Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(36)

“What is this place?”

“The Viper Nest,” Viper said with a smug smile.

Her gaze turned to Cezar. “A blood bar,” he grudgingly revealed.

“Again I ask, what is this place?” she muttered.

Viper shrugged. “Fairies, like humans, can become addicted to a vampire’s bite. My little establishment provides the service they desire.”

Her face paled. “Addicted?”

Cezar cursed beneath his breath. Why couldn’t Viper be one of those silent, brooding sort of vampires? The kind who preferred to keep his lips shut.

He gave Anna’s fingers a small squeeze. “You are far too stub…strong-willed to ever become addicted.”

Viper gave a sharp burst of laughter. “You at least learn fast, Cezar.”

Anna sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the smell of exhaust and oil as she watched the tall, silver-haired vampire pull a small keycard from his pocket and insert it into the card reader next to the elevator.

Demon or not, he truly was a stunning creature. Like a Raphael angel. Of course, no angel had such dark, wicked eyes or a smile that could make a woman think of black satin sheets and flickering candles.

Strangely, however, he didn’t stir her senses. Not like another dark-eyed vampire whose lightest touch could make her heart quiver and skip and sometimes come to a complete halt.

Her gaze shifted back to Cezar, her mind a tangled mass of confusion.

On the one hand was her annoyance at the sheer number of things he continued to keep hidden from her (not the least of which was the fact she might have become addicted to his bite) and on the other hand was the grudging acceptance that, for the moment, she depended upon him.

And of course, there was that whole he didn’t abandon her like a piece of trash newsflash that she still had to wade through.

Belatedly realizing that both vampires were regarding her as she stared at Cezar like a mindless idiot, Anna wrenched her gaze toward the open elevator and allowed Cezar to lead her into the dark-paneled lift.

With a whisper of sound the doors closed and they were whisked to the top floor. Anna shivered. The elevator was as large as some apartments, but being enclosed with two powerful vampires made her skin prickle and the hair on the nape of her neck stand upright.

Even more disturbing was that in the sheen of the silver doors she could see nothing but her own reflection. As if she was eerily alone.

God, she had come to Chicago to find answers and instead…

She swallowed the hysterical urge to laugh.

Instead she had well and truly fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole.

The doors slid open and her wacky thoughts were shattered by the sight of the long hallway lined with glass walls. Behind the glass were elegantly appointed rooms, all of them different. One looked like something out of Versailles, all gilt and delicate furnishings, the next was a jungle theme with towering plants and zebra-striped couches, the next a tawdry Los Vegas hotel room.

All incredibly beautiful, but what caught and held her eye was what was within those beautiful rooms.

Vampires. Male or female, tall or short, slender or muscular, they all shimmered with that sexual potency and unearthly beauty that marked them as clearly as if they wore nametags.

“So what happens?” she demanded as they headed down the hall, her eyes flitting from one glass room to another. Inside the vampires lounged on sofas, flaunting their perfect bodies or else…

A sudden heat touched her cheeks as she realized that some of the rooms held couples. Naked, entwined, groaning couples.

And drinking blood was not all that the vampires were doing.

She cleared her throat, her eyes trained firmly on Viper’s velvet-clad back as they moved deeper into the building.

“Fairies come here to get bitten?” she asked, hoping to distract herself from those writhing bodies. God, she was hot and bothered enough just being next to Cezar. The last thing she needed was up close and personal displays of what she was denying herself.

Viper gave a low, husky laugh, as if he knew exactly what was going through her fevered brain.

“There are a variety of entertainments offered.”

Cezar didn’t laugh. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close. His sandalwood scent made her heart pound, but his touch offered a comfort she couldn’t yet explain.

“You haven’t told me how you intend to hide Anna among her enemies,” Cezar demanded of his friend.

Viper waved a hand toward the glass rooms. “I discovered after opening this little business that while fairies are wealthy customers, they are far too volatile to have dozens of them under one roof without causing some sort of chaos.” He gave a shake of his head. “I was spending more money repairing the damage from their drunken brawls than I was making. I was finally forced to have the walls lined with lead.”

“Lead?” Anna demanded in confusion.

“It dampens the power of fairies.”

Strange. She cautiously concentrated on her own elusive powers. They swirled through her like bubbles of champagne that were just waiting for the cork to be popped. They certainly didn’t seem lessened by the lead.

Easily reading her mind, Cezar gave her shoulder a squeeze. “The lead won’t affect you,” he murmured, his gaze switching to Viper. “And it won’t stop Morgana.”

They arrived at two double doors that blocked the hallway. Viper once again used his keycard to open the lock.