Jared narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t I?” Covington gave an almost imperceptible nod to Langley, who instantly snapped Bran’s neck. A millisecond later, the High Master was nothing but ashes.
I gasped, too stunned to speak. I understood his message – he didn’t give a shit about his own mentor, so he wasn’t going to care about ours.
“You f**king bastards,” growled Jared, itching to attack but knowing that he couldn’t. I was feeling just as pissed and helpless.
Sebastian and Luther hurled some obscenities as they struggled to pierce the bubble containing them, but Covington and Langley just laughed. The sound of absolute mayhem suddenly reached me over their maniacal laughs. Something was going on outside…something bad. I wanted to run to the window that overlooked The Hollow, but I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare take my attention off Covington.
What the f**k’s going on? I asked Jared.
The Hollow’s been infiltrated, Jared told me, enraged. I don’t know how bad it is yet. But according to Evan, a quarter of the legion is missing from the fight. Alora’s checking with the animals to find out if the missing squads are in the rainforest.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I wasn’t someone who stood back while everyone endangered their lives. And I hated the idea that my squad was out there fighting without us leading them. But right now, I couldn’t afford to f**king move. This crazy f**ker obviously wanted to die because I was going to kill him for even touching Antonio.
The High Masters all began shouting in outrage. Covington quickly spoke. “Before you all jump on your white horses and come here to defend these people, you might want to know what exactly you’ll be defending. You might want to know the truth about why the Heir’s mate is so powerful.”
Oh, shit. Jared stiffened beside me. Each of the High Masters quieted, willing to listen. Well that really wasn’t good. It suggested that maybe they had suspected that I was something ‘more’ all along.
The door behind us opened again, but I resisted the urge to look, wanting to keep Covington in my sights. The click-clack of heels – two sets of heels, I instantly realised – was soon followed by the appearance of a strange female Pagori and that bloody bitch Eloise. There were more footsteps and then more strange male vampires came in. Worse, the males had Paige and Imani with them. Imani was crying while Paige fruitlessly struggled like crazy to get free.
Langley walked right up to Paige, grabbed her by the throat, and smiled evilly. “Eloise assured me that you and Imani were here, but I wasn’t so sure. I missed you.” She spat in his face. Nice move. But that move earned her a slap.
Half-naked as usual, Eloise sidled up to Covington while smirking at me.
“I’m going to kill you,” I told her simply.
Her smirk faltered slightly. “No, Sam. You’re the one who’s going to die tonight. You’ll soon be a lump of ashes just like Bran, Collins, and all the other vampires that are now dying.”
I wondered whether it was Eloise or Covington who had killed Collins. It made sense that he hadn’t been allowed to live; as Antonio had pointed out, Collins was a stickler for rules. He wouldn’t have supported a plan such as this.
It’s worse than I expected out there, Jared practically growled. Luther had said there were so many of them in his vision – he was right. There are at least four hundred. We’re totally outnumbered. The squads that were training in the rainforest are dead.
Fear began to curdle in my stomach. How are the vampires getting in?
Through the tunnels that are connected to the underground bunkers in the mansion. Only the guards and the vampires in this room knew where they were.
And I would bet that Eloise got that information from the guards who she’d been shagging, and she had then given that information to Covington. Fuck.
They’ve been slipping into the bunkers and making their way up, taking over from the inside.
“Explain this, Covington!” demanded one of the High Masters, Ricardo. He hadn’t always been my biggest fan, but I’d won him over when he came to the Binding ceremony. He then proceeded to rant at Covington. The other High Masters did the same, outraged.
“I’ll explain everything,” Covington vowed. “But first…Drop the shield, Sam.”
“What? Are you high?” I loved Antonio, but I wouldn’t risk Jared for anything or anyone. My expression pled with Antonio to understand, and his gentle smile said that he did and that, furthermore, he approved.
For the first time, I understood just how Jared had felt when he was placed in a position where he had to choose between my safety and that of his brother. It was different when the decision was placed in your own hands, when the risk was to someone you cared about and not to you. I truly adored Antonio, but Jared’s safety came first to me and it always would.
Covington held the blade tighter against Antonio’s throat. “Now.”
Jared reflexively made a move toward them, but I grabbed his arm and held him back. Don’t let him trick you into moving out of the shield. And tell Antonio I’m sorry. Glaring at Covington, I shook my head. “Not happening.”
He gazed at me curiously. “You would risk the Grand High Master’s life?”
“I won’t leave my mate vulnerable.”
He was silent for a moment, and I realised that he truly hadn’t been expecting that response. But he eventually shrugged. “No matter. Dana can deal with you.”
The Pagori female beside Eloise smirked at me. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.” Wow, her voice was surprisingly and painfully squeaky. She raised her arms, palms out, in a move that was very familiar. Then I felt the pull on the energy around me, causing my shield to wink out for a second. Startled, I quickly reinforced the shield.
What the f**k is she doing? demanded Jared.
Bollocks, the bitch is a Feeder. A Feeder who didn’t like that her efforts weren’t working as well as she’d like. But she was still a threat, because the one guaranteed way of weakening a Feeder was using another – fighting Feeder with Feeder.
“I want the shield gone,” Covington snapped at her.
She was practically pouting. “I’m trying.” And she really was. There was no denying that she was extremely powerful, which was a real worry. I couldn’t suck in more energy without dropping the shield, and that wasn’t something I was able to do. That meant I’d have to rely on the supply of hybrid energy that filled me to defend myself. But it was only really a matter of time before she’d absorbed it all and my shield fell. It wouldn’t leave me physically weak, but it would mean my gift was worth shit…kind of like running on an empty tank. Still, I’d fight her efforts for as long as I could.