Page 104 of Entombed By Blood
I wore the dress to pacify him, but it has also painted a huge target on our backs.
“Evie, he already knows,”Finn reminds me, his tone gentle.“Cameras, remember?”
Ugh, I forgot about that. Technology is yet another piece in this elaborate game we’re playing, and it frustrates me that I still barely understand how it works.
“Callie is over there,” I whisper, looking at the largest group of people.
“How can you tell?” Frost asks.
“She needs to be at the centre of attention,” I reply, flicking my hair back over my shoulder. “Bella will be behind the scenes somewhere, fixing whatever last-minute crisis my sire doesn’t even know about yet. Morwen’s likely waiting for the perfect time to make her entrance. But… I don’t see Immy.”
Normally, she’d be my shadow at an event like this, and habit has me checking over my shoulder for her just in case.
Nothing. No auburn hair, no shy little smile. My heart aches.
“We’ll get her back,”Finn promises, feeling my pain down the bond.
“I know,” I whisper. “Both of them.”
Nothing else is acceptable.
“I see Draven,” Frost mutters, and I have to resist the urge to swivel and search for him. “Gideon’s above us with his rifle.”
“I’ve got all three of you in my sights,”the alpha confirms.“Cain isn’t here yet, and neither is Imogen. I see Morwenna, though. She’s across from you, on the balcony.”
Without a word,Frost starts to manoeuvre the pair of us around the room, steering us away from the blood and anyone who looks a little too interested. The entire place is packed with social climbers, all of them trying to find a way into my sire’s good graces. The desperation in the room cloys my nose almost as badly as their perfumes, bringing back memories of life before the coffin.
“Nothing’s changed,” I tell Frost. “He’s still a god to these people.”
“But not to you?” Frost asks, eyes searching mine.
I shake my head. “No. Not anymore.”
It takes some searching, but we find the stairs to the balcony, only to discover a new flaw in our plan.
“There are guards,” I hiss, watching as a giggling couple are turned away by the duo of unimpressed, uniformed lycans.
“Relax,” Frost orders. “They’re not going to stop us.”
I want to ask him what he means by that, but we’re too close now for me to risk it. The guards have noticed us, but Frost doesn’t slow down. If anything, he speeds up.
They’re going to stop us. I can see it in their eyes. Their muscles tense, preparing to spring into action.
But... they don’t.
One of them lifts his hand to his ear, and whispers something into his sleeve as we pass, but they won’t meet my eyes now.
“What can I say except you’re welcome?”Finn sing-songs.
“What did he do?” I whisper, leaning into Frost as we climb the stairs.
Finn answers for him.“I hacked into their coms, isolated their connection, and severed it just long enough toconnect with it myself. I fed my voice through a piece of software that makes it sound like I’m one of their commanders and gave the order to let you pass. Voila, you’re part of the upstairs crew.”
Even after spending days locked inside a cabin trying to catch up with the modern world, I can’t deny I have almost no idea what he’s talking about, but it sounds impressive.
When I say as much, there are soft chuckles from all of my thralls.
Chapter Thirty-Six
