A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)(55)

Also, what the hell is he doing here?

“Ouch!” Vincent broke me out of my shock. “Fiona, ouch…”

I stilled, realizing I’d been squeezing his shoulder hard. A gasp left my throat, and I immediately took my hand back.

“I am so sorry,” I mumbled, covering my mouth with both hands. He chuckled, then resumed the dancing pose, reclaiming control over my hip and right arm.

“It’s okay,” he said, and spun me around.

I briefly scanned the garden outside, but I couldn’t see Zane anymore. Had I imagined him there? If so, why?

“The sky is beautiful tonight.” I sighed, looking up. A sea of twinkling stars stretched overhead, against an indigo backdrop. Vincent, however, was unable to take his eyes off me.

“It pales in comparison to you,” he breathed, gradually lowering his head in an attempt to bring his lips closer to mine.

Oh, crap, he’s going to kiss me. No, no… Not a good idea…

I caught movement in the corner of my eye. Zane was once again standing on the other side of the glass, staring at us with discontent. My cheeks caught fire. My blood was simmering.

What the hell is his problem?

“What the…” I muttered, downright irritated.

“Are you okay, Fiona?” Vincent’s question broke my train of thought. I blinked a few times, then shifted my focus back to him and smiled.

“Yes… Sorry, I’m a bit tired. My mind keeps running off in different directions,” I replied, then checked the garden again. Zane was gone. Again. I was starting to oscillate between the potential loss of my sanity and the possibility that the daemon was actually trying to mess with my head.

He wasn’t there to physically hurt me; otherwise he would’ve done so. With or without the yellow powder, Zane seemed more than capable of knocking me off my feet, and even killing me. I needed more time to learn his fight patterns if I wanted to survive a potential attack from him. He was too damn fast, to begin with.

I saw him again, on the west side this time. He’s doing this on purpose.

Not willing to give him the satisfaction of disrupting my dinner and dance with Vincent, I decided to ignore him.

“How is Rewa holding up?” I asked, wrapping my arms around Vincent’s neck, in an attempt to show Zane that he wasn’t going to win this.

“She’s… She’s fine, for the most part. It will take some time for her to… heal.” Vincent blinked several times, both confused and excited by my gesture. I didn’t even realize how he might interpret this—I’d been too focused on sticking it to Zane. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him, as we kept dancing.

He felt nice and warm. But the closeness didn’t make my heart flutter.

“Do you think she’ll pull through as Lady of Azure Heights?” I replied.

“I know she’ll do her best to live up to her father’s expectations,” he muttered, his gaze darkening as he inched closer, his lips almost touching mine.

I pulled my head back slowly, prompting him to frown slightly, and saw Zane again—this time much closer, still on the west side of the glass enclosure.

“That’s it.” I exhaled sharply and gently pushed myself away from Vincent’s arms.

He looked confused, almost upset.

“Did I do something to offend you?” he asked, and I genuinely felt sorry for him.

“No, not at all, Vincent. It’s my fault.” I shook my head, trying to control my frayed nerves as my gaze darted between him and Zane, who was blatantly standing several feet away in the garden, arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he’d just eaten a whole, raw lemon. “I’m tired and unable to focus… I think it’s time I go get some rest. Please, rest assured, you’ve been a wonderful host. Thank you for dinner and the company…”

A couple of seconds went by as Vincent processed my excuse, then sighed and put on a half-smile.

“I understand,” he said. “Shall I walk you to the inn?”

“No!” I replied, a little too loudly. Try to soften it a bit… “No, don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself, remember?”

I gave him a playful smirk, as I felt him drifting into a sad state that I didn’t want to feel responsible for. He slipped his hands into his pockets, then stepped forward and dropped a kiss on my cheek. His lips were soft and warm. Zane was still there, carved in dark stone as he glared at me.

What is his problem?!

“Thank you for joining me for dinner tonight, Fiona,” Vincent whispered.

“Have a good night, Vincent,” I said, then waved goodbye and walked away, passing through the dining room filled with elegant Maras enjoying their blood dinners in the warmth of candle lights.

Never had a flame burned as hot as I did in that instant. Zane was playing a very dangerous game with me. And I wasn’t going to let him win.

He might be bigger and stronger than me, but he is not going to mess with my head anymore! Not while I still have something to say about it!





Fiona





(Daughter of Benedict & Yelena)





After I got out of the hotel, I went on a quick tour of the property, including the lavish gardens outside the glass hall, looking for Zane, but there was no sign of him. That just made me angrier. I was looking forward to giving him a piece of my mind, after he’d just sabotaged my whole evening.