The car felt stuffy despite the double backseat and the fact that the windows were all open. Running would have been so much faster, but Sheridan wouldn’t hear of it. We had to arrive “in style” and let the vamps know we could be as civilized as them.
Civilized vampires. I’d had to close my eyes to keep from rolling them when she’d said that.
The sleek, black car rolled to a stop and then proceeded across the intersection, up the hill that led to Rossi Manor. I’d never seen it before, but I’d heard stories. Of rooms with bars for doors and dungeons that housed bodies kept alive for the sole purpose of feeding the royal family. The images alone were enough to make my wolf strain against the confines of my skin. It wanted to avenge and protect and I had to swallow the urge to let it. Would the treaty be considered broken if my wolf unleashed itself and made me a widow right after the ceremony?
I shifted in my seat, careful to avoid touching the man next to me. He was a vampire, a guard for the Rossi family. I hadn’t caught his name. It hadn’t mattered. On his other side sat Charlie. Her eyes had been glued to her window since we’d left the house and her shoulders were stiff with tension in the gauzy blouse she’d thrown on at the last minute. I felt for her. Being in a stretch SUV full of vamps had to be nerve-wracking.
On the seat across from me sat Queen of the vamps herself, Gretchen Rossi. Her personal guard sat beside her, unmoving and unblinking. Prince Owen was on the end, across from Charlie. He, too, stared out the window, as if whatever was out there was infinitely more interesting than anything in here. I’d given up staring at the trees. It made me wish I was out there, running among them, instead of in here, stifled and on edge.
The road we were on wound up and up. I knew from territory maps and patrols that Rossi Manor sat on a hill far above the town of Paradise directly north of the pack’s side of things. I also knew it was much larger than our settlement. The vampires outnumbered us by almost twice as much. I’d heard stories of a luxury manor and sprawling grounds, but I’d blown it off. I assumed the vamp’s definition of fancy was more coffin-and-cold-tile than plush and cushiony comfort. For once, I hoped the stories were true.
The driveway was marked with a sign that read: “Private Property. No Trespassing” and blocked by a gate with a keypad. We stopped and waited while the lead car’s driver punched in a set of numbers and the gate eased open. We followed the motorcade slowly up the cobblestone drive and I felt my jaw slacken as I caught my first glimpse of the house.
Estate. Manor. Castle. Any of those would be more appropriate than simply “house.” The walls were made of sandstone until the second story where it became a contrasting color of slate-blue siding. There were circular columns to support the covered carport we parked underneath. Above us, a balcony the size of the entire downstairs of my house jutted out to greet the world. More like, to oversee it from afar. On each end, a rotunda topped with a widow’s walk completed the regal picture. I stared up until we passed underneath the carport and finally remembered to close my mouth.
When we parked, a man with white gloves opened the door for us and offered his hand as I climbed out. He smiled and offered a slight bow before reaching in for Gretchen Rossi behind me. I shuffled sideways and shook my head. They had a butler. An actual butler.
I waited while everyone gathered with no small amount of trepidation. The Rossi family had really pulled out all the stops for us. To the right and left, their front walk twinkled with fairy lights strewn in among the potted trees. Their glow was soft and surprisingly inviting in the gathering dusk. Music from a live, three-piece orchestra drifted through the air, and some of the younger vampires were lined up outside to greet us. They looked no older than teenagers and they waved and smiled, cameras flashing. We were, apparently, celebrities.
Blaine Rossi exited the car behind us along with my dad and Sheridan. Mr. Rossi joined his wife and they greeted the on-lookers with a slight incline of their heads, as if they were too good to really acknowledge their presence, before they headed up the walk. In the car ahead of us, Carter climbed out beside his dad and then turned to help Sylvia.
Al, Judas, and the rest had stayed behind to hold down the fort and to see what else they could uncover about the heart. I’d invited Lane and Bevin but Lane had thrown a fit at the idea of crossing the threshold of her enemy. She’d gotten so worked up, Sheridan had heard her and snapped something about public relations and holding her tongue. Bevin promised to stay behind and keep an eye on Lane instead.
Shuffling closer, Charlie looked so nervous that she might faint. I stuck close to her back so I could catch her if that happened, although I prayed she would hold it together. We couldn’t afford to show weakness. The vampires were watching, especially that vampire prince, even though he stood in the shadow of his parents and well out of reach. Owen wasn’t even looking directly at Charlie but I sensed his energy trained on her somehow. It was like he was waiting for her to fall so he could eat her.
“Welcome to our home,” Blaine Rossi said, sweeping his arms wide to encompass the entire manor, gardens, and their coven.
Uniformed valets removed the cars, and some small, primal part of me wanted to yell for them to stop. I was hardly stranded, even without vehicles; I could run as fast as most cars, and would be far more agile on foot. But I was in the midst of enemy territory. Everything smelled cold and serpentine. There were vampires everywhere. I scanned the faces, but didn’t see the one who’d visited my room. And the longer I looked, the tenser my wolf grew. I kept my expression composed, but it wasn’t easy.
In the front of our gathering, Blaine Rossi said something and the crowd of greeters dispersed. Cameras were tucked away. With a single word, the show was over.