Neither did Brynleigh, but this was the best way to get the information for Ryker.
“I will.” Tugging the sleeves of her cardigan, Brynleigh stepped back. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Chocolate eyes met hers. “I can’t wait.”
Releasing her shadows, she allowed them to embrace her. Even as the apartment slipped away and she stepped into the Void, she held Ryker’s gaze.
The warehouse had undergonea serious transformation since Brynleigh’s last visit. The tables, bar, and stage were gone, as though they’d never existed. Dim lighting had replaced the spotlights. Several large crates were stacked in clusters.
Where too-loud music had once filled the industrial space, now every hushed whisper of feet on the cement floor felt out of place.
If Brynleigh hadn’t seen the fight club or bled on the stage, she never would have believed this was the same place.
And yet, it was.
She’d shadowed to the same alley, walked across the same street, and spoken to the same burly guard at the door. The same wards had tickled her skin as she walked into the space, and now, she occupied a seat in the last of four rows of metal folding chairs. Her wings were draped over the back, fanned out behind her.
Crossing her arms, Brynleigh willed her shadows to stop throbbing in her veins. They didn’t like her presence here, but they’d have to deal with it. She wasn’t leaving until she got what she came for.
Instead of focusing on her shadows’ unease, Brynleigh took in the space. All the other seats were occupied except the two on either side of her. She’d probably be insulted if she was in another mood, but as it was, she was grateful she wouldn’t have to make small talk with anyone.
Not that anyonewastalking. Furtive glances and furrowed brows were shot in Brynleigh’s direction, but no one spoke to her or anyone else.
It was gods-damned awkward, and minutes dragged on.
It seemed as though every single species in the Republic of Balance was present tonight, save the merfolk. Several humans sat among shifters, werewolves, fae, elves, and witches. There were even a few other vampires, although Brynleigh didn’t recognize them.
That wasn’t entirely surprising. She had spent the past six years preparing for her revenge, so she hadn’t spent much time in the vampiric community. Maybe once this was over, she could find some vampires to befriend. Ones that weren’t insanely cruel, lying bitches like her Maker.
But one problem at a time.
First things first: staying under the radar in this meeting, getting information for Ryker, and then getting out of here in one piece.
Then, once this was over, she’d figure out the rest of her life.
Brynleigh wanted to mend things with Hallie, but no matter how many times she typed out an apology text, none of them seemed right. How did one ask for forgiveness for missing the most important day of someone’s life? She couldn’t seem to find the right words.
Footsteps echoed through the space, drawing Brynleigh out of her thoughts. She looked up, her eyes landing on two figures approaching the gathered group.
Those seemingly ever-present knots in Brynleigh’s stomach tightened to the point of pain.
Jelisette strode beside Dimitri, the pair deep in conversation. The werewolf was handsome in his own way, but there was a definite mortality to his beauty.
A scar ran down his cheek that Brynleigh had been too distracted to notice the last time they met, and his face was covered in freckles. His forehead was wrinkled, and his nose was a little too crooked. He was still conventionally attractive, though. Beautiful in a way that most Mature creatures were.
But next to Jelisette, the Alpha looked average. Normal. Not quite… right.
Jelisette’s deadly, too-beautiful-to-be-real appearance had always amazed Brynleigh. Darkness surrounded the older vampire. She had an aura of harshness, death, and danger. Yet, when one looked upon the vampire with her chestnut hair, smooth features, and black eyes, one couldn’t help but be awed by her violent grace. The older vampire had seen over nine centuries, but she appeared no older than three human decades.
Except for her eyes.
Those eyes had been the first thing Brynleigh saw when she woke after the storm; sometimes, she still had nightmares about them.
Now, Jelisette’s dark, lifeless orbs drilled into Brynleigh. Shivers crawled down the younger vampire’s spine, and she shifted in her metal seat.
As much as Brynleigh thought she’d won some kind of favor in fighting and besting the Crimson Shade, she would never forget the sting of her Maker’s betrayal. It was a sharp, endless burn in her heart that would keep her warm on the coldest of days.
She would never forget that it was Jelisette who’d sent her to kill Ryker even though River had been the one to destroy Chavin, just like she would never forget that Zanri had come to kill Ryker on Jelisette’s command.