Page 42 of The Serpent's Bride
It was clearly meant as a joke, but Nadi had no doubt in her mind that he was also incredibly serious.
“We shall see.” Raziel’s reply was curt. Cold. “Your mission has been accomplished, brother, nowgo away.”
“All right, all right.” Mael put up his hands in a show of harmlessness and took a step back. “Have a wonderful night. And congratulations to you both again.”
Nadi waited for Mael to walk away before turning to Raziel with a sweet and innocent smile. “He seems nice.”
By all the gods, the look of sheermiseryon his face was like sprinkles on an enormous ice cream sundae. It was the best wedding gift she could ask for. Tilting her head to the side slightly, she regarded him with more false innocence. “What’s wrong?”
He shut his eyes, and she imagined him counting to ten to calm his nerves. When he finally reopened his eyes, he sighed in defeat. “He is simply my older brother.”
“I know what it’s like. Mine ribs me all the time.” She had at least been smart enough to look up how many relatives Monica had before she decided to go into this insanity. “It’s clear he loves you, though.”
“In a fashion that only brothers can, yes.”
“Can I ask…have you made your decision yet? Whether or not you plan on…” She trailed off. Monica wouldn’t want to put it into words.Whether or not you plan on murdering me or turning me into a vampire like you?
Raziel picked up his wine glass—he was drinking blood, not champagne, lucky bastard—and downed the liquid in one go.“Come.” He held his hand out to her. “Let’s get this idiotic stage production of ours over with. I hunger for what will happen once the curtains close.”
Weirdly, she didn’t disagree with him.
Placing her hand in his, she let him lead her to the dance floor. The musicians, who had been playing inoffensive music throughout the meal, wound down their piece and prepared to play the accompaniment to what she assumed would be their first dance.
The chatter and clamor of the crowd went silent.
Raziel placed one hand on her side. She placed hers against his chest by his shoulder.
“Do you know the waltz?” His smile was clearly fake. “Or can you only line dance?”
She didn’t let her own false smile break. “Do you know how to lead, or should I?”
His laugh was genuine, if edged in darkness. His voice was quiet and low. “You will see soon enough precisely how well I lead a dance…”
The obvious innuendo twisted the knot in her stomach that was already threatening to make her nauseous. Or maybe that was the champagne. “I?—”
She never got to finish her return jab.
Something clattered across the floor with atink, tink, tink.It spun idly where it came to a stop, some five feet away.
The knot in her stomach instantly switched to terror. Raziel grabbed her arm. They were suddenly moving.
The explosion of the grenade echoed in her ears. Everything went white.
Then dark.
TWELVE
The ringing in Raziel’s ears deafened all other noise.
There hadn’t been much time to react to the grenade. He barely had a second to process before he had grabbed Monica by the upper arm and half flown, half run with her toward safety.
The heat at his back and the sudden percussion had sent him tumbling and crashing through a table and into a pack of panicking guests. It took him a few precious seconds to recover. Bullets were already flying—volleys both toward him and return fire from his guards and those of his guests who had been packing.
He suddenly regretted not carrying his own gun.
It looks so tacky under the suit,his mother had scolded him.No one would dare come for you at your own wedding! Besides…vampires have their own methods of defense, should someone be so foolish.
Yes, if he lived through this, he would enjoy wielding this moment against Volencia in the future. He loved his mother dearly, but all was fair in love and politics. He bared his fangs and readied himself to shred his nails through the flesh of anyone who got in his way.
