Page 8 of Crimson Bond

“My queen.”

Beside me, Abbi’s heart rate and breathing quickened. She was scared. In spite of my best efforts to contain it, sympathy for her surged in my chest and made me want to step in between the two women.

Imogen stood and dismissed her waiting subjects. No doubt they were disappointed, but no one said a word as the queensguard escorted them from the room.

Two of the guards stayed with Imogen as she approached us. I didn’t like the look on her face. Not sure what I’d expected, but this wasn’t it.

She looked pleased to see Abbi—a little too pleased.

“I knew you’d be back,” Imogen said. “You have a lot of nerve showing your face here again after such betrayal, little one.”

Sensitive to their queen’s tone, the guards flanking her gripped their daggers and prepared to strike at her command. My own hands shook with the effort to keep from reaching for my weapon.

I should never have brought Abbi here. Any moment now Imogen would order one of them—or maybe even me—to execute her. And I’d be faced with an impossible decision—keep my Bloodbound vows and let it happen, or...

“I never meant to betray you. I was simply following my conscience,” Abbi said. Her voice was remarkably composed. “I know you didn’t want me to return, but I didn’t see another choice.”

She continued to calmly explain what had happened to her and her friends, how they were falsely arrested and imprisoned in one of those so-called Safety Centers.

Hmmph. More like concentration camps. We’d heard about some of the things being done to vampires in those places. It was one of the reasons for the increase in our Bloodbound recruiting efforts.

My blood boiled at the thought of Abbi in prison. Imogen didn’t seem surprised though. Had she been aware all along her daughter was incarcerated and had done nothing?

It seemed likely, considering her mocking tone. “Did your dear Sadie do nothing to help free you?”

“I’m sure she would have if she’d known where we were or what had happened to us,” Abbi said. “When we escaped, I was unable to reach her. There was an attack on the Vampire-Human Coalition headquarters. It’s been destroyed.”

What?When hadthathappened?

Was this why Imogen had delayed approving my mission to go to Sadie and convince her to join the vampire resistance?

“I heard about that. Pity,” the queen said.

So it wasn’t a surprise to her, as it was to me. Why hadn’t I been told? Maybe Imogen didn’t consider it need-to-know information for the captain of her personal guard.

Or maybe she’d suspected that if I’d heard about the attack on the VHC headquarters, I’d have left for LA with orwithouther permission.

Seething, I tried to focus on the rest of their conversation. I needed to remain alert to Imogen’s signals, to determine her intentions toward Abbi.

She was asking questions, at least feigning interest in why her daughter had returned. Apparently Abbi and her friends had escaped the Safety Center somehow and several humans had been killed in the process. Now the girls were wanted by federal authorities.

Imogen seemed to find it all very amusing. She smiled. “So... you’ve come back to my court to beg for my protection. Perhaps you have a better understanding now of my feelings toward humans—and my disdain for my sister’s approach to dealing with their species.”

“In spite of what happened to me, I still believe in Sadie’s teachings,” Abbi said. “I still believe in peace.”

Oh no. Wrong answer.

Now my hand did grip my dagger blade, anticipating Imogen’s kill order.

5

Small Alteration

Reece

Grabbing one of her guards’ daggers, Imogen stabbedhimwith it, plunging the blade into his thigh.

“How can you still be so naïve?” she yelled at Abbi. “They locked you up, hunted you—mydaughter. It’s an outrage. There canbeno peace with them.”

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