Page 22 of House of Crimson Hearts
I finish up in the gymnasium and head to see the Chief. But there’s a commotion in the entrance hall.
I stop dead, all the air rushing out of my lungs.
Standing in the door to the Hunter Academy is Cordelia St Clair. The first, oldest, and most dangerous vampire in the city.
“What. The. Fuck?”
Chapter6
RED
Cordelia St Clair, not only in hunter territory, but our fucking Academy building? It’s unheard of. It’s… There’s no time. My instincts kick in.
I shove the students out of the way. Hollering at them to get back. This has to be an attack. Why the fuck didn’t our guards detect her?
I smash my fist into the emergency alarm on the side wall and bellow at the kids to move the fuck back. More trainers pour into the foyer, now all doing the same. Shoving students back and forming a defensive line.
Cordelia hasn’t moved. She’s frozen in that unnerving way vampires have. How the fuck did she breach our defensive perimeters? Why the hell is she here in person? We have annual peace negotiations for this shit.
Lincoln swerves into position next to me, his arms out wide protecting the kids behind us. Finally, the Chief appears, breathless, clearly having run from her tower.
She skids to a halt in the hallway, her face darkening to a violent shade of purple. The alarms cut out, but the afterburn of their ringing still echoes in my ears.
“What in the name of blood are you doing in here?” the Chief barks.
I cringe.
The balls of steel she has to speak to Cordelia like that. I’ve heard the stories about her. I hear she tears apart her staff for less than an incorrectly timed eyebrow twitch.
But Cordelia doesn’t even flinch at the Chief’s words. Instead, the vampire’s eyes flick to the Chief, a snarl on her lips.
“I’ve come in peace,Chief.I bring an invitation,” Cordelia says.
“And you didn’t think to use the proper channels? The official ones that don’t set our security screaming.”
Cordelia’s expression narrows. “There are no laws preventing my being here, and I’ve harmed no one… Besides, this is time sensitive.”
“Oh. Well, that’s okay then,” the Chief drawls, her eyes practically falling out of her head.
Cordelia shifts her position, she moves so fast that a student behind us screams. Which unleashes another round of hysteria that takes the Chief and all the trainers bellowing at everyone to be calm before quiet is restored.
In Cordelia’s hand is a claret-coloured envelope.
The Chief steps forward and snatches the envelope out of Cordelia’s hand. “If I find out the students that died last night were at the hands of your vampires, I swear on the Mother of Blood herself, I will come for you, Cordelia.”
Cordelia’s expression twitches and shifts. Her head tilts to the side. “Were they lost in the Montague territory?”
The Chief’s pallor deepens, red climbing her neck. “I knew it was you.” She steps up to Cordelia, right in her face.
I think I might be sick. She’s going to get herself killed being that close, that confrontational. But Cordelia surprises me by stepping back.
She shakes her head, her features drooping. “Then this invitation is even more important than I first feared.”
“What the hell does that mean?” the Chief asks.
“It wasn’t me who took your students. I, too, lost several men last night. Good vampires. It appears that we may have a common enemy, Chief. I do hope you can find it in your heart to attend tomorrow. Despite our differences, I believe we can help each other here.”
My mouth drops open and I blink. But by the time my eyes are open again, Cordelia has vanished, and the hall erupts into chaos.
