She couldn’t think about Ty. Wouldn’t think about him, even though she knew he must have lived here at times, walked these halls, spoken to these people. It simply hurt too much. And she sensed that here, tears would not be welcomed.
It would take her time, probably a lot of time, to get past the empty ache she felt in her chest right now. But, she thought miserably, even if he’d stayed with her back at the safe house, she would still be alone right now. At best, he would already have been relegated back to his spot as a servant. And at worst…
No, she wouldn’t think of that. Knowing he was out there somewhere, alive, would have to be enough.
After about ten minutes of pacing the plush rug, there was a sharp rap at the door.
“Coming,” she said, padding over to open it. She knew there were guards posted outside, but at least they’d let her have her privacy in the room. She hadn’t been too sure when she’d caught sight of the very large, very intimidating men who’d accompanied her. But she imagined they wanted her comfortable, wanted her to think they trusted her to a certain extent.
No one had asked after Ty. Not a single question, which Lily found odd. And the one time Lily had mentioned his name, to one of her friendlier guards, the man’s warm honey eyes had flashed with anger.
“You will not speak of him,” he had said.
Lily had had little choice but to nod. She hadn’t felt
ready to tangle with an ancient Egyptian vampire right that second.
Actually, she still didn’t.
In the instant before she opened the door, Lily wondered what she would do if it were Ty on the other side, Ty come to save her, come to confess his love for her, to sweep her away to the life she wanted—a life with him. Her mouth curved bitterly. Pretty dreams. But from here on out, she would have to work on saving herself. That had been her choice, and she would have to live with it.
Lily felt an icy shiver of fear down her spine as she pulled the door open. A man stepped in, eyeing her as though she were a tasty morsel that was about to become dinner. Every single vampire she’d seen had this unnatural beauty, Lily realized. But almost all of them had left her cold. And none kindled in her what Ty had the very first night they’d met.
Damn it.
She needed to move on, focus on the present. Wasn’t that how
he
had lived among these creatures for so long?
“Hi,” she said, hoping she sounded relaxed and friendly. “Come on in.”
He was beautiful, golden-haired and flawless, with a face that would have made any Renaissance sculptor weep with joy. His hair was clipped short, but stylishly so, and he wore all black: dress slacks, fitted shirt, everything perfectly tailored. Lily was no expert, but she knew that the shoes he was wearing probably cost more than her monthly mortgage payment.
The hair at the back of her neck prickled. Her mark, which had been tingling ever since she’d set foot in the compound, began to burn. She didn’t like him on sight.
“Lily,” he said with a cold smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. I must say, I hope at least a little of it’s true. Actually, you should hope so too.”
He paused, and seemed to be waiting for a reaction from her. Since all Lily wanted to do was run and lock herself in the closet until he went away, she didn’t say anything. The longer he stood there, the more agitated she felt. He gave a whole new meaning to the expression “bad vibes.”
Looking slightly annoyed that he hadn’t gotten a rise out of her, the vampire continued. “It seems we’ll have a long night ahead of us. The queen would like to see you now.”
Lily’s eyes widened, even though she’d promised herself she wouldn’t show any emotion here. “She… right now?”
The visitor’s long, greenish eyes narrowed speculatively. “Yes. You announced to my men that you are Lily Quinn, the Seer, yes? Was that incorrect?”
“No, of course not. That’s my name. I am what I said.” Anger began to bubble beneath her fear. She didn’t like being condescended to, and that was how this felt.
“Well, then, this shouldn’t be too taxing for you. Unless you’re hiding something you don’t want anyone else to know about.” He chuckled, a harsh sound. “But you wouldn’t be so stupid, I’m sure. Even though you
are
a human.”
Her skin crawled. All she could think of was the mark on her skin, and at her thought, she felt it go from burning to pulsing, like a second heart.
Uh-oh… that’s new.
And yet somehow, it was oddly comforting.
“No, I’m not stupid,” Lily said flatly.
He merely lifted a golden brow. “Arsinöe is under
standably anxious, little Seer. Over two hundred of our blood have been slain now. More will undoubtedly die if we wait. She is convinced you hold the key.” His expression indicated he thought otherwise.
“Come with me, if you’re ready.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Lily said, hating the ugly smile that flickered across her escort’s face as he offered his arm. Still, she made herself take it. She would behave, Lily decided. She would do what she was supposed to, hoping like hell that she could manage some sort of vision for these people—and that nothing insane happened that caused furniture to fly around. And that hopefully, she could negotiate a deal wherein she stayed alive.
They walked out the door and down the hall, past the doors to Arsinöe’s chamber, and down a beautiful curving set of stairs.
“Remember that you will be in the presence of the queen of the Ptolemy, the last living pharaoh,” her escort said with a hard look at her. “She doesn’t suffer fools well, nor should she have to.”
“In other words, behave myself?” Lily asked. No, she really didn’t like this character.
His mouth thinned. “Yes.”
“I’ll do my best,” she replied as they moved down a long hallway, ending at a set of gleaming double doors. She could hear the murmuring, the rise and fall, of many voices just beyond them. Her escort gave a sharp rap on one of them. The doors were pulled open by a pair of vampires who didn’t look much like the richly dressed Ptolemy she’d encountered thus far. They wore severe black. One had sandy hair, one brown. Both were thin to the point of being borderline gaunt, and there was a feral
gleam in their reddish eyes that Lily recognized all too well.
She couldn’t see their marks, but she didn’t have to. These were Cait Sith servants. And it looked like they were being deliberately kept hungry. Maybe it made them meaner. They were guards, she supposed. But there was an aura of misery about them that was unmistakable.
“Thank you,” she said to each of them. She saw their surprise.
The man at her elbow hissed. “Honestly, they’re just servants.”
“Come in, Lily Quinn. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Her voice was rich, warm, and welcoming. Still, Lily was on her guard as she stepped into what appeared to be the ballroom.
Hardwood gleamed on the floors. Tall windows billowed with the cool breath of night. A massive chandelier hung overhead, flickering with candles. And all around her, Lily saw the Ptolemy, their eyes alight with interest as she stepped into the room. There was a sea of them, all dressed formally, all wearing at least a splash of crimson. It was their color, Lily guessed. The color of blood. She remembered the vampires in the temple from her vision, and stumbled as she suddenly realized what she had walked into.
The warriors in the temple of the Lilim had worn crimson. It was the Ptolemy who had shed so much innocent blood. Her people’s blood. She was in the middle of the dynasty that had destroyed the Lilim.
Which meant…
“Watch your footing, you clumsy bitch. The queen is watching you!”
Arsinöe stood on a raised platform at the head of the
room. Even knowing about some of the ugliness behind the beauty, even knowing that this was the woman who had effectively ended the dynasty of the Lilim with a single blow, Lily still found herself floored by her first real sight of the vampire queen.
She was, quite simply, breathtaking, clad in a simple strapless gown of pure white, the coils of her ebony hair loose around her shoulders. Her skin was gold-dusted, her shining eyes lined with black. And her mark, the very first of the Ptolemy, was singular, an ankh that glittered black and gold, embellished with intricate whorls that seemed to have been painted with pure light. She lifted her arms toward Lily in greeting, and the bracelets and rings that dripped from her shone.
“Welcome, Seer. Come to me.”
Her voice was warm honey, soothing yet commanding. There was no resisting a voice like this, one that had commanded an army of vampires for longer than any human could remember. Suddenly, Lily understood why there were so many under her sway who would never think to question her power.
In her visions, she had been formidable. But in person, Arsinöe of the Ptolemy was a force of nature. Lily felt a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She’d thought she could bargain with
this
? That she could hold her own here?
In Lily’s mind, Arsinöe brought the blade down, her beautiful face contorted with rage. Lily’s feet suddenly felt leaden, and her heart thudded dully in her chest.
Mother
, she thought, directly addressing for the first time the spirit that haunted her. But all that answered was the barest whisper of a thought inside her head.
Free our blood.
Apparently, the sight of so many Ptolemy gathered in the flesh was too much even for a spirit as fiery as Lilith’s.
That, or it was just time for Lily to make her own stand.
Or, more likely, to take the final fall.
The cats slunk across the grounds of the estate under cover of a moonless night. Ty and Jaden flanked Damien, just to be sure he didn’t vanish when he was needed. Their visit with the leader of the Dracul had given Ty more hope than he’d had in a long time that war could be avoided. Vlad was as wily as Ty had heard, and not an easy man to read. But he was far more sensible than any other highblood he’d ever encountered, with the exception of perhaps Anura.
He glanced across the rolling lawn to where a silvery mist slipped through the encroaching trees. Anura had insisted on coming. There was so much more to her than Ty had known. Lily had sensed it, but she would likely be surprised at the extent of their connection. It was why Anura had run to the Dracul, why it had seemed to her imperative that a man who was a scholar of the lost dynasty understand what was at stake.
Ty understood that now and bore Anura no ill will. It shamed him, that he had been so conditioned to expect betrayal. She would prove important to Lily, if Lily decided to pursue the path that had been imagined by her forebear long ago.
It was time to awaken the Lilim, and in a way that would likely shake the highblood hierarchy to its core. But they had the backing of the Dracul, vibrant and strong. They had Anura. And soon, if they were careful, they would have the Cait Sith who dwelled here.
A soft growl was the only warning that they were about to be attacked. Ty stopped in his tracks, and the other two followed his lead.
“Who goes there?”
It was a voice Ty knew well.
“Duncan. Peace, brother. It’s Ty, and Jaden is with me.”
The voice in his head changed tone immediately.
“Tynan? Hell. Go back, brother. You don’t want to be here. Best to stay gone. And, Jaden, they’ll kill you if you show your face inside. This place is crawling with Ptolemy tonight. They’ve got their Seer, and we all know that means we’ll be fighting a battle for them before long.”
Ty pushed his thoughts back insistently.
“The Seer is my woman, and she’s far more than they’re counting on. But she needs our help. We’re stopping this. And I’m freeing you and the others. Jaden told me about the collars. It’s time to take a stand. This has gone on too long.”
“You’re mad,”
came another inner voice, and a pair of Cait Sith padded out from the long shadows by the trees. One was Duncan, and a younger Cait whom Ty recognized, Jake, was with him.
“We’ll be cut down before we get ten feet into the ballroom,”
Jake continued.
“
Did you not hear how many there are? And even if it were just the usual suspects of the inner court, we’d never manage it. They’d hunt us down like wolves. Free us? To send us to what kind of fate, Ty? There are, what, three of you?”
“Unfortunately,”
Damien thought sullenly at no one in particular, which meant they all picked it up.
“Take me to the others,”
Ty insisted, and gave a low, moaning growl to punctuate it.
“We have reinforcements.
There’ll be no reason to choose between the gutter and the Ptolemy after tonight.”
“Reinforcements?”
Duncan and Jake sent out the thought in almost perfect unison, just in time for a scatter of bats to pass over them all in the darkness, heading for the lights of the manor house. They were invisible against the sky, the only hint of their presence the soft fluttering of many wings.
Duncan’s yellow eyes widened, then shifted to look at the silver mist heading in the same direction.
“Gods above, brother. What have you done?”
“The others,”
Ty insisted, adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins.
“I’ll explain as we go. But we will not be slaves after tonight.”