As one, Henry and I turn our heads. Noah stands in the doorway of the pool house. His mask is still firmly in place, but his mouth is uncovered, making it easy to see his needle-sharp fangs gleaming in the firelight. My relief is so overwhelming that I nearly sob.
When I look up at Henry, expecting him to move, I see a vein in his forehead throbbing. He’s a child who’s been interrupted during playtime. “Who are you?” the Crown Prince asks through his teeth, his own fangs bared. He doesn’t get off me.
Noah looks pointedly at Henry’s hands. “As I said, I am Charlotte’s owner. Which means you are damaging my property.”
Henry finally straightens. His suffocating weight disappears and air whooshes back to my lungs. Biting back another sob, I fix my dress and stand on shaky legs. The venom hasn’t finished its journey through my system yet, apparently.
“...happily reimburse you,” Henry is saying, tugging at his shirt cuffs. “How much would you like for her? You couldn’t have paid much.”
Noah chuckles darkly. “By the blood, if you’re the future of New Ve, we are absolutely screwed.”
Henry doesn’t have a chance to respond—there’s a short beat of silence, and then the bombs hit.
Chapter Three
Dust. That’s the detail standing out in my mind as I regain awareness. It floats in the air and settles all around where I’m laying. It coats my hands, my stomach, my legs. I don’t have enough strength to brush it off or wipe it away. I can’t do anything but cling to life and wait for the healing to start. There are sounds all around me, too. Moans. Sobbing. Footsteps.
As I lay there, staring up at the stars, I feel distant from reality. My mind wanders. What the hell happened? Why am I here?
Bits and pieces gradually float back, like feathers on the air. We were here for the masquerade, Noah and I, to find out who’s been dealing vampire venom. I’d stepped outside—no, Noah forced me out, I correct silently. Then… Henry.
By the blood, he tried to kill me when I found out he was the traitor. The Crown Prince. The Vampire King’s own heir. If the public finds out, Alexander will be humiliated. Furious. Even more deadly. I need to tell him about Henry now, not only to save my own life, but everyone else’s.
Slow down, Charlie. Keep going back. You still haven’t remembered the rest, a calm voice in my head instructs.
Right. After Noah intervened—damn it, he’d saved my life again—I remember the ground shaking. I remember the air filling with fire and shouts of panic. I remember running from the pool house, flying back down the path, thinking only of my family and getting them out. I remember a scream tearing its way up my throat when I saw what had happened to the place I used to call home. Flames and smoke billowed out of the French doors I’d walked through not ten minutes ago. Did my sisters get out in time? Were Gabriela or Alexei at the party?
There were vampires and humans everywhere, most of them masked, many of them injured. I searched their eyes, hoping for a glimpse of Beatrix’s red or Gabriela’s lavender.
Then another explosion had gone off, blowing me backward, and I hit the ground so hard that everything went black.
How long have I been out? What if someone I love is dying? Slowly, I begin to sit up, but pain knocks me over like a tidal wave. I return to the ground, breathing raggedly. Blades of grass tickle my cheek. Without warning, a memory flashes—myself as a child, rolling around in this grass, laughing and screaming as my father tickled my ribs, a rare smile creasing his face.
In the next moment, a familiar scent greets me in a breeze. Swallowing a curse, I turn to find its source. Noah. My fears are confirmed when, through the cloud of dust and shadow, I spot a faint shape. The outline of a familiar, muscular body lying on ground. Damn it, Noah, I think as I once again try to rise. A strange combination of fear, gratitude, and fury wars in my chest—he must’ve come after me when I bolted from the pool house.
I muster the strength to drag myself to him. The thought crosses my mind that Henry might have followed me, too, but a quick glance around us shows that he’s nowhere in sight. I know I’ll see him again, though. He’ll be coming after me now because of what I know. Another enemy to add to the ever-growing list.
“Noah?” I rasp, reaching him at last. His face is paler than it’s ever been, but I can see his eyes moving beneath closed eyelids. Relief floods me. He’s alive.
I lift my head, hoping to find a Feeder—fresh blood will speed the healing process for Noah. Humans are tending to their masters everywhere I look. Trying to rouse them, offering their throats and wrists, guarding them with their very bodies. It seems that the rebels are gone, their task completed, but it’s possible they aren’t finished. These vampires are vulnerable.
The thought sends more urgency through me. Resting my hand against Noah’s chest for reassurance—his heartbeat is slow and steady—I twist around and shout, “We need a human! Can one of you help us, please?”
A few of them glance my way, but none of them budge. To them, I am just a guest from the party, and not worth the risk of their masters’ ire should they wake up and find out their own needs were neglected for my sake. Well, I’m half-human, aren’t I? Why couldn’t my blood help him?
Just as I’m about to tear my wrist open with my fangs, I feel the telltale prickle of someone watching me. I raise my head and meet Edward’s gaze. He sits across the garden, his back resting against a hedge, a slave’s throat pressed against his mouth. He grips the back of the girl’s head so tightly that the veins in his hand stand on end.
“Oh, look, there’s your lovely uncle. Shall we have a chat with him, too?” a voice asks weakly. My head swivels so fast that one of my muscles protests. Noah’s eyes are wide open and fixed on me, instead of Edward. Something tight and hard within me begins to loosen and bloom.
“No need,” I manage, realizing that I never got the chance to tell Noah that Henry is the traitor. “I’ll tell you about it later. Can you stand yet?”
As a response, Noah sits up. Even he can’t hide a wince, but he doesn’t flop back to the earth, like I did. After a few seconds, Noah gets to his feet. The movement is missing his usual grace and speed, which says more than anything his words could. Carefully, I put my arm beneath his and lend what strength I have left. Surprising me yet again, Noah doesn’t argue. He just steers us through the wreckage, past the bodies, and toward the far end of the mansion. He doesn’t speak again.
Eventually we pass Edward and the girl he just killed. A trickle of blood travels from the corner of his mouth to the edge of his jaw, but he does nothing to wipe it away. I stop beside him, fighting against the fear poisoning my insides, and lift the mask I’m still somehow wearing. Just as it was with Henry, Edward doesn’t look at all startled to see my face. Did my contacts fall out?
“Charlie—” Noah starts in a low voice, probably worried I’ll say something reckless.
“Tell him it’s Henry,” I mutter to Edward, who stares at me without expression. “Henry is the one he’s been looking for. I don’t have any proof, because he confessed to me just before the bombs went off, but remind the Vampire King that I’ve never lied to him before. And I’m not stupid enough to start now.”