“Exactly. I mean, I know the perks of making a good match. I mean, look at this place! Of course, most familiars who produce an heir are turned.” She sighed. “But I don’t want a match. I want a mate. I guess I want it all.”
“Why settle?” I agreed with her. It would be easy for anyone to be taken in by the fabulous wealth and privilege on display. Add a chance at immortality to the mix, and that would be enough for most people. I liked Quinn for wanting more than that.
“If only my family agreed. But they’re so obsessed with the damn treaty–” The deep vibrating crash of a gong. On the other side of the room, two double doors opened. Quinn’s arm flew out, shoving me against the wall as familiars crowded toward the party. Once the majority were past us, we stood and smoothed our dresses.
“Thanks,” I said breathlessly.
“Are you ready for this?” she asked.
I took one look at the doors that led to the Blood Orgy, gulped down a surge of fear, and nodded.
“Stick close to me until you see Julian,” she advised me.
I did as she suggested, moving by her side as we made our way into a stunning multi-story atrium. Lush, exotic plants were clustered around velvet couches and benches. My mouth fell open as I watched one of the women in a chiffon dress approach a vampire lounging against the sloped back of a divan. She dropped into his lap and stretched her neck in invitation. He smiled at her, his hand drifting between her legs to her naked sex before his mouth clamped down, and he began to feed.
“Do you think they know each other?” I asked numbly as the woman began to moan. I wasn’t sure if she was responding to the hand intimately exploring her, or his feeding.
Quinn shrugged. “Who knows? I mean, there is another way to snag a vampire.”
“Which is?” I murmured.
“Get knocked up. Oldest trick in the grimoire,” she teased. Then the smile fell from her face. “I’m sorry that was thoughtless.”
“Why?” I couldn’t look away from the vampire and the woman. She had shifted to straddle him now, grinding her bare bottom over his trousers until he reached to free himself for her. I looked away, embarrassed to be watching such an intimate act. That was silly since they didn’t care.
“Because you can’t give Julian an heir.” She patted my arm, chewing on her lip as if delivering bad news. “Only familiars can conceive with a vampire.”
Something twisted in my chest, but I hid the sharp, unexpected pain behind a smile. “Oh that,” I said, forcing a laugh. “Sorry, I’m a little distracted.”
“Why would that be?” she said with a snort.
We maneuvered our way through the crowd, managing not to get swept into any of the small groups forming in clusters throughout the atrium. Moans filled the air around us, and with each step I took, I found it harder to block the sights and sounds out. The strangest thing was that I wasn’t embarrassed or shocked. I was turned on. It was beginning to take hold of me when Quinn elbowed me and pointed.
“Is that him?” she asked.
Julian stood halfway up the stairs as if he’d been surveying the crowd. My eyes met his, and I knew he’d been looking for me. He nodded, one unspoken command, to stay put, and then started toward me. The crowd parted for him. Even people mid-ecstasy seemed to shift to allow him passage. The world shifted on its very axis as Julian crossed to me through the orgy.
“Doesn’t look so complicated to me,” Quinn whispered before he reached us. “I think he knows exactly what he wants.”
That made two of us. But as Julian approached me, his blue eyes never leaving me, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Why?
Before he reached me, the gong rang out again, causing even Julian to pause. The crowd fell silent as Sabine Rousseaux made her entrance, sashaying to the top of the stairs with effortless grace.
“Welcome, my friends.” She spread her arms out in an elegant gesture, reminding me of a conductor before his orchestra. Of course, that’s what we were to her: instruments for her to direct, players meant to entertain. “Before you enjoy your evening, I’m afraid we have a pretender in our midst. Please give us a moment to remove our uninvited guest.”
And then all eyes fell on me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JULIAN
It took a lot to stop an orgy. My mother had managed it, though.
A hush fell over the room after her shocking announcement. I started through the crowd again, ignoring her decree, taking care not to draw too much attention to myself. But all around me there was a soft whoosh as collectively every being in attendance turned in my direction–or more specifically, in the direction of Thea.
“Fuck,” I muttered. I had expected my mother to be cold and condescending. I didn’t think she’d go as far as throwing Thea out of our house. Everyone moved in, trying to catch a glimpse at what had rattled the party’s hostess. The swarming masses closed between us, and I lost sight of Thea. Something pounded in my chest, propelling me forward to the spot I’d last seen her. I shoved through the crowd, earning a few harsh words and glares. But I was no longer concerned with being polite. I could only think of reaching her before anyone else did.
I spotted her just as the security team arrived. Thrusting aside a couple curious onlookers, I stepped in front of Thea like a shield.
“Julian,” she whispered, sounding relieved. Her delicate fingers closed around my bicep. She held on to me like I was an anchor as the guards stalked toward us.
“Gentlemen,” I said in a tone rich with warning. I’d known most of these men my whole life. Three of them were vampires, and two were humans. We weren’t exactly friends, but they felt like members of the family. None of that mattered now. I would do whatever I had to do to keep their hands off her.
“Sir.” Cassius, the head guard, gave me a stiff nod. “Don’t worry, we have this under control.”
He continued past us and stopped a few feet away in front of a vampire clad in all black. Unlike the masks the others wore, his mask covered his whole face. It was blank save for a single red slash painted across it.
“Please come with us,” Cassius said quietly but firmly.
The vampire remained in place as if he didn’t hear the request. People began to back away as the other guards circled him. A musty, sweet smell filled the air–the scent of fear. I’d smelled it on battlefields and back alleys, but never in a ballroom filled with vampires and witches.
“Don’t make this hard,” Cassius urged him as two guards flanked the uninvited guest.
He didn’t resist them, but they only made it a few steps toward the door when the party crasher called into the hushed room. “Carpe Noctem!”
Instantly, the mood in the room shifted. Whispers filled the space along with a number of harsh rebukes. The murmurs quickly turned into a buzz of conversations that filled the space. A few shouted back, hurling vulgarities at him.
