Page 73 of The Doctor and the Devil
I touched my forehead to hers and kissed her again, softly. As if I could bottle this moment and cherish it forever.
“I love you,” I replied. “I have always loved you, Mina. I will die loving you.”
She smiled at that. “Hopefully not too soon.”
I chuckled, drawing her into my arms again.
A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door.
“My lord,” Guillaume said from the hall. “The lady Marguerite and the emissary have returned.”
That familiar pit of worry opened up inside me again as I told him we would join our friends shortly.
“We should go,” Mina said, rising to dress. “I’m anxious to have this done with.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say. I’d had some of her clothes brought into my wardrobe, and I watched as she adeptly laced her stays, tied on her skirts, and pinned her bodice in place. The gown she’d selected was one of my favorites—an ethereally soft midnight blue velvet, embroidered with stars in glittering silver thread.
She caught me staring as I stumbled into my black shirt and breeches.
“Fitting for the queen of the underworld, no?” she teased.
I grinned. “I shall endeavor to be worthy of you, Your Highness.”
We finished dressing and made our way to my laboratory, where I’d told everyone to gather. I had enough equipment here to allow Mina to test whatever she wished and had several supernatural remedies on hand, just in case.
Charlotte lifted a brow as we entered.
“I do hope you’re taking some time to actuallyrest,” she said. “Though by the look of things, I’m not so sure about that.”
Étienne laughed. “I’m sure we all remember what our early days after turning are like. Once you recover and grow accustomed to things, then thehungersets in—in more ways than one.” He winked, and Daphne rolled her eyes.
Laszlo and Marguerite entered, clutching a small leaden box. Marguerite placed it onto the main worktable in the center of the room and grimaced.
“It was where we expected to find it,” she said. “Nothing seems different about the area itself, but as we made our way back, we overheard a couple of vampire guards keeping watch over the cemetery.”
“Were you seen?” I demanded.
Étienne laughed again. “How insulting! I may not be as old as you, but have some respect for me compared to a couple of freshly turned mercenaries. We were all but invisible to them.”
“What did you hear from the guards?” Charlotte asked.
“Our homes are being watched. The Order has been hunting the agents ofles DDthat they know of, but it sounds like your warning letters arrived in time and they’ve all gone to ground. With no one to question and none of their leads playing out, they are forced to sit and wait for us to make our move,” Étienne replied.
“They will be waiting for us,” Marguerite said, a warning in her tone.
“What do they know of Mina?” Daphne asked.
Marguerite shook her head. “Nothing. When the Order arrived back at the mausoleum that night, they discovered Laszlo’s and my cell empty and Derais’s blood in the woods. They believe we turned on Derais and fled with Rafael, but they don’t know anything about Mina. They are watching her clinic, but they don’t know the extent of her involvement.”
“Good,” Mina said. “That will at least give me the element of surprise.”
We all stared as she reached forward to pick up the box. When she opened it, everyone took an involuntary step back—the poisonous feeling of the Judas silver bullet repulsed us all.
All but Mina.
She tipped the bullet into her hand and stroked it, then held it up to her face to get a better look.
Antoine paled, and Charlotte clapped a hand over her mouth.
