“I went back to the rendezvous point, and he still wasn’t there.” She glanced at Laurie again, and her jaw tightened. “Something else was waiting for me. I’m sorry, Laurelis, but Morelli is dead. Belanor must’ve found out where his true loyalties were. From the state of the body, I’d say he was tortured.”
“Fuck.” Laurie let out a breath. He spun away, putting one hand on his hip while the other rubbed his mouth. The line of his shoulders was taut, his movements thoughtless. He walked one way, stopped, then walked past us.
I was struggling, too. Morelli and I hadn’t exchanged more than a few words, and he’d been generally unpleasant during those brief interactions, but someone else had died because of me. Someone else would be talking to a headstone instead of the person they loved. A person who had liked red cars and could make Laurie smile his real smile. I tried to blame Belanor again. This time, my conviction felt flimsy. False.
When Laurie finally turned back to Lensa, I saw real grief in his eyes, and I remembered that Lensa had called Morelli his Right Hand. The guilt ripped into me even deeper.
“Fuck,” Laurie said again, his eyes too bright. “Has anyone told Anne yet?”
She shook her head, her lips a dark slash. “No. We thought it should come from you.”
I felt like an intruder to their shared sorrow. Thinking to give the siblings a moment of privacy, I sidestepped the pool of blood on the floor and reached for Gil’s arm without thinking. It was like I’d known him my entire life, and the gesture was as natural as it would’ve been if I had touched Damon or Matthew. I was about to let go, but then I noticed how the vampire’s side of the bond had lit up. I barely had to wonder what he was thinking before I could hear them. His thoughts and feelings. The core of Gil, the warm and gently-lit soul within the shroud of death that now surrounded it.
Being near me made Gilbert Payne feel calmer. Stronger. He knew I was there, lingering in the light of him, a silent observer to every secret and impulse. He didn’t care; he just knew it was easier for him to resist the blood when he could feel my cool presence, pressing against him like a cold compress against this fever dream he’d been in since those fuckers took him in London. The blood, the blood, the blood. God, he wanted the blood. He wanted to get down on his hands and knees and lap it off the tiles like a goddamn dog.
I blinked, pulling back from Gil’s thoughts. He wasn’t even looking at me; he stared down at the body again and I could sense his unraveling control. Laurie and Lensa were still speaking, their silver heads bent toward each other. I pulled Gil away. Away from the blood and the conversation I didn’t want to hear. Thankfully, Gil didn’t fight me.
I wasn’t sure what made me slow down, then stop altogether. One moment I was drowning in guilt, and the next I heard a whisper at the edge of my senses. A sense that we were being watched.
Vulen’s voice crept into my ear; he was standing right behind me. “Don’t turn around. Lose the Dondarte siblings and meet His Majesty in the library. Or the werewolf dies. Come alone, or—”
“—the werewolf dies,” I finished tersely. “Yeah, I think I got it.”
Gil gave Vulen a hiss of warning, but I held out my hand. The vampire leaned back, his fangs extended over his lower lip. I longed to kill Vulen then and there. What would that cost Finn, though? Every decision had consequences. “Gil stays with me, though. If Belanor doesn’t like that, you can tell him to go fuck himself.”
Without giving the faerie a chance to respond, I turned and stalked back to Laurie. Lensa tensed, reaching for a sword that wasn’t there. You and me both, I thought. I’d feel much better with a knife in my hand right now.
“Keep your mind empty for what I’m about to say, or better yet, hide your reaction with mundane thoughts,” I instructed under my breath. Laurie’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes darted to the stretch of hallway where I’d been standing. I knew, without turning, that Vulen would be gone. “Belanor is alive and just sent Vulen to fetch me. He said to come to the library alone or they’d kill Finn.”
I watched Laurie’s mind work. I didn’t need to be a telepath to know at least some of those thoughts. The allies he’d been counting on were missing. We’d already put the decoy Fortuna in place. There was no going back, and there was no going forward. Not without Finn, who Laurie knew I wouldn’t leave behind.
“Do as Belanor says. Look for the red doors, and when you get there, stall for time,” he said back, the words barely audible. Louder he added, “We’ll have to split up. Lensa and I will deal with the wolf. Take the vampire and get off palace grounds. Wait for us at the next rendezvous point.”
This was for Vulen’s benefit, I realized. Laurie knew he’d be listening to every word we exchanged, making sure I followed the parameters Belanor had set.
Tensing at the thought, I imagined my mind as the wall of a prison, thick and impenetrable with barbed wire along the top. What was Laurie’s new plan, then? He and Belanor kept dancing around each other, making every effort to avoid a physical or public confrontation. How could he help me save Finn without being seen or using his powers? Laurie may have vowed to kill Belanor, but when it came down to it, was that something he was truly capable of?
I wanted to argue, but anything I said would be overheard. There was no time, anyway. I nodded to Laurie, then at Lensa, hoping they would see the genuine gratitude in my eyes. They were risking everything to help me, and I wanted to acknowledge that before I went to face Belanor.
Sparing them the discomfort of responding, I picked up my heavy skirt and walked away. Gil kept up with me effortlessly, and I suspected he’d heard everything, because he didn’t ask any questions. I could feel Laurie’s eyes on my back for a moment, and then the sensation vanished. We hurried down the empty hallway, sounds from the party drifting past. Most of the lights were dimmed in this part of the palace, though, and soon it felt like we were completely alone. Just as Belanor wanted.
“This way,” Gil muttered. He could probably smell the books, or Finn, or both. It was a good thing I’d insisted on bringing him, I thought as I followed his lead. Neither Vulen or Laurie had bothered giving me directions. We snuck through the shadows, weaving behind pillars and plants. Then I turned my head and saw them.
The red doors, Laurie had said.
For once, he hadn’t been speaking in metaphor or riddles—two doors towered over us, painted the color of a tree at the peak of autumn. They stood wide open, allowing any passerby to see the shelves of books inside.
Gil held up two fingers. Two people were in there, the gesture meant. I nodded to indicate I’d understood. My heart was unsteady, but there was nothing hesitant about how I crossed the threshold. Gil moved in a blur and appeared at my side again.
Together, we walked into the library.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Like the rest of the palace, the high-ceilinged room was lit by wall sconces and lamps.
There was a chandelier overhead here, as well, but every bulb and dangling bit of glass was shrouded in darkness. I didn’t need to ask any of the palace staff to know why—this was not a time for being seen. For Fallen, this was a time of slinking through the shadows and hunting our prey.