Page 65 of Tainted Blood

With confidence, I knew I was just as much a hunter as the rest of them. Isaiah had given me the means to catch my prey, both humanandvampire.

I’m going to make them pay, Alexius. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to make them hurt for this.

29

Minutes turned into hours. I watched the vampires socialize, mingling and loafing around on new couches in the somewhat repaired lounge. They wandered the halls, talking together, as if they just wanted to stretch their legs. I watched as their impatience grew because they were locked in the building and the fun was over, thanks to Samas’ transformation and attack.

As I watched, I thought about Alexius. I couldn’t bring myself to leave my post to go see him, but I wanted to. He was really the only person I had left in my life who I trusted with everything, or as much as I could. He wasn’t perfect—full of self-loathing, always finding some reason to hate himself. Even when he wouldn’t admit it, I could see it on his face.

But he was good enough. He was more than good enough. I respected him. He was sweet with his staff, letting Rupert make jokes and have fun with him. He was willing to watch Dracula movies and shows with me even though he hated them, our own little running joke he indulged. He cared about the happiness of everyone he lived with. He believed in them and was never hard on them if something didn’t get done when he wanted it. He trusted them.

He believed in me, even when I had difficulty believing in myself. He trusted me even when I didn’t think I could trust myself.

He had my back.

And they had nearly killed him.

They’re going to pay for that.

I hoped I was good enough to have his back.

It was close to midnight when things changed. I knew Isaiah wasn’t just sitting in his office outside the door. He was talking to people, trying to ease their worries or just keep some normalcy. As midnight drew closer, tempers began to flair, some frustrated with being locked in the building. I had to rely on what I understood of body language, but many of them were wearing their emotions on their sleeves as they vented. Lyra screamed in Isaiah’s face until Galla put herself in the way. Isaiah didn’t show any reaction. Others started yelling. and soon, it was a massive argument.

Well, if there’s a time for someone to make their move, now would be it while they’re all distracted.

Some vampires, looking fed up, stormed out, either heading back to their suites or up to the main floor of the mansion. I noted each. Solon went upstairs, along with Dago and Tareq, though they weren’t together. Tareq reached the main floor and started pacing, running his hands through his hair. With Jamal dead, I had a feeling he was mostly worried about his new responsibilities in Rabat. Dago was similar, stomping around, pissed off. Solon waved down a member of the human staff, his expression tired. They took him to a sitting room, where my line of sight ended.

Idir was the only vampire who went directly to his suite, having left the lounge the moment the arguing began as if he didn’t have the energy for it. Maxwell went back to the family wing to see Aelia. He had spent most of the night there so far, only stepping out for five to ten minutes at a time, once an hour, to stretch his legs.

Looking back at those who had gone upstairs, I wondered why they had done that. Tareq was still pacing, but now he was on his phone. He didn’t seem to try to hide what he was talking about as human staff had to weave around him. Dago still looked angry, but after only a few minutes, he was already heading back downstairs to join the argument again. He and Sucaria were figuratively at each other’s throats. By the time they were back at it, Marcus was in the lounge as well, hopefully backing up Isaiah.

I looked at the camera that pointed to the sitting room Solon went into. Ihatednot seeing into that room. I saw humans come and go from outside, knowing they couldn’t be restricted the way the vampires were. They had jobs to do.

But it made me think of something, the flaw of this setup.

“Did they bring other human staff?” I asked myself, thinking about the Athenians. They had to have. I was certain I’d heard it mentioned.

Twenty minutes later, I watched a human woman walk into the building, and, heading straight for it, she entered the sitting room where Solon was.

I waited and waited, one minute, five minutes, then ten minutes.

I need to know. I need to know what’s happening in that room. That’s the flaw. If they have anyone else working for them with the ability to move around, they don’t need to use the human they had sneaking around. If the bomb went off, then the human and their employer would know that their secretive helper was found out. They would stop relying on him. Isaiah wouldn’t have missed that, right?

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, considering texting Isaiah, but held off for the moment. Just the moment. It wasn’t smart. I knew with certainty that it wasn’t smart, but I was angry, and I had just spent hours waiting for the evidence I needed to get the people I was angry with.

I can’t raise the alarm unless I know something is going on.

Peeking into the office and seeing no one, as I expected, I went into the hallway, checking to see if anyone was around before darting for the staff hall, using it to avoid the vampires. It was just wide enough for two people to walk beside each other. I started running, hoping I didn’t run into any human staff members who would report that I, the youngest vampire in the building, was in a prohibited area. Isaiah would lose his patience with me, and it would distract from the bigger issues.

Once I was safely upstairs, I texted Isaiah, giving him a simple update that Solon was meeting with one of his humans in a sitting room on the main floor, but not the one we were looking for. It would be enough. If this was nothing, I could run back to the library and keep tracking. I’d just have to hope I didn’t miss a sighting of the human we were supposed to be looking for.

With years of experience, I moved through the halls of the mansion, staying out of the way of everyone else. I never liked bumping into people in the halls at work and actively avoided it. I liked the crew I had worked with and a few others, but I barely knew most of them outside of nest-hosted parties my mom had demanded I attend, normally around the holidays.

I was rounding a corner toward the sitting room, the hall clear, when I saw the human woman leaving the sitting room, her face flushed as she scampered down the hall toward one of the staff doors, only to find it locked.

Damn it. I stumbled on a tryst. This was a waste of time. Fuck.

I had turned to head back when I heard the door to that sitting room open again and looked back to see, curiosity getting the better of me. Solon walked out, adjusting his cuffs like nothing had happened.

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