“Are you telling them that? Or are your men attacking first, and asking questions later?”
My mouth fills with a bitter taste. “It doesn’t matter.” He’s playing me. He’s delaying his destiny, bidding his time. So what? So Kayn gets here? “You’ve been kidnapping people for years. Killing you will keep people safe.”
“Yes...” He nods, turning to his desk and picking up a glass of red wine. “That’s what I told myself at first too. Killing keeps my people safe. And that’s what Kayn wants as well.”
Kayn. The way he tried to convince my father in the memory comes back to me. What does he want anyway? “Kayn wants to keep his people safe? What people? Vampires? They don’t look like they need help.”
“Oh, but they would if the Old Council came back.”
I glare at him. What’s that now? “Old Council?”
“Yes.” He swirls his glass of wine, propping a hip to the desk. Gods, I’m that unimpressive, am I not? He doesn’t even look worried. “Before the Rift and the wall dividing the realms, there was a Council. Some of the leaders were locked in the Dark Realm, so the people on this side had to come up with a New Council. This New Council is, well,” he shrugs, “very generous compared to the old one.”
I think of how the New Council punished Giulia by forcing her to see all timelines, all the time. Andthat’sgenerous.
“And what does that have to do with Kayn?”
“Kayn is from the Dark Realm, like all old vampires. The Old Council’s vampire leader is, in fact, his mother. And she’s a much harsher person than Kayn is.”
“So?”
“So, if someone forces you to open the Rift between Realms and Kayn’s mother slips back, she won’t like what he did to the place in her absence.”
My left eye twitches. Why does he have to give information bit by bit? The Collector enjoys the theatrics and the attention. “And what did he do to the place? What is she going to do?”
“Kayn created new vampires.” He motions with his glass toward me. “Like Donatello, your handsome soulbound. Minor problem: creating new vampires was forbidden by the Old Council. His mother won’t like it.” That smirk again. “In fact, she might want to kill off every vampire Kayn has ever created, and every vampire these vampires created...”
My heart drops to my stomach. “She would kill Donatello?”
“Oh, yeah. Not only him. Kayn would live, though. She would let him live to watch what she’s going to do with his progeny. And they would suffer.”
This can’t be. This has to be a lie. My heartbeat races in my chest. Something makes little sense, though. “Wait. If she can’t come out, why does Kayn want me?”
“Because he’ll have the first move. If he has you, he can open the Rift himself, with an army ready to attack, and he can take over his mother’s place in the Old Council. Simple.” He starts to the door, reaching for the knob. I call my magic again. “And we all know, Shadow Mage, how important it is to have a card up your sleeve.”
He opens the door as I absorb all the shadows in the place. It becomes even brighter in here, and I narrow my eyes, adapting to the sudden harsh light. When I look at the Collector again, ready to pounce, ready to shove all my magic down his throat, I see him waving a guard in.
The guard drags a body along. Red flannel shirt, long dark hair. The body bleeds, locked in a tight hold, all its limbs limp as they’re dragged over the expensive rug. A smell fills my nostrils, a smell I know very well. The body tilts their head, and I glance at eyes I love so much. My heart stops inside my chest.
Ren. They have Ren.
CHAPTER30
CASSANDRA
This guard is not alone. I’m still staring at Ren when a second joins us and a third, and a fourth. Quickly, I become outnumbered, my hands lifted, my magic frozen on the brink of spilling. I should not have brought them. I should not have brought any of them. Maybe I would have been able to slip into the servants’ quarters by myself, and none of them would be in danger.
Why is Ren here? Where are the others? Are they dead? Are they already dead, and Ren’s the only one alive, about to be used as leverage so I won’t attack the Collector? Is this how it all ends?
The shadowscracklein my fingers — there’s no other way to describe it. They zap as my heartbeat picks up, shadows climbing my arms, arching on my shoulders. Rage burns inside me, and I bare my teeth as the guard forces Ren to his knees. He’s beat up, a swollen eye healing fast, a cut down his left arm sleeve opening the shirt from shoulder to elbow. At least the bleeding isn’t too bad.
“What do you say of the card up my sleeve, Shadow Mage?” the Collector asks, and my vision burns when I raise my eyes to meet his. He smirks, a row of pearly white teeth that makes me want to punch him in the face. “Marvelous, isn’t it?”
It’s hot in here. Am I burning? My gaze snaps from him to the guard and Ren. The others form a circle around me, ready to pounce, ready to put me down. And I would be ready to fight, ready to kill each one of them if Ren wasn’t here.
“Where are the others?” I roar, stepping closer to the Collector. The guards do the same, aiming guns at me. Shadow Mage or not, a bullet to the knee would hurt as shit.
The Collector goes back to sniffing his wine. He must be doing this just to piss me off. Or he’s so sure I won’t make a move he’s not worried. “The others?”