Page 92 of Deadly Alliances

Her expression repeatedly shifted between disgust and outrage, her mouth opening and closing a dozen times as she struggled to form a reaction. Finally, she plopped down on the edge of the couch in front of my feet with a dubious, defeated huff.

“Do you… Do you really think that could be what’s happening?” Her voice sounded so small, so vulnerable, and I hated that it tugged on my sympathy. She didn’t deserve even a quantum of pity from me.

I shrugged one shoulder casually. “I suppose it’s possible. Even for a god.” I couldn’t help that little dig at her distorted ego.

She shook her head, setting her jaw against the notion. “No. No, that’s just not possible. And I refuse to lower myself to feeding offanimals.” She made a disgusted grimace, then cut a glare at me. “Some of us actually have pride, Julian.”

I leaned back against the couch, rolling my eyes. Yes, I’d fed off animals a few times in my early days. That didn’t make me any less civilized. If anything, it made me closer to human; the savage thing was drinking from humans, like a twisted form of cannibalism. Of course, it never satisfied the way human blood did, but I tried to stomach it for a long time. That was our curse—or at least, mine.

“I wonder what Hadrian would think,” I commented, idly fiddling with the chain between my cuffs. “A vampire who can’t drink… I imagine he would think that’s hardly a vampire at all.”

The fear that struck her was so poignant that I felt it reverberate from her. Jackpot. I lifted my gaze to her face and was rewarded with the most delicious look of terror. But then it quickly mutated into a defensive glare.

“He wouldn’t believe you,” she hissed venomously. “You’re the traitor, the great deceiver.”

I barked a laugh. “You think I’d even bother trying to tell him? I’m trapped in here, for fuck sake, and it’s not worth the effort. Besides, I have no interest in ratting you out. Some of us actually have decency, Marguerite.”

She stiffened at me turning her own words against her, softening ever so slightly with what looked like humility, though it was probably just a knock to her precious pride.

“But you can’t keep this hidden from him forever,” I said. “Eventually, he will find out. What do you think he will do to you when he does? Do you think your century of loyal service will save you from his wrath? Or perhaps he’ll turn you into a test subject. Cut you open and dissect you to find the root of the problem.”

At that, she shot to her feet and darted out of the room. I finally let out my chuckle in her absence, though it made my copper-poisoned muscles ache. I had no idea where she went, and I really didn’t care. I was just glad to be rid of her for however long. But I couldn’t help but ponder over it with morbid curiosity.

Would she go down to the lab and run tests on her blood? Somehow, I doubted that. She had far too much arrogance for that, and if another vampire walked in on her extracting blood or tissue from herself, that would raise suspicion that would ultimately get back to Hadrian; though every vampire here had a respectful fear of Marguerite, they’d sell her out in a heartbeat if it meant advancing their own station.

Suddenly, the door quickly opened and closed, and Marguerite appeared. So much enjoying some solitude. She pulled her hand out from behind her back, revealing a fat, squealing rat clutched in her manicured fingers, then came toward me, reclaiming her perch on the edge of the couch.

I snorted with tickled surprise. “Where on earth did you get that?”

“The kitchen,” she said, looking down at the frightened creature as it wriggled in her claws. “They’re always scurrying about down there.”

“And what are you going to do with it?” I asked, arching a brow.

She slid a mortified glance at me, and my eyes widened. Omigod, she was actually going to try it! I pursed my lips tightly, trying my damnedest to hide my spiteful delight as anticipation bubbled inside me.

“What if… What if it doesn’t work?” she asked in a timid voice that made her sound like a small girl.

I schooled my features as best I could. “You’ll never know unless you try.”

She nodded with a deep frown, then lifted the poor rodent in front of her. It squeaked and squirmed in her hold as if it knew what tragedy was about to befall it, and I felt sorry for the thing.Marguerite grimaced as she stared at it, her lips twitching slowly backward over her fangs as she brought the rat closer.

The sheer revulsion on her face was the funniest thing I’d ever seen, and I watched with rapt attention as she finally accepted this course of action and dug her teeth into its plump belly. The rat’s shriek was abruptly cut short as her tight grip snapped its bones, and she sucked deeply.

For a moment, I thought it might have actually worked, and I leaned closer to get a better look. Her throat bobbed, and then her chest jerked unnaturally upward, and she hunched over, vomiting up blood onto the floor with a grotesque hacking sound that had even my throat clenching with nausea.

With a groan of fury, she crushed the creature in her fist and slammed it onto the floor as she fell to her knees. Anguish overcame her, and she began to moan out deep sobs of despair, tufts of gray fur matted to the blood on her cheeks and chin. She was the most pitiful sight I had ever beheld, and I relished in her misery, savoring the sweet melody of her cries more than I had any symphony before.

My lips twitched into an impish smirk, and I began to move my fingers along with the cadence of her weeping, conducting her sorrow’s song with glee.

She turned to me, and I dropped my fingers in feigned innocence just in time for her to bury her head against my chest.

“Oh, Julian,” she wept. “What am I going to do?”

I shirked further into the couch, trying to rescind from her as the blood from her mouth and tears soaked my shirt. But in the end, all I could do was lay there while she stole comfort from me once more.

Soon. I’d be free of her soon. My only regret was that I wouldn’t be around to witness her slow and agonizing destruction.

Chapter 35

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