Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(107)

“That’s terrible,” she muttered.

Fallon shrugged. “It’s our tradition.”

“But . . .” Sally forgot what she was going to say when the chime of a bell echoed through the room. “What’s that?”

Her sister stiffened, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip with a nervous gesture that was identical to Sally’s habit.

“You must swear not to tell anyone,” she at last said, her voice so low Sally could barely hear her.

Sally nodded, deeply curious. “I swear.”

Hurrying across the room, Fallon locked the door before moving to a heavy tapestry that was hung on a far wall.

“Watch this.”

Fallon tugged aside the tapestry and pressed her hand against the paneled wall. There was a faint glow around her fingers before a hidden door slid open.

Sally raised her brows in shock. “A secret room?”

Fallon nodded, motioning for Sally to follow as she stepped through the door.

Intrigued, Sally swiftly trailed behind her sister, not certain what to expect.

Probably a good thing since she would never have guessed it would be a barren room that had been carved from pure stone. There were no windows, but fairy lights danced in the shadows of the low ceiling, revealing the numerous wooden bowls that had been carefully arranged on the stone floor.

Each bowl was a different size and made from a different wood, but they each held a shallow pool of water.

“Wow.” Sally gave a bemused laugh. “It’s like the Batcave.”

Fallon frowned. “The . . . ah. Batman. That is a human television show, is it not?”

“Yes.” Sally studied her sister in surprise. “How did you know?”

“My talent is to scry beyond our homeland,” Fallon said. “I have long been intrigued by your world.”

Ah. That explained the bowls. Sally had a basic ability to scry, but she needed an anchor to direct her, like a strand of hair to connect her to the person she was searching for. Not to mention the fact that it drained her to the point of exhaustion to maintain one search.

She shook her head in wonder at the images that flickered nonstop on the surface of the water in each bowl.

The amount of energy each scry must be sucking from Fallon was staggering, but she didn’t look the least affected.

Amazing.

“So why the secrecy?” she asked, knowing she’d be eager to display such talent.

Fallon’s smile faded. “My . . . fiancé disapproves of my interest.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Fallon tried to pretend indifference. “It doesn’t matter.”

It did, of course. But what could Sally say?

She didn’t know enough about her sister’s relationship with her fiancé to offer any advice.

“What is the beeping?” she asked.

Fallon moved toward a large bowl in the center of the floor. “Someone is near the entrance to our homeland. I made a warning device.”

Very clever. A damned shame she felt she had to hide her talents.

Absently joining Fallon, Sally glanced down at the bowl, her heart slamming against her ribs as she caught sight of the dark-haired vampire with pale silver eyes and a fierce expression.

“Roke,” she breathed, a stark longing to be with her mate sending her to her knees. “Can he get through?”

Fallon shook her head. “No. Not without a Chatri to open a doorway.” She pointed a slender finger toward the large blond who stood at Roke’s side in the middle of a field. They looked like they were arguing. “This is your vampire?”

Sally shook her head. “The other one.”

“Then who is his companion?”

“His friend Cyn,” she said, too distracted to notice her sister’s odd tone. “I have to go to him.”

She surged back to her feet, but before she could return to the outer room, Fallon was grabbing her arm.

“No.”

Sally hissed with impatience. Roke was near. She had to get to him.

“Look, it’s been great to meet you, but Roke has sacrificed everything for me,” she said, trying to tug free. “I’m not going to allow him to think that I just abandoned him.”

Fallon maintained her grip, her expression somber. “If you leave here to go to him, it will give Father the right to kill him.”

A cold chill lodged in the pit of her stomach. “Kill him?”

“You are a princess,” Fallon said, not seeming to remember that Sally was a mongrel. “No man who hasn’t been formally approved by her family is allowed to touch you.”

Sally’s eyes narrowed as she remembered her father’s determination to bring her here. He must have realized that once he had her in his homeland she would be caught between a rock and a hard place.

“So this was a setup,” she snapped. “If I leave, then I put Roke in danger. If I stay, he can’t reach me. Damn Sariel.”

Fallon’s fingers tightened on her arm. “I have a plan.”

Sally struggled to think past the red haze of anger that clouded her mind.

“What?”

Fallon glanced back toward the images dancing on top of the water.

“You can’t go to the vampire, but I can bring him to you.”

Sally sent her sister a suspicious frown. “And lead him to certain death?”