Page 10 of Fated In Blood

Given my previous training, it would be child’s play to scale the steep cliff rising above me, climb over the ten-foot stone wall, and drop into the wide, sloped front yard unseen.

But tonight was not about stealth.

Tonight was about making the monsters who’d taken my sister wish they’d never fucking met me.

I set the car key on my right front tire, then hiked barefoot to the park entrance, waiting until the beams of a car rounded the corner, slipping on my delicate, strappy sandals.

My Uber was right on time, stopping in front of the park’s welcome sign, and I slid into the backseat, my grizzled driver barely paying attention to my directions until we reached the line of cars inching through the castle gates. “What the…” The driver whipped around. “No way I’m going in there.” His hands clenched the steering wheel tight enough his palms squeaked against the leather.

“Keep your Uber light on. You’re going through those gates.”

“Fuck that. I’ve heard about this place.” His eyes shifted to mine in the rearview, sweat shining on his brow as he turned the wheel to the right, inching out of line. “I’ll drop you off for free, miss, but that’s the best I can do.” Up close, the gates were a tangled nest of wrought iron, the nameDarkmorewoven into the top of the ornamental arch.

“Get me through the gates and I’ll make it worth your while.” I held out three hundred-dollar bills and he snatched them outof my hand, muttering a curse. “Take me all the way to the front doors and you get another three hundred.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, trapped in this tiny car, rolling into enemy territory. This was the most unpredictable part of my plan—getting inside those gates—the step I had no control over. Once these vampires smelled me…they’d either welcome me with open arms or hunt me down like prey.

“Prove you have the money.” The driver wiped his face on his sleeve. I sighed, fanned out three more hundreds, and held them up. He went to grab them, but I pulled them away.

“Front doors, then the money is yours.”

We crept back into line, suddenly caught in a gridlock between obscenely expensive vehicles. These rich assholes couldn’t stop showing off, with their prissy old-fashioned manners and high-end imported cars, and…I dipped my head to watch the castle come into view as we inched beneath the iron gates.

The fortress was constructed from darkness itself, the highest turrets blending into the midnight sky flecked with a handful of stars. Torches burned along the front, bands of golden light slipping out from the arched windows, moonrise still an hour away.

According to my sources, that’s when the screaming would start.

Providing the perfect cover to get Angelique out.

“You’re going to get me killed.” My driver’s tone was just this side of hysterical. “Why the fuck”—his eyes scanned me via the mirror—“would you want to be anywhere near this place?” He anxiously adjusted the heat. Up. Down. Up. “They sayvampireslive here. People who go through those gates…never come back out.”

“They, who? Don’t you think if vampires did exist, they’d be inconspicuous? I highly doubt they’d live in Hotel Transylvania,up on a hill for everyone to see,” I told him breezily. “Keep your foot on the gas and let me do the talking.” I rolled my window down and damp spring air floated in, thick with exhaust fumes and smelling of a coming storm.

“Six hundred bucks isn’t worth this bullshit,” he muttered, but we were both committed now, trapped in a river of vehicles flowing steadily toward the castle, both sides of the drive lined with men—vampires—inspecting every car.

I shifted closer to the open window, praying my scent would work its magic.

A big, burly male stepped in front of us and my driver tromped on the brake so hard I lurched forward, squinting into the blinding beam of a flashlight. “Name?”

“Ophelia.” I gave him a wavering smile and fussed with my hair like I gave an actual shit what I looked like. “I was…invited.”

Someone rapped on the other window. “Fuck.” The hyperventilating driver lowered his head and the car lurched forward, almost taking out one of the guards. “Fuck, I need to get out of here.” He was on the verge of a breakdown, the sour smell of adrenaline and sweat choking the small vehicle.

“Roll all the windows down before this gets messy,” I hissed, wishing I wasn’t blinded and could read their expressions, not that it would do me a lot of good since vampires perfected the concept of poker face.

“Invited by whom?” The guard’s nostrils flared, eyes dilating when he caught my scent.

I gave him my best flirty smile. “I only know their first names. Spencer and Ambrose. They came into a club where I work, Valentine’s, and invited me to a party tonight.”

“Whendid they invite you?” I wasn’t even a vampire, and I sensed the tension shift in the air. I had to play this carefully, or I wouldn’t make it past this point, and neither would my driver.

“God, let’s see…about a month ago? Told me to mark today on my calendar, said it’s the Crow Moon…the Worm Moon…some kind of moon.” I sighed and leaned closer to the rolled down window. “Look, all I know is there issupposedto be a party.” I stuck out my bottom lip.

I’d been blessed with a face that appeared far younger than my actual age, with plump cheeks and wide blue-gray eyes, and a dusting of freckles on my pale skin. With nothing but lip gloss, I didn’t look a day over seventeen. A young, spoiled brat, out to cause trouble, and I played up my innocence with everything I had.

“I like parties and they said there would be booze.” I fussed with my hair again, then looked quickly away. “And…otherthings.”

Two more guards appeared, hemming us in. I’d expected the line of questioning, expected the high security, not to be trapped in this line of cars.

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