After Layla and Penny told me of the restroom confrontation last night, I made a slight tweak to the plan for today.
“What do you mean I’m not allowed to leave the hotel?” Layla demands. Her eyes are furious, her hands on her hips, her mouth twisted into a frown.
“It’s too dangerous,” I tell her, tying my tie around my neck.
Our venture to the club didn’t pan out the way I thought. The intention was to acquire more information regarding Balthazar’s operation.
In some aspects we did, but I am still uneasy about her bathroom encounter.
After she filled me in on the details, we left the club abruptly. Hearing her say we had been followed left much to chance.
By the looks of her face, I can tell she’s unhappy about my request.
Layla scoffs. “Genesis is staying with me!”
“And Genesis is as old as you,” I say. “If Balthazar is planning something, you’ll need all of the protection you can get.”
“Unfortunately, it isn’t. You’re too young, Layla, and too new at being a lycan. You haven’t been properly trained,” I say.
“But I was trained enough to go with you guys to get Alistair Pembroke,” Layla says.
“Pembroke was child’s play,” I tell her. “He was a human trying to control a horde of vampire sirens that weren’t actually under his control.”
She looks at me, a bit puzzled.
“Balthazar Aristophanes is a lycan. He’s lived for hundreds of years. Pembroke, I could manipulate. Balthazar… this is risky. And I don’t want him taking advantage of the fact that I’m not with you to do something.”
I sigh. “Men like Balthazar don’t think the rules apply to them. That’s why I’m going to this meeting—to try and smooth things over. But there’s no guarantee. That’s why you are staying right here.”
I take Layla by the arms and set her on the edge of the bed. She glares balefully at me.
“I’ll be back in a few hours,” I tell her. “Everything will be fine.”
The Balthazar estate is just like I remember it, even if it’s been several decades since I last visited. It’s grand, with sparkling white marble columns and lush greenery all around.
We’re taken inside and led to a formal dining room, a large cherry oak table taking up residence in the middle of the room.
Balthazar is already seated at the head of the table, and he doesn’t stand to greet us when we enter.
“Welcome, Lord Archer and friends,” he says, hands folded in front of him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of already assigning spots for you to sit at. You’ll find your name written on a placard on your plate.”
Louis and I exchange wary glances. Everyone else is taking in the surroundings, calculating where Balthazar might be hiding anything untoward. I make the first move.
“Thank you so much for having us, Mr. Aristophanes,” I say, making my way toward him at the head of the table.
He smiles congenially at me, but his eyes are dead.
“The pleasure is mine, Lord Archer,” Balthazar says. His eyes scan through the group, hesitating on Serena and Penny. “And which of these lovely ladies is your fling of the week?”
“So, that’s the story you’re going with, is it?” Balthazar asks. On the table, his clenched hands turn white.
My eyes narrow. “Not a story, just the truth.”
Balthazar’s hands squeeze together for one more moment before everything about him relaxes. He lets out a light laugh.
“There’s no need to get into this right now. You came to have a polite dinner. Please, sit.”
He motions to the chair next to him, steel in his gaze. I see that my name is written on the plate. And on the plate next to mine, so is Layla’s.
I see red. My lycan seethes under the surface, and Louis shoots a hand out to squeeze my shoulder harshly, shoving his thumb directly into the pressure point where my neck and shoulder meet.
The pain makes my jaw grit, but works to ground me as I spit out my words.
“How do you know her name?” I demand, feeling my claws flick out at my side as Louis calmly steps in front of me, keeping a firm grip on my shoulders. I can’t take my eyes off of Balthazar, though.
“I know lots of things, Lord Archer,” Balthazar says calmly, though there’s a hint of giddiness in there, as if he can’t believe he got me to crack. “Just like I know that you killed my Helen.”
“Gideon—” Louis begins.
“Not now, Louis,” I growl, not taking my eyes off of Balthazar. He stands up in his seat, a gleam in his eyes.
He gives a cruel look.
“I can’t control the lycan nature any more than you can, Balthazar,” I tell him.
He looks away at this, but his hands clench.
Balthazar looks away, his hands clenching.
“I never wished her ill until she went after Layla.”
Balthazar seethes.
It’s a quiet threat, but a threat nonetheless. Balthazar knows it. He looks murderous.
But after a few moments, he sits back down, his head in his hands.
Serena steps forward then, coming up beside me. “The Palace is sorry for your loss.”
Balthazar looks like he wants to say something poisonous at that, but he holds it back. Even he isn’t stupid enough to provoke the Palace.
“And on that topic,” Serena continues smoothly, “we need to talk about the vampire sirens that you were conspiring to make with the human, Alistair Pembroke.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Balthazar lies. He has no tells, nothing to give away that he is lying, but we have proof—the letters.
Constantine steps forward and sets a folder down of the copies that we’d made. The originals are under lock and key with Genesis back at the hotel.
“We have correspondence that shows that you knew Alistair Pembroke and brought him into your employ. From what we’ve read, it appears that you were making an army to get back at Lord Archer.
It’s a threat to the Palace.” Serena’s voice is no-nonsense, matter-of-fact.
Balthazar pales the more that she speaks.
“If this continues, you will be brought to the Palace and tried for treason,” Serena finishes.
Balthazar audibly swallows, but when he speaks, his voice is strong.
“I understand your concern, of course,” he says, “but I can assure you that the making of the vampire sirens is no more. That was all on Pembroke’s end, and as I’m sure you know, he’s dead.”
Serena angles her head. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” There’s a glimmer of sweat on Balthazar’s brow that catches under the lighting. Serena surveys him steadily, but finally, she turns away.
“Well, we’ll be staying for a week just to make sure everything is above board. If anything comes to mind, please, make sure to get in contact with us,” she says.
“Aren’t you staying for dinner?” Balthazar asks.
Serena pauses and looks at him over her shoulder. “No. Change of plans.”
“Can’t we just go to some of the gift shops?” I ask Genesis. “Just to look?”
“You can go with Gideon later in the week,” she says, not looking up from the papers in her hands. I groan and throw myself down onto the couch.
“I thought we’d be able to at least train or something,” I say.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go over these papers,” Genesis says.
“What papers?” I ask.
Genesis pauses. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
I frown. “The letters?” Gideon had told me about the letters between Alistair and Balthazar, but he hadn’t elaborated, and he’d refused to let me see them.
Genesis sighs. “Yes, but you and I both know that Gideon would kill me if I let you near them, so please drop it.”
“What’s so bad about these letters?” I ask.
“They just… Gideon’s worried, is all. He doesn’t want you to worry,” she says.
“Not knowing makes me worry,” I say. “And I’m old enough to know what I can handle.”
“I agree,” Genesis says, “but Gideon’s wrath is not something I want to incur.”
“Hmm,” I say. I sit up on the couch and bring my knees to my chest.
I watch Genesis read the letters for a few minutes, then stand up and stretch. “I’m going to go take a nap, then, if you won’t let me do anything else.”
Genesis gives me a look verging on pity. “I’m sorry, Layla.”
I don’t say anything else, just walk back to Gideon and my room. The room has a balcony attached to it, and I walk out there.
We’re several stories up and overlooking the sandy beach. The water is a deep blue.
I rest my arms on the balcony railing, taking in the view. I wish that I could go down there and just walk around—just to experience it.
I know that I’ll have all week to do that, but being forced to stay put doesn’t sit right with me.
I’m a grown adult. I should be allowed to walk around a city.
I purse my lips and go back into the room. I pull on my sandals and grab my purse. Then I go back out to the balcony.
I’m a lycan, right? So, surely, I can stand to jump a few stories. I map out the course with my eyes—I can jump from balcony to balcony until I reach the ground.
Taking a deep breath, I tighten my purse strap around my body and dangle myself over the edge.
Then, I drop.
One, two, three.
I lose count by the time I’ve finally reached the ground, but I’m in one piece with no scratches.
Getting back to the room will be a challenge, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
For now, I’m free.
I head down the first street I see, one filled with shops and stands. Owners and sellers call out to me as I pass by.
I stop at each one, examining the different things they have—fruits, vegetables, braided leather bracelets, blown-glass pendants.
Everything is so beautiful and breathtaking. I wish I’d brought my camera so that I could take a picture.
I wind my way through the streets, losing track of time. Above me, the sky changes color as the sun slowly sets, and I know that I should probably get back to the room soon.
Genesis might find out I was gone, but I don’t need Gideon to know.
I turn the corner, intent on heading back to the hotel, but I find myself in a dead-end alley. I blink and move to turn around, but a flash of movement at the end of the alley catches my eye.
“Hello?” I call out.
“Hello.” The person steps out of the shadows. It’s a man with pale skin and bronze hair slicked back from his face. His voice is soothing and melodic, and it sets my teeth on edge—a vampire siren, I’m certain of it.
I take a step back to run away, but the man just laughs.
“Don’t leave now,” he says. “We were just getting started.” He snaps his fingers and two vampire sirens appear on either side of me.
One is the girl from last night. I almost say something to her, but her eyes warn me against doing it. She looks afraid, like they coerced her into doing this.
“What do you want?” I ask the man.
He grins. The waning light glints off of his fangs. “I just have orders to take you to Mr. Aristophanes. After that, I’m out of your hair.”
“Like hell that’s going to happen,” I growl. My teeth elongate, and my fingers ripple as my claws slide out.
The man laughs again. “Look at the cute little lycan,” he coos. “Thinking she can fight her way out of this.
I will my teeth and nails back to normal size so I look completely human again as I race through the markets and stores.
I make it back to the hotel much quicker than I’d walked away from it.
I don’t bother to look behind me to see if anyone is following; instead, I focus on getting to the hotel and security and Genesis up in our suite.
I push open the doors to the hotel and walk quickly across the lobby. The doorman greets me, but I don’t say anything, too focused on putting space between me and the vampire sirens.
I don’t want them to attack anyone here, which is why I need to get up to the suite.
The elevator is empty when it arrives, and I step inside. I hit the button for the doors to close repeatedly, and I breathe a sigh of relief when they do.
I count the floors as they climb up and up and up until I’m finally on our floor. We’re one of two suites, so it’s easy to find our door and slip inside.
Despite the relative calm of the scene, the noise is loud and explosive.
Gideon shouts at Genesis, far too quickly for me to understand, while Reginald and Louis are on either side of him trying to calm him down.
Louis looks up when I enter.
“Layla, thank goodness,” he says.
Gideon turns on me, his face redder than I’ve ever seen it.
“Where the hell did you go?” he demands, voice deadly calm.
“I’m allowed to go places,” I say, unwilling to let him treat me like a child. But I do need to tell him about what happened, so I do.
His nostrils flare with every word I speak, and by the time I’m done, everyone is staring at me in varying degrees of horror.
“You can’t stay here,” Gideon says when I’m done.
“But—” I begin, but Gideon cuts me off.
“Balthazar is growing bold, and you can’t be trusted to stay put when I ask you to,” he continues as if I haven’t even spoken.
“You’re one to talk about trust,” I spit.
Gideon stops talking but walks up to me slowly, his eyes on fire.
“You’re treating me like a child,” I complain, and that gives him pause. He turns back to Genesis and the others.
“We’ll be going to Ethiopia,” he tells them. “Layla has family there, so that’s an extra layer of protection, plus I can talk to Count Fernsby, see if he’s heard anything about Balthazar and the vampire sirens.”
“And we’ll stay here?” Genesis asks.
Gideon nods. “You still need to keep an eye on Balthazar. You guys can continue to visit him under the guise of the Palace.”
“Well, then Reginald and I will come with you and Layla,” Louis says. Gideon looks like he wants to argue, but Louis silences him with a hand. “I’m not palace staff, Gideon. You can’t order me around.”
Gideon sighs. “Fine. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“But—” I try again. Gideon walks away before I can finish.
Goodbye, Greece, I guess. Hello, Ethiopia.
