Blood Ties Read online

  “Darian’s asserting our status to his people,” Reykon said, eyeing the hallway with grim caution. “If anybody bothers us, he’ll know who to put in line.”

  Well, that was reassuring. She pushed it away and focused on the stunning interior. This hallway reminded Robin of a beautiful palace-like hotel, with shimmering doors lining the entire corridor. The passageway seemed to stretch on forever, bending around the corner, with several offshoots and brilliant skyways that let daylight pool on the intricate tile. They stopped about ten doors in, and Ezra opened the room up for Lucidia before turning to the door directly next to it and opening it for Reykon and Robin. “Thanks, Ezra,” Robin said, smiling at him in appreciation.

  “My pleasure,” he returned. “It’s not every day we host celebrities.”

  She rolled her eyes at him and slipped into the room, closing the door behind them. Whatever luxury she’d admired walking through the main area of the castle, it hadn’t prepared her for the status of their room. Beautiful green and silver curtains shrouded the tall, arched windows. Elegant furniture littered the area, along with stunning rugs and carpets, complete with museum-grade artwork lining the walls. Robin’s mouth dropped open, and she stepped into the room as though she wasn’t supposed to be in it. “What the hell…” she muttered, looking around the massive space.

  “Is it suitable to your needs, my lady?” Reykon asked with a coy grin.

  “Umm… yeah, and then some. Is this normal?” Robin whispered.

  He closed the distance between them and wrapped Robin up in his arms, twirling her once and then leaning down to kiss her nose, her lips. “For us.”

  Robin felt lightning race through her at his touch, his kiss, his strong arms encircling her. She let her gaze slip to the massive four post bed with shimmering silver lace curtains and a beautifully beaded comforter. Reykon’s lips moved further down her jaw, burning with desire, leaving heat in their wake. “Rey?” she breathed, gripping him with her arms, pulling him closer.

  He paused, his lips still hovering against her collarbone, hot breath spilling across her skin. “Yeah?”

  “I don’t think that bed’s gonna break,” she murmured. She felt Reykon’s smile against her skin for a split second before he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

  “Maybe we should try it out,” he said, flashing her a brilliant smile.

  “Are you sure this isn’t too much?” she asked, looking in the mirror at the sparkling dress. It was deep gold, with beadwork and embroidery, a wide V that accented her birthmarks and sleeves that tapered off at her shoulders, flowing down delicately. Robin had no clue how it had been prepared, already in their room, considering that they’d only arrived two hours prior, but around vampires, it seemed the strangest things just sort of... happened. Hell, their roommate was a wizard, so it wasn’t the least believable thing in her life. Besides, she wasn’t complaining, because the dress was seriously beautiful.

  “Too much?” Reykon scoffed. “No, Robin, you look stunning.”

  He came up behind her, hugging her as her eyes trailed him in the mirror. He wore tight fitting dress pants with silver buttons plating the front, and a silk dress shirt, both in black. His dark hair had been combed back and now fell in wild, tousled waves. She drank him in, admiring his muscles, the way the shirt billowed across his wide shoulders and made him look like a dashing prince.

  “Do we just… go?”

  “Yeah,” Reykon said with another smile. “The others have probably started.”

  “How did they set up so fast?”

  “Servants,” Reykon said. “A hundred hands makes set up go smoothly.”

  “Right.”

  Just as they turned to the door, a single knock cut through the silence. “Yeah?” Reykon called.

  The door opened, and Robin just about flipped at the sight of Lucidia in a dress. Her eyes widened, and she nearly squeeled at her sister, who just raised an eyebrow at her. “You good?”

  “I… you look amazing!” Robin stammered.

  “I know,” she said with a cocky smile. “Thanks.”

  “I never would have imagined…”

  Lucidia gave a sharp laugh. “You think I sleep in Kevlar? I wear dresses all the time, just not when I’m on duty. I’m certainly not wearing tactical gear to a celebration.”

  The dress was all black, and extremely tight fitting. A long slit raced up the leg (Robin imagined that this feature was for ease of movement, in case Lucidia had to kick someone in the throat or apprehend a criminal). The dress came up to Lucidia’s neck, in a high collar, with long diamond cut outs along the chest, showing her smooth, pale skin. It was stunning, it was stark, and it was entirely Lucidia. Once the immediate shock had faded, they slipped through the hallways, Robin still admiring their beauty, their design, not even paying attention to where they were going. “How do you know where we are?” she asked Reykon.

  “You can sort of guess, if you’ve been in enough strongholds, but Lucidia was here for weeks, so I’m just following her.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t do much sightseeing. I was pretty much bedridden,” she said flatly.

  A touch of guilt lodged in Robin’s chest. “I’m sorry.”

  “What? You’re sorry for saving my life? Don’t be.”

  “I’m sorry you were suffering for so long before we reached out.”

  “When we parted, you were under the impression I was on Darian’s side, working to apprehend you. I would have done the same thing.”

  Robin smiled slightly, letting the subject drop.

  “And are you?” Reykon asked.

  Lucidia glanced back. “What?”

  “Are you on Darian’s side?”

  She let out a long, tense sigh. “I’m on my own side.”

  Reykon nodded, and they came out of the offshoot corridor into the main passageway. Now, hundreds of people flocked in groups, all streaming in the same direction. Robin craned her neck, looking at the large staircases, and then to the grand hall doors, which were closed. “We’re not going in there?”

  Reykon’s smile widened. “The grand hall is mainly ceremonial. For celebrations, we all go to the great hall.”

  “The great hall?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Doesn’t it get a little confusing having a ‘grand’ and ‘great’ hall?”

  Reykon frowned slightly, and then shook his head. “Not really.”

  Robin just rolled her eyes and hit him lightly on the chest. The crowd thickened, all pouring through a series of large doors. There were several sets of them, all in pale, gleaming wood, with thick stones arching around them. It reminded Robin of a theatre, or something, but when the doors opened, she was blown away by what lay inside. The great hall was more of a cafeteria kind of thing. Well, cafeteria and party place and dance floor and musical theatre. Rows and rows of tables were set up, all heaped with greenery and bowls of food, pitchers of drinks, and long benches that bowed from all those sitting on them, laughing and cheering. Children ran through the aisles in packs, playing pretend games or sneaking up to people and yanking on their hair with giggles, running away. Music floated up to the ceiling, billowing around them, all violins and fast paced jigs, smooth singing voices in a language she didn’t recognize. “Holy crap,” she breathed, her eyes trying to take everything in at once. Tall rectangular windows let daylight filter in, the sun high overhead. Everything seemed to shimmer with life, with laughter, and she found herself grinning at the show.

  “Come on,” Reykon said, tugging her hand.

  They walked through the crowd, past servants that raised pitchers triumphantly, dancing around the tables and refilling drinks, until they came to a table near the front, closest to Darian’s raised platform that reminded Robin of the bride and groom’s table. Instead of the wedding party, Darian was surrounded by other vampires, clearly older than most, but not as old as him. Their own tables were circular, and there were three open spots next to Harley and Max. There was also a
blond strongblood with light eyes that Robin hadn’t seen before, who introduced himself as Paxton.

  “What do you think?” Max asked, kicking Robin’s chair out.

  “Thanks,” she said, sitting down and scooting in. “It’s… well, I’ve only seen stuff like this in movies.”

  “I know, right?” Max said with a smile. “Blew me away, too.”

  Robin’s eyebrow quirked up. “You’re…”

  “I was born in Chicago. Lived there, too, until I was eighteen.”

  “Oh,” Robin said, her eyebrows pulling together. Someone came up behind Robin and she barely had time to look before a plate came sailing down next to her. It was piled high with something that smelled like heaven. People were moving all around her in a dizzying dance, putting plates down, taking them back up, refilling glasses. Someone handed her a golden goblet (a literal goblet, or chalice), filled to the top with wine.

  “Cheers,” Lucidia said, raising hers tall, along with Reykon.

  An incredulous smile spread out on Robin’s face. “It’s only noon!”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?” Reykon asked with a crooked grin. She laughed, and shrugged, before taking a big gulp of the sweet wine.

  The daylight darkened, turning golden yellow as they talked and swapped stories. Robin had to tell the story of Calliope’s magical ritual and Magnus’s fall about fifteen times over the course of a few hours, and she listened to Lucidia and Reykon’s account of the same night with morbid curiosity. A few of the children came up to their table, hiding behind the chairs and sneaking glimpses of them. One of the little girls, a human, from the looks of her, pulled out a cloth doll with blond hair and red stripes, grinning at Robin. Robin grinned back and waved at the girl, which sent her running the other direction and gave their whole table a good laugh. They drank until the room started spinning, they ate until Robin was ready to burst at the seams, and then they danced until Robin thought her legs would give out from underneath her. By the time it was dusk, Robin couldn’t imagine going on any longer, even though Reykon and Lucidia assured her that the party wasn’t halfway over.

  They were dancing, Reykon teaching her some of the steps to the beautifully choreographed dance that everybody knew how to do, partners twirling across the floor in perfect timing, each pairing equidistant from the other. They watched from the fringes, admiring it, and even Lucidia had joined in, twirling around with Paxton, the blond strongblood. Ezra was on the floor, too, with another vampire woman. Robin was just about to point Lucidia out to Reykon when she felt a jarring impact on her shoulder and stumbled into him before righting herself. Her eyes turned to find a steely-looking royal vampire, sneering at her. “Watch yourself,” he hissed.

  The way he looked at her, the disgusted snarl, the burning red eyes, everything made her blood boil. Not to mention the amount of wine she’d already had. “You ran into me,” she said with an angry scowl.

  Judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn’t used to being backtalked.

  Reykon’s hand found her arm and he pulled her away, tense and guarded. “Just leave him.”

  “Half-breed whore,” the vampire sneered with a triumphant grin.

  She felt Reykon stiffen from behind her, and her own anger soared. “What did you call me?” she snapped.

  “You heard me,” the vampire said, voice dripping in arrogance.

  Robin stepped towards him swiftly, letting the energy inside of her rise, her birthmarks glowing and pulsing as she made her abilities known. “Say it to my face, bloodsucker,” she hissed. “See what happens.”

  “Are you threatening me?” he seethed, his eyes lighting up in anger.

  “Robin…” Reykon warned.

  “Whether or not it’s a threat depends on what you do next,” she threw back.

  The vampire stood there, rigid and tense, before turning back to glare at Darian for a long moment. He whipped away, slinking into the crowd. Robin was nearly shaking in anger, watching as the asshole disappeared from her view. “Good choice,” she muttered under her breath. Reykon was at her side, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw his red power thrumming, just barely, preparation for a fight. Robin let out a long breath, stumbling out of the way of the dancers. The music pounded in her ears, the motion now dizzying. She eyed the side door. “I need some air.”

  Reykon walked with her, his steps tense and clipped, until they broke into the corridor. This one was a wraparound walkway, open to the air, with a roof of stone that came down in arches along the bannister. Ivy and flowering baskets lined the fringe of the bannisters, giving it a majestic garden kind of feel. Robin drew in a big breath, bracing her elbows on the smooth stone railing. “You okay?”

  “I’ve had too much to drink,” she said with a light laugh. “And my heart’s still pounding. Jesus.”

  “They won’t just accept us,” he muttered, joining her at the railing. “We knew it would be like this.”

  “They’re just bullies,” Robin muttered.

  “No, they’re age-old vampires that hate being opposed.”

  “Bullies,” she repeated bitterly.

  Reykon shrugged, his eyes scanning the dark twilight. Stars had just started glimmering against the shroud of night, peeking out from in between thick, wispy clouds. They stood there like that, side by side, watching the sky, until Robin felt a cluster of heat on her right arm. She glanced down the walkway but saw nothing. “Vampires approaching,” she warned Reykon.

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel them.”

  One by one they slunk out of the shadows, until five royals stood in front of them. Robin straightened up, and Reykon stepped to her side, shifting his weight in preparation of a fight. “Problem?” he growled.

  The vampire at the head of the group was the one that had insulted Robin. He’d come back with friends, apparently. “An unbound strongblood and a vampire killer, loose in our halls, breaking bread with our humans,” he sneered. “Despicable.”

  Robin watched him, her jaw set in an angry scowl. “We’re here because of Darian. We’re not here to make friends with assholes like you.”

  “You bitch,” the man sneered.

  “Let’s be civil,” Reykon warned.

  The vampire scoffed bitterly. “Civil? What’s civil about eating with unleashed dogs and mutant half-breeds?”

  Reykon’s fist tightened at his side, but still, he kept his cool, which was more than Robin was doing. Robin was so angry she felt the heat in her face, splashing across her chest. Red-hot fire burned from inside of her, lashing to be let out.

  “You think you can best me, strongblood?” the vampire sneered. “Go ahead and try.” In an instant, the head vampire rushed up to Reykon, intending to startle them both, and delivered a blow straight to Reykon’s chest, launching him back nearly twenty feet and sending him skidding across the stone. Robin’s rage surged and she slammed her hand onto the vampire’s chest faster than he could even react. She ripped his energy out in a long draw, quickly, jarring him but not ending him yet. He let out a groan and sunk to his knees, shaking from the injury, feeble against her force. A wicked smile curved onto Robin’s lips as she moved her hand to his throat, squeezing it with enough force to feel her fingernails digging into the cold flesh of his neck. Anger obscured her thoughts, pulsing through her veins as she dragged harsh breaths in. “Not so strong now, are we?” One of the vampires from the pack stepped forward with an angry snarl, and Robin’s burning blue eyes snapped up to his. “Take another step, and I will end his vampiric existence, do you understand me?” The vampire’s eyes flared, but he crept back to his spot, glaring in futile rage. Robin let her gaze fall back to the vampire in front of her, quaking with weakness, pale and despicable. “When I turned Magnus into a human, his teeth fell out and he was left on the ground in a lump of weak, soft flesh. Is that what you want? Because if you keep poking the bear, eventually, the bear will bite back, and I swear to you, you’re not gonna like it when I do.”
/>   The vampire made a gurgling noise and shook his head in a feeble twitch. Robin continued, bolstered by his pitiful movements. “You will never approach me or my husband again. You won’t talk to us, you won’t talk about us, in fact, you won’t even look at us. If I hear any disrespect, even a whisper of it, I’m coming after you first, you got it?” He nodded, another moan escaping his lips. Cold blood had started to stream from his nose, his eyes, pooling and slipping between Robin’s fingers. Robin ignored it and leaned in closer, only an inch from his face. “This is the second time I’ve shown you mercy, bloodsucker. Let me be very, very clear: there won’t be a third.” She released him, and he fell in a heap on the floor, twitching and moaning.

  Another voice cut through the shadows, sending ice through her veins. “Disperse,” Darian commanded in a voice like steel.

  Robin’s eyes tracked him as he emerged from behind one of the columns, a master of deception and stealth, to watch the four vampires drag the asshole away, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. When they were gone, she turned to Darian. “You were there? You could’ve-”

  “It was not my place,” he said in a tight voice.

  Robin let out a sharp breath and glanced back to Reykon, who’d healed and stumbled back over, straightening his shirt and recovering. “Jesus Christ…” she muttered. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It had to happen, Thraxos,” Darian said simply.

  “What?” Robin asked, looking between them, and understanding the silent exchange. “Wait, you knew that was going to happen?”

  “It was highly likely.”

  “And you couldn’t have, oh, I don’t know, ordered them to stand down?” she snapped, her anger rising.

  Darian stepped forward, closing the distance between them and nearly towering over her. “It had to come from you.”

  Robin straightened her shoulders and forced herself to look at him head-on. “You could have given me some warning. I wouldn’t have gotten so drunk.”