Page 75 of The Prince's Curse

“I’m fine,” Scarlett said brusquely.

When she was gone, Scarlett waited for a few minutes, which stretched on into eternity. There were still quiet voices downstairs talking about eating dinner, along with orders for one of the apprentices to go shopping for supplies. A car door thumped, then an engine revved up.

Then it was quiet.

Scarlett slid down to the floor to inspect the hardware bolting the chain. Perhaps the metal was enchanted, but it was still connected to the floor by a perfectly mundane set of bolts. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed one of the hexagonal bolts and tried to twist it. It slipped through her hands again and again, even when she squeezed so hard that her fingers turned purple.

With a grunt of frustration, she looked around the room. Her eyes lit on the tray from dinner, with its fork and spoon. No knife, but she could manage. She took both the utensils and eyeballed the bolts, then started bending the fork’s tines into a small, angled shape. After investigating the bolt again, she slid her mangled fork around the hardware like a wrench.

Her first attempt had the thin tines bending away before they loosened the bolt, so she pinched them close together and held the tines while she used her makeshift wrench. “Come on,” she muttered. The handle bent, and she braced her thumb against the curved base of the fork. All she needed was?—

It loosened.

She let out a crowing laugh of victory. One more push, and it was loose enough for her to undo it manually.

Three to go, and then she was free.

The door handle rattled, and she scrambled to her feet and plopped back onto the bed, tucking the bent fork under the pillow just as Marlee Montgomery walked into her room. The other woman regarded her curiously, then perched on the easy chair in the corner.

“What’s going on with you?” Marlee asked. “Did the Auberon get in your head like they did Kristina’s?”

“Let me out of here,” Scarlett said.

The other woman shifted. The small motion moved her sleeves, and Scarlett realized with dim horror that her wrists were marked with the same intricate markings that adorned Kova and Carrigan Shea. “Come on, Scarlett, you?—”

“What’s on your wrist?” she interrupted. “What is that?’

“Ms. Voss has been working on some spells to make us stronger. We had another day or so of work, but we had to stop to come and find you,” Marlee said irritably.

“You can’t trust her,” Scarlett said, shaking her head. “Those are the marks that she uses to control the vampires. They’re not safe.”

Marlee frowned, though she spared a glance at her wrist before turning her look of disappointment on Scarlett. “Seriously, what is going on with you? You’ve been rock steady reliable as long as I’ve known you. Mr. Eslinger thinks very highly of you. Tell me that this is just some fluke so I don’t have to tell him you’re turning, too.”

“I don’t care what you have to tell him,” Scarlett said. “Who put you in charge of reporting to him? Trying to take Jonas Wynn’s position?”

At that, the other woman flashed a coy smile. “Someone has to. And it’s been a boys’ club for too long.”

“What happened to Rhys?”

“Who?”

“The vampire Jordan shot outside Infinity,” Scarlett said.

Marlee shrugged. “What Jordan does in his free time is Jordan’s business. As long as he’s not compromising the mission.”

“You had orders not to kill any of them,” she said. “Did you hit the blonde one near the hotel?”

Marlee smirked. “If I wanted him dead, he’d be dead. Just knocked those fangs down his throat. Couldn’t get to him in time to bring him back, though.”

“Why?” Scarlett asked.

“Because we have orders, and unlike you, I follow them! And why do you care? How many vampires have you killed?” Marlee spluttered, shaking her head. “I came here to see if maybe you just cracked under the pressure of going after Julian Alcott. But there’s something seriously wrong with you. I guess I have to tell Mr. Eslinger that you’re not fit for the mission.”

“Tell him that, and tell him that Armina Voss is planning to kill me and that she’s enslaving vampires to use as attack dogs,” Scarlett spat. “See what he thinks of that.”

Marlee recoiled, but she rose and brushed off her knees. Holding Scarlett’s gaze, she adjusted her long sleeves. As she walked out, Scarlett could see another spiked black mark on the back of her neck.

Just like Kova.

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