Page 139 of Gilded Wicked Mirrors
You couldn’t have protected me or taken my place.
He squeezed her hand.I’ll fix this. We will find a way to fix it.
Quinn simply nodded. She didn’t believe she could be fixed. A deal was a deal. That’s how mirrors worked. But she smiled at him because he needed it.
Moving back into the rhythm of the dance, they twirled as they continued their conversation.
If you have the real paintings, does that meanyou cannow compel the vampires?
A soft smile rose on her lips.I didn’t need to compel the rest, but yes, I am compelling Seren. Jevon plans to start his terror during the midnight bells. We need to get as many people out as possible before then.
The dance ended, and Emrys kissed her hand. “Miss Ashelle.”
“Your Royalle Highness.”
Without hesitation, Seren swooped in and stole Quinn from his fingertips. Quinn flashed a fake, desperate glance back as she was pulled into the crowd. “Why did you do that?”
“You need to keep up appearances, Quinny,” Seren said. “Jevon controls nearly all the vampires in this room, and I think a few of them are start—” She cut herself off and smiled at a party guest passing nearby. “Smile. They can hear your heart beating. You’re having a good time.”
Quinn heard the hidden message in the words, too.They hear any command you make or anything you say.
Glancing around the room, she noticed the sheer number of people staring at her. She couldn’t tell if they were staring out of envy because they thought she would be chosen as Emrys’s bride or because they were vampires watching to make sure she didn’t step a toe out of line.
This was the most annoying part of her plan. She was unable to do anything to help the humans and vampires get out because she was the decoy. The pretty toy on display to make their enemies think that everything was going to plan.
She shivered, and for a brief moment, her gaze landed on an ignition spot for the glitter bombs. Hopefully, Giselle and the Fantômes were ready to set them off. They didn’t want to do it too early and expose the vampires. The plan was to keep the secret and confront Jevon in a private room, but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen, and they were quickly running out of time to find him.
“Do you know where J—”
Intoxicated giggles forced Quinn not to say anything else. A couple stood on the opposite side of a room divider.
Seren tensed.
“We could find them, or we could simply enjoy each other's company,” Kordelia purred.
“What were you thinking?” Constance asked.
Kordelia whispered something, and the parts that could be heard made Quinn blush.
“As much as that sounds like an enjoyable time, I can feel something dark in the air. Seren is up to something, and we have to be prepared,” Constance said.
Kordelia crossed her arms and pouted. “Sometimes, you’re absolutely no fun at all.”
“Yes, it is terrible that I am the reasonable one.” Constance giggled.
“Oh, wicked mirrors, please don’t make me watch this,” Seren whispered to the ceiling.
Constance immediately pulled away from Kordelia, and her face soured as she faced her twin. “Seren.” In an instant, Constance was on her sister, slamming her into the wall with her hand around her throat. “What are you up to?”
“As much fun as this reunion is, I have no time for you,sister.” The last word was a deadly curse. Seren flicked her eyes to a grandfather clock. “You’re too late.”
Quinn whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “Constance, get out and get humans—”
Midnight bells cut through the ballroom, causing chaos. Dozens of vampires slammed, blocked, and guarded the doors, and it all happened too quickly for her human eyes to see.
The music came to a crashing halt, and fifteen vampires held fifteen humans hostage. Quinn recognized two of the humans. The girls in the pink and green dresses from earlier who jealously commented on her looks. Now, they were at vampires’ whims, with silent tears stroking down their faces. Despite how cruel they’d been to her, Quinn felt for them, and she wanted to help them. But Quinn never got the chance.
Because in an instant, all fifteen of the vampires, as if in a choreographed dance, slit the throats of their hostages. The girl in the pink dress fell first, crumbling to the ground like a used tissue paper. The green-dress beauty followed her friend in death, her blood spurting all over the once-pristine floor.
