Page 49 of Entombed By Blood
She’s tempting.I’ll admit that much. Four days of her presence has already captivated the brothers. The younger pup hovers around her constantly, showing her the trappings of the modern world like an eager terrier. The older is harder to read, but he watches her with an intensity beyond that of a guard. Their protectiveness towards a weakened female is understandable, given the brothers’ history and the effects of the thrall bond.
This woman is a walking contradiction. A broken doll shattered by almost two hundred years of torture, yet she still had the composure to swear fealty to the man who ordered her confinement and drink poison on his orders. Her fragility doesn’t line up with the stories we’ve heard of Cain’s arrogant executioner.
Now she sits at the breakfast bar, tracking Silas’s movements around the kitchen as he makes food for himself. She looks almost normal. Or as normal as any woman can whilst wearing a gown from centuries ago in a modern kitchen.
She hasn’t noticed me leaning against the wall beside the door yet. She wouldn’t be quite so relaxed if she had.
Gideon breaks my train of thought as he strides into the kitchen, eyes fixing first on Evie, then landing on me. There’s a wariness in his gaze that I don’t like.
Evie notices his stare and turns back, regarding me as well. She shows no signs of being outwardly surprised, and I frown, wondering if she’s known that I was here all along. When she turns around, giving me her back without a second thought, I cock my head in confusion.
She’s many things, but she’s not stupid enough to dismiss the threat I represent. Perhaps she believes—incorrectly—that the pain of losing the thrall bond will stop me from harming her.
She’s wrong. Pain and I are old friends.
“Your sisters have arrived,” Gideon says, distracting me. “Cain has arranged for them to take you on a tour of the city.”
Her spine stiffens, body tensing like prey sensing a threat.
“Callie and Bella.” She doesn’t phrase it as a question, but Gideon nods anyway.
When he turns to me, I already know what’s coming. My hand clenches on the blade I don’t remember drawing. “No.”
“Cain insisted we don’t leave her unguarded, and Callista requested you specifically.” Gideon’s tone is even, but I haven’t missed the subtle tensing of his muscles in readiness.
My eyes narrow, but before I can say anything, Evie stands and heads for the door.
“Let’s get this over with.” Her voice is calm, like she’s been expecting this.
She probably has. Frost needs her because he claims she’s one of the few people in the world who can think like Cain. I doubt that’s true—no one seems to be able to out-think the first vampire—but if it is, she’s a serious threat to him.
“Before you go,” Silas interrupts, leaning against the counter, his food abandoned. “You should know something.”
She cocks her head at him, waiting for him to continue.
“Cain punished your sisters too. They’ve been made to wear silver collars since you were buried, and they’ve been forbidden from taking lovers.”
That last part isn’t completely true. The three remaining sisters are still allowed to fuck whoever Cain tells them to, which is why Callista could use me however she pleased. My hands ball into fists at the memory, tightening on the blade in my grip.
I must make some noise, because Evie spins to regard me. Our eyes meet, and I can almost see the wheels turning in her mind, but she keeps her thoughts to herself.
“We shouldn’t keep them waiting,” she finally says, turning and starting to walk again, before she glances back at me. “Coming?”
I flick the blade back up into the holster beneath my sleeve before she notices.
“Lead the way, doll.”
The nickname irritates her, and her eyes narrow the slightest fraction before she turns on her heel and strides away. I only catch up with her because she doesn’t have a key card to access the lift. She watches with interest as I slide the metal tag through the lock, but she takes her time stepping in. Her posture has gone rigid again, shoulders climbing up to her ears defensively as the doors slide closed, sealing us in.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise years of being locked in a box have probably made her averse to small spaces. She tugs her sleeves down over her hands and clutches the material so hard it might tear. At least she hasn’t dissolved into hysterics, as another woman might have in her situation. The lack of an emotional display is a relief. I don’t have the capacity to deal with dramatic females.
Instead, she distracts herself by giving me a critical once over. “You don’t look like one of Callista’s pets.”
“You’re treading on dangerous ground,” I warn her evenly, leaning against the steel wall, content to watch her squirm.
“Unless her tastes have changed, she likes her lovers soft and harmless.” Those big, blue eyes trace up and down my body again. “The others fear you.”
So perceptive, and she’s only known us for a handful of days. “You should as well.”
