All that kept me focused was the fact my friends were as speechless as I was. We were in this together, standing rigid, our breaths coming in pants as blood spattered and people were gutted. Swallowing hard, I tried to keep from puking, the scene a hundred times more brutal than the attack on the beach we had endured.
Antonio repeated, “Remember, none of this is real. If you falter, you fail, and I will make you hold this dome for three days straight. You stop for anything, and you fail. Understand?”
The four of us quickly nodded, and I tried not to flinch, hearing a man scream for mercy before his shout sputtered to a gurgle. We began moving toward the back of the property as he had ordered with spelled chaos surrounding us. As we moved, the brutality only became worse.
It was appalling. My heart broke for Antonio, even though I now thought him even more sadistic than any of the Kings, because he had experienced this. The war. Been out there in it. I couldn’t even imagine the reality of his life’s existence.
I was physically shaking. My hand squeezed Jack’s shoulder, probably too hard, but he didn’t complain, continuing to move us forward and lead us through the trek. We finally made it to the back edge of the property where it veered off in several directions, and I prayed Antonio wouldn’t make us keep going. All four of us wore the same expression.
Wide-eyed and disturbed.
Antonio merely nodded approvingly. “Good.” His eyes quit glowing, and thank the heavens, the scene outside the dome disappeared. “Now, head back, and then walk here again. We’ll do this until school is out. Continue moving. Never stop. Never waver. Stay focused.”
School wasn’t out for another three hours.
I bit my lip, glancing back and forth between Ezra and Pearl. That was a long damn time. At least there were no bloody slaying and screeching cries outside the dome.
We didn’t argue. We did as told.
“You’re done for the day,” King Fergus said absently, wiping sweat off his forehead as we finished putting the pond back in its proper place. He waved a hand. “Go relax together.” Another absent wave as he started moving toward their lawn chairs.
We blinked after him, wiping our own brows and panting from exertion. We were exhausted and still a tad uneasy from that gruesome show, but King Fergus telling us to go off together? That was even more peculiar.
“What about the gremlins?” Pearl asked, referring to our babysitting duties.
I only just refrained from slapping her over the head.
King Nelson was staring up at the sky, eyes glowing, and he murmured softly, “No more babysitting duties. Just go rest.”
We stood there stunned for, oh, maybe, half a heartbeat before we turned and tore away from them. We most certainly weren’t going to give him a chance to take that back. Tired, or not, our feet were moving.
King Kincaid hollered, “Don’t you dare do anything stupid!”
We nodded, still hurrying away.
“And you’re all sleeping at my house tonight, so make sure you have a bag packed!” King Venclaire shouted. “In fact, just go to my house right now and stay there.” A pause. “And try to not break anything.”
We did stop at his pronouncement. That was news to us. Sanity quickly returned, and we were hurrying off again. Surprised, or not, none of us wanted them to go back on having no brat duty.
“So,” Gideon scanned the area around him, “where’s King Venclaire’s real lair?”
I knew I wasn’t the only one who thought that.
We were sitting in the formal living room of King Venclaire’s house and, again, it was just too wrong for him compared to what I knew Vampires enjoyed.
“I’d tell you,” Ezra took a swig of his beer, “but then King Venclaire would kill me.”
There were no guards inside the mansion right now, so we were free to be ourselves.
Ezra was sitting on the corner of the couch with his back to the arm, one leg on the floor, and the other against the back of the couch while I lay between his legs with my back against his chest. My legs were stretched straight in front of me, my feet on Pearl’s lap. She was painting my toenails black with gold sparkles while Gideon sat on the floor below her, massaging her sore feet, since she had been wearing new shoes during those hours of walking, breaking them in, and it had been a mini-torture of its own kind. She had not complained once until we were in the Hummer, driving away from King Hall. Jack sat on a recliner with Nikki curled on his lap, both taking a small nap, damn cute all snuggled together.
I tilted my head, looking up at Ezra. “Seriously. The first time I was in here, I knew this room wasn’t right. What gives?”
His lips twitched. “I really can’t tell you. He would be pissed.”
Absently, Pearl waved the brush in the air, indicating the room at large, and cocked her head as she examined my toenail she had just painted. “It doesn’t feel right in here.”