“What are we going to do?” a female with a high-pitched voice whispered.
“Do?” a male scoffed. “We are going to wait for our next orders, Florence. We can’t just go charging into the castle without the exact knowledge of where she is. Taking her requires careful planning.”
Shivers ran down my spine. Were they talking about me? I inched up a step when the female, presumably Florence, made a sound of disgust.
“We have been in a gods-damned tomb for over a century, Philips. You want me to wait some more?” she whined. “I want my revenge.”
A third voice spoke and their voice rang with authority. “This is not a matter of wanting, Florence. Things like this take time. They must be done properly. You knowhewants her alive.”
Florence scoffed. “Vincalo didn’t wait.”
The first male snarled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up at the vicious sound. “Vincalo was an idiot, and because of him…“
His voice trailed off, but I had heard enough. This was a bad idea. In fact, this might have been the worst idea I had ever had in my entire life.
What was I thinking? These were dangerous vampires. I didn’t have any defense against them. What was my brick going to do against immortal creatures of the moon? If Sebastian was right and they killed Julieta, they were far more unhinged than I had ever accounted for.
Visions of Julieta’s torn wings flashed through my mind and my legs wobbled. I slipped, slamming into the wall as I fought to regain my footing. The sound seemed to reverberate through the space, and my heart pounded as fear ran through me like a river.
The vampires stopped talking mid-sentence.
“What was that?” Florence asked.
I barely contained the whimper that threatened to come out of me. Lifting my foot, I felt for the stair behind me and started to inch upwards.
“Quiet,” one of the males hissed.
My lungs tightened.
Mistake. This was such a big mistake.
A rough hand wrapped around my mouth. My eyes widened and a silent scream rose in my throat as visions of my death flashed before my eyes.
They found me. They were going to kill me. This was it. I was done for.
“I thought I told you to stay put.” The words were little more than a growl against my ear, but they were the best sounds I had ever heard in my entire life.
A sob ripped through me, muffled by Sebastian’s gloved hand around my mouth, and I sagged against my vampire prince.
His hand remained around my mouth, his other arm wrapping around my stomach as his shadows enveloped us both.
He hissed, “We have a lot to talk about, Luna.”
All I could do was nod. Those vampires were responsible for killing Julieta, and I nearly got myself murdered.
The moment Sebastian’s shadows brought us back to our small room, the prince placed me on the bed. As soon as my bottom was on the mattress, he turned around. His back was rigid and his fists were clenched at his sides as he stomped to the other side of the room.
His hands landed on either side of the door, and the wood cracked beneath his white-knuckled grip. His shirt was tight, outlining the rigid form of his muscles as his shadows rippled around him. The air between us was thick, and anger filled the room.
Now, the ticking of the clock was mocking me for an entirely different reason. Why had I thought I could be helpful? Here in Eleyta, I was nothing. No one. I couldn’t even find aplant.Why did I think I could help Sebastian?
My brick went tumbling to the ground with a clatter.
When the vampire prince finally spoke, his voice was low and controlled, as though he was trying not to lose his temper. “What were you thinking?”
“I—”
“One thing, Luna,” he growled. “I told you to do one thing. Stay out of sight. That was all.” The wood splintered. “They could have killed you.”