Page 9 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

They are staring through the mirror from the other side and start feeling around the edges, testing its frame.

If they find the release latch, I’ll be the next to die.

Pushing down my grief and agony, I grip the straps of my backpack and struggle to stand. After steadying myself to keep from keeling to the side, I hurry down the passage as quickly as my rubbery legs and agonized heart will carry me.

My heart hammers as I weave my way back through the dark passageway. The path is blurred behind a wall of tears, and I swipe at the moisture to clear my vision.

A loud smash sounds behind me and the shouts of male voices bring the vampire assassins into the tunnels.

They have speed, but I know the way.

Unsure who has the advantage, I pick up my pace.

I make it back to the keypad into the barbershop and suck in a deep breath when I close the door behind me. Pressing the thumb pad, I hold it down and enter the emergency lockdown code.

It won’t hold them back for long, but maybe long enough for me to get away.

Rushing through the back hall, I find Jack about to begin a man’s shave. He sets down the clippers, takes one look at me, and his smile fades. “Scottie? What is it?”

“The palace has fallen. Francesco and Da are dead.”

The man sitting in the barber chair sits up and pulls the apron from around his neck. He’s got brown, tousled waves that curl against the side of his neck and the most incredible whisky gold eyes I’ve ever seen.

If I hadn’t just had my world shattered, I would swoon, but as it is, I don’t have it in me. “Are you sure they’re dead?”

I swallow, but my mouth remains dry. “A turned female with burgundy and silver hair was waving the king’s head in my father’s face before the bond took him.”

Jack grabs my arm, staring at the ancient crest of the Vasari clan shimmering on the surface of my forearm. “Did they see you? Did they see this?”

My mind is spinning. I’ve seen this mark on Da’s arm my whole life and never once thought his duty and his powers would be transferred to me. “No, but they heard me in the passageway.They know someone witnessed what happened and they’re right behind me.”

As if on cue, there’s a tremendous bang down the hall.

“I sealed the exit, but it won’t hold.”

“We need to secure the prince.” Jack jogs over to his cupboard, exchanges his apron for a gun holster and his jacket, and gestures for the door. “Do you know where he is?”

“No, but I know how to find out.”

The fact that the last time I saw Zane and Huntley, they each broke my heart, can’t play a factor in what’s coming next. As Zane’s squire warrior, the two of us are now bound.

It’s my duty to find Zane Vasari and secure the diamond dagger. Torontocan’tfall to the violence and whims of some startup, turned bastards.

Jack opens the door, and I race out in front of him, my mind already listing what I need to do.

The tackle comes out of nowhere—hard from the side.

I’m taken to the ground, the weight of my attacker crushing me to the asphalt of the alley. The blow to my head is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in life or in training.

My world spins and my vision fritzes in and out.

Fucking hell.

CHAPTER TWO

Scottie

Asharp pain explodes behind my left eye, but I force myself to focus. I refuse to die with my face pinned to a grime-covered alleyway less than five minutes after my father entrusted me with everything he ever believed in.

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