Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(25)
Nikolai jerked the cord so hard it yanked her body across his, noses almost touching. Her heart hammered as she flattened her palms over his warm, smooth, bare chest. It took every ounce of self-control to not run her hands over those muscles. Damned traitorous body. Whose side was it on anyway?
He jerked the cord again. “Now you listen to me, vampire. Your execution order came from the Slayer king himself. Your life was forfeit the moment the kill order was signed. It is by my grace alone you live at this moment.”
“Or the grace of this cord,” she said, shoving her bound wrist between their faces. “You would have already offed me if it weren’t for the fact it would kill your sorry ass as well.”
“I wonder…” Stefan cut in. “What about her caught the king’s eye?”
“Her father was Gregor Arcos.”
“And?”
“And…”
Stefan leaned closer. “There’s more to it than that. More to her.”
There was more to her. That was clear to Nikolai. Why would his uncle be so adamant she be destroyed? She was human and had been unaware what her father really was. It didn’t make sense.
She slid off him and covered her face with her hands. She’d been through a lot in the past two days. More than the average human could bear. But she wasn’t the average human, was she? She scratched her collarbone and then covered her face again. Nikolai wanted to help her—to free her from her grim fate. But he didn’t know how.
She scratched again and made a whimpering sound.
“Is something in the fabric irritating you?” Darvaak asked.
“It feels like something crawling under my skin. Like ants.” She pulled the neckline of her shirt out and looked down. “Oh, wow.” She pulled the neckline down enough to reveal her neck and part of her chest just under her collarbone. “Look at this.”
But before Nikolai could get a closer look at what appeared to be a splotchy rash, shrill sirens broke out, causing her to jump to her feet and cover her ears. Nikolai grabbed his sword from the side table.
Darvaak bolted to the room off the kitchen and the alarm stopped, and then he strode back in with his phone to his ear. “How many?” His gaze shot to Elena. “How much damage did they do?” He pulled the top off the crystal decanter at the bar and poured some Scotch in a glass and tossed it back. “Did you take any of them alive?” He poured another splash of Scotch. “We’ll meet you in the basement.”
Nikolai held his breath as the Time Folder set his phone down and swirled the gold liquid in the glass.
“It appears we have underestimated how badly your Uncle Fydor wants her dead. It’s hard to fathom he would send soldiers to invade my building. A huge risk, yes?”
Yes, it was. Slayers needed Time Folders. Without them, innocent people could be executed. Also, it was unclear just how much power these freaks of nature had. Time Folders were from a world other than this one, and little was known about them. There was a hands-off policy between the two species. Slayers would also never risk exposing the Underveil by marching on a building such as this, inhabited by humans. Even though humans couldn’t see them unless they desired it, they would see damage done to the structure or environment, since it was a human dwelling and not masked by the Veil. He knew Darvaak didn’t seek a response, and honestly, he didn’t have one.
Darvaak turned his pale eyes on Nikolai, abandoning his drink. “It is fortunate only two of your kind have ever been in my flat, or we would be in a far less advantageous situation. They got no farther than the parking garage. I’ll need to rethink my guest list in the future to keep Slayers from just popping into my suite.”
Darvaak had mentioned he had turned down a request from another Slayer only yesterday. “Who is the other?” Obviously, that Slayer hadn’t been with them, or they would’ve made it into this posh suite and not just into the parking garage.
“My business is always conducted in complete confidentiality.” He walked to the door and put his hand on the pad. The door clicked and swung wide. “Shall we?”
The elevator opened to a small alcove with metal double doors. A huge man in a security guard uniform, a bear shifter, no doubt, judging by the shape and size of him, opened the door, his beefy fingers wrapped around the throat of a Slayer female Nikolai didn’t recognize.
“Welcome to my home, Slayer,” Darvaak said, bowing as if she were not an invader.
The Time Folders had always been a mystery to Nikolai. In direct opposition to his own nature. So polished and slick it irked him. Based on the woman’s smirk, he wasn’t alone in his feelings.
“I’m sorry my hospitality does not extend to my suite. Blood in the carpet is a pet peeve of mine.”
Like all women of Nikolai’s species, she was tall and well muscled with dark hair and gold eyes. Blood coated her arms up to the elbows. Next to him, Elena flinched and turned away.
The Slayer held up her arms and wiggled her fingers. “Right in the middle of a blood bath. Care to join me, Elena Arcos?”
Elena shuddered.
“Who sent you?” Nikolai asked. “How did you find us?”
When she lowered her arms, blood dripped from her hands and splattered onto the perfectly polished concrete of the basement. She hadn’t dipped herself in an adversary’s blood; it was her own, running from long slices carved into her forearms.