78

VALARIC

“Val, wake up,” Eben’s voice startles me back into awareness.

I feel like I’ve just fallen asleep. “What is it?” I ask groggily. “And what time is it? Is it night already?”

“Juliet’s gone.”

“Gone?” I jerk up to sitting, instantly awake. “What do you mean?”

“She left the manor about an hour ago, in a hired carriage. I followed it to the edge of the city.”

“Where was she going?”

“I don’t know.” He frowns. “But judging by the two trunks she had tied on the back, it doesn’t seem like she’ll be returning anytime soon. I couldn’t follow them anymore. I had to come back for you. If we leave now we can track her scent, but we must hurry.”

I stand from the bed and hastily get dressed while Eben throws the rest of my belongings in my trunk.

“I already paid the inn, and the carriage is fully covered to protect you from the sun,” he says, slamming the trunk closed. “I’ll take this out and then come back for you. You can hide beneath your cloak and I’ll lead you outside.”

While I wait for his return, I pace back and forth in the room. We’re in Aralon. It’s not known for being friendly to Vampires. As it is, we were fortunate to even find an inn with underground chambers.

It’s too much of a risk to leave out the front door. All it takes is one person with a grudge to whip up a mob into a frenzy to do harm to the carriage if they suspect a Vampire is inside.

“You ready?” Eben asks as he rushes back into the room.

“I think it would be best to not draw any attention. Can you pull the carriage around the back? I can leave through the worker’s entrance.”

He dips his chin. “All right. I’ll meet you there.”

As soon as he’s gone, I slip out into the hallway. Pulling the hood of my cloak over my head, I do my best to shield my face. When I reach the top of the stairs, I listen for any sounds on the other side, but hear nothing. Carefully, I push open the door.

A sharp hiss escapes me as bright light assaults my vision. Gritting my fangs, I lower my head and quickly make my way toward the back of the inn. I’m almost to the exit when a man in chef’s hat and apron rushes inside, carrying a tray of meat pies.

He gasps when he sees me, nearly dropping the tray, but I catch it with one hand while I stare deep into his eyes with the other, using my powers of compulsion. “You are safe,” I speak in a low voice. “And you saw nothing alarming.”

“I’m safe,” he repeats. “And I saw nothing alarming.”

“You—”

Eben bursts through the door, interrupting me mid-sentence. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think?” I ask out of the corner of my mouth, unable to hide my irritation.

I turn my attention back to the man. “You will have a wonderful day and remember none of this.”

The man repeats the words and I carefully hand him his tray while he remains frozen in place in a trance-like state.

I turn to Eben. “Quickly, we only have two minutes, maybe less, before he’s alert again.”

Eben looks the man up and down and then arches a brow. “You don’t ever do that to me, do you?”

“It doesn’t work on Wolf-Shifters.”

His mouth drifts open. “Wait a minute. How do you know that? Does that mean you’ve tried?”

Pursing my lips, I give him a pointed look. “We need to leave.”

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