Iniquitous (The Marked #3)(15)

“Go on and have Lucy send in the first course,” said Dominic to Maz. “And keep watch in the north hall when you’re done. No one enters this wing.”

Maz nodded and took off towards the swinging doors that were presumably attached to the kitchen.

“This way, Princess,” smiled Dominic.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I nearly ran him over in my rush to get to that damn table. Pulling out my chair, he motioned with his hand for me to sit down. And I did. Frankly, I never plopped my butt down faster in my entire life.

Dominic took the next chair over and sat down beside me. Unlike my seat, there was nothing set out in front of him. No place setting or dishes with fancy cutlery. No crystal wine glass or embroidered napkin. Revenants didn’t eat food after all, and since there weren’t any cognizant humans around, there was no reason to keep up the pretense. Not that he would anyway. Dominic wasn’t the type of vampire that concerned himself with the human world, unlike his brother Gabriel who pretty much lived for protecting it.

Gabriel, I sighed.

I could only imagine what he was going through right now. He was probably blaming himself for my disappearance, blaming himself for not being there to protect me. He was such a martyr that way.

I prayed he wasn’t being too hard on himself. It’s not like he would’ve been able to do anything anyway. The protective barrier Nikki and Caleb set up around Taylor’s property ensured that no Revenants could get in. And that included the good ones like Gabriel. It chilled me to my bones to know that in the end, it wasn’t a vampire that did me in. It was a human. Someone from the party. Maybe even someone I knew and cared for.

I shuddered at the disturbing thought.

“Why the long face, love? Are you not enjoying my company?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. He wanted to appear casual, relaxed—detached, but his eyes were giving him away more and more lately.

“I was just thinking about the night of the party,” I said quietly, so only the two of us could hear. It was unnecessary of course, the house was made entirely of brick and stone, making every room sound proof.

“Ah, yes. The infamous party. Any theories on that?”

I shook my head. “The only thing I know for sure is that it wasn’t a Rev. It couldn’t be.” Not with the Magical Barrier keeping out all things undead and Dark Legion related.

“Which brings your suspect list down to just about everyone else in town.”

“Exactly,” I said, rubbing my temples. Just thinking about it gave me a migraine. “I should’ve listened to you.”

His eyebrows perked up at my admission.

As sour as the words tasted, they needed to be said. “I should have never gone after her alone.”

“Well, yes, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty, love.”

“I knew she was sketchy, but I never thought she’d go that far,” I confessed. “I should have known better.” If I’d learned anything from my time in Hollows Hills, it was that I couldn’t trust anyone. Who knew how long she’d been working with Engel, or worse, what other lengths she would go to get rid of me. It dawned on me that I would probably never really be safe as long as she was still around—pining for Trace in the background.

That is, if I ever made it back home.

He leaned in closer, erasing some of the space between us. “This,” he said, motioning to our surroundings, “was bound to happen one way or the other. A pirate will always hunt his treasure, and you, temptress, are the fairest treasure of them all. It was just a matter of time.”

I suppose he had a point. Engel’s been gunning for me since the day he discovered my existence. As long as he was still walking this earth, he would always be a threat to me. If it didn’t happen the night of the party, it would’ve happened the next week, or the week after that. My face-off with him was pretty much inevitable.

Then again, it would have been nice to do it on my own terms, and not his.

“In any event, there’s nothing you can do about it now so you might as well quit crying over spilled milk.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t drink milk.”

“Indeed, another perk of being a Revenant.” He leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows rising and falling with arrogance.

“Yeah, you’re totally living the dream…you know, if it wasn’t for that whole demon thing.”

“Surrendering your humanity is much more of a blessing than a curse, love. No attachments. No pain. No worry.”

“No soul,” I muttered under my breath.

“See, that would have hurt a lot more had I been in possession of my humanity.”

I met his gaze again and found him staring at me in a strange way. I could have sworn there was something lingering in those dark eyes of his; a quiet churning of emotions beneath the surface. They certainly didn’t look like the eyes of someone who’d shut off their humanity and stopped caring about everyone and everything in the world. After everything he’d done for me, sometimes at his own peril, I had a hard time believing that.

“No humanity, huh?”

His cheek hitched up. “Not a lick.”

Shaking my head, I searched his face for the truth. “You’re a real enigma, you know that?”

“Amongst other more splendid things.”