As soon as Andre stepped inside, the connection between him and Gabrielle flared like a live wire.
“What is this place?” Oliver whispered. “The hall of horrors?”
The smell of decay and dried blood hit his nostrils. It came from all around him. From the leathery map that hung on the wall to the stained furniture. A fire crackled in a nearby hearth, but instead of emitting heat, it seemed to drain it from the room.
He turned to Oliver and pushed him into a nearby alcove. “Stay here,” he said, his voice pitched low. He could hear the shuffling of feet in the distance.
“Not going to happen. Especially not next to this thing.” He pointed to the marble statue of a horned being situated in the alcove. It had lifelike, inlaid eyes, and dried blood ringed its lips.
“Oliver, you agreed to follow my orders once we were inside. This is one of them.”
“So you want me to stay here with this … thing?” Oliver eyed the statue with obvious disgust.
“Yes.”
“Fine, but I have a condition.”
He didn’t have time for this. “Whatever it is, it’s yours. Now stay here.”
“Deal.” The fairy smiled, which probably meant Andre had agreed to something ludicrous. Fucking fairies—you could always guarantee they’d take advantage of a situation.
“Oh, and if this thing eats me,” Oliver added, “it’s your ass I’m coming back to haunt.”
Andre nodded absently, already strategizing his next move.
“Who even says that?”
Andre’s head snapped up at the sound of Gabrielle’s voice. Relief coursed through him at her insolent tone. It was an act, but it meant that she was alright for the moment.
He began to move towards the voice, winding his way through the castle nearing what appeared to be a turret.
Two women held a bound and blindfolded Gabrielle.
A sweltering rage burned inside him. If he let it, it would consume him. He stepped into the shadows and stilled, waiting for the appropriate moment to attack.
“No,” Gabrielle choked out.
Andre closed his eyes when he heard the fear in Gabrielle’s voice. Don’t lose control, he willed himself. Not yet.
“Not here—I don’t want to die here!” she begged.
As soon as he heard her desperate plea, Andre only had time to think of a single word before his rage consumed him.
Fuck.
My captors stopped walking.
“Let her go,” Andre’s voice was sweet music to my ears.
The ground trembled violently beneath us, and I could hear metal clattering and glass tinkling.
Morta cursed. “It seems the vampire king has come after his mate.”
Did they have no idea how close he was to losing it at the moment? They should be scared. Hell, I was scared, and I was his soulmate.
Air brushed against me, and the current between Andre and me throbbed; those were the only signs that Andre had moved.
Morta’s grip was wrenched from mine, and I felt the ground shake as Andre slammed her into the wall. “You will die for daring to hurt her.”
I didn’t waste the opportunity Andre had given me. My leg shot out, and I kicked Lila. She gasped, and her hold on me slipped.
I pulled my foot back, preparing for another kick. “You do not want to fight, vampire,” Lila said, glamour filling her words. “Gabrielle is in good hands.”
The tremors racking the building softened.
I opened my mouth. “Don’t listen to her,” I said, pulling the siren into my voice. Poor Andre was getting majorly mind-raped right now. “She wants to—”
Lila covered my mouth. “Leave this place, vampire.”
The trembling subsided, and I heard Morta suck in air. The current between Andre and I began to fade, which meant … he was leaving.
I tried to shake Lila’s hand from my mouth, but she held on. “Looks like your love is abandoning you,” she whispered into my ear.
I screamed against her hand and yanked my head away from her mouth. Hate filled me. She’d glamoured Andre into abandoning his rescue mission.
Using as much force as I could muster, I head-butted the cambion. Her hold loosened on me, and I jerked my arm free of her hold. I began to run, almost falling when I realized I was moving down stairs.
“You stupid, little fool!” Morta was yelling at me.
Someone plowed into my back, and the two of us lurched forward. I fell, my head cracking against the edge of the stairs. I felt an instant of pain, and then I blacked out.
“Andre!” the fairy hissed.
Andre ignored him, heading towards the front door.
“What are you doing?”
Once he passed across the threshold, his head cleared. Andre stopped, swiveled around, and locked eyes with Oliver.
That woman had glamoured him into leaving, and his only saving grace had been her vague wording. Otherwise, he would’ve left his soulmate to die.
The maps and antiques set on display began to shake.
“Uh, your hair’s lifting,” Oliver said.
“Give me your iPod.”
“Hot damn,” the fairy said, eyeing him, “are you going to blow?”
“Now!” Andre bellowed.
The fairy reached into his pocket and handed the iPod over.
Andre placed the earbuds in his ears and turned the music on, cranking the volume all the way up.
“Stay here, fairy.”
Oliver’s lips moved, but Andre heard nothing over the music. And if he couldn’t hear outside noise, then he couldn’t get glamoured.
Andre smiled grimly, walking back through the house. Now there’d be hell to pay.
I was jostled awake by the trembling surface beneath me. I blinked once and tried to sit up, but found my arms bound over my head and my legs bound at my feet.
Had I … fallen and hit my head against the stairs? I frowned. It was suspiciously similar to the lie I’d told the coven during the trial, which probably meant it wasn’t coincidental at all.