Chapter One
I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Literally.
A wall of solid limestone was digging into my back, and in front was a vampire trying his hardest to shove me through it. His arm was on my neck, jutting my chin upwards and grinding my scalp against the jagged rock.
I swatted at his arms, but he just laughed at me.
“Some assassin you are,” he mocked.
Oh, so we were going to play it below the belt? I was an expert at that. I thrust my knee up, driving it into his groin, and when he dropped his arm from the surprise, I dug my heel into his foot before smashing my elbow across his face. There was an audible crack of grinding bone when I connected with the delicate tissue of his nose.
Before he could respond—and it was only a matter of time—I bounded across the small space and looked for anything I could use to my advantage.
“Son of a bitch,” the vampire growled. “Did you have to break my nose?”
“I thought this was no-holds-barred. ”
“I didn’t think you’d play dirty. ”
I rose out of my fighting stance, lowering my fists, and walked over to the vampire, who was straightening the broken bones of his aquiline nose.
“You’ll heal. Don’t be such a pussy,” I taunted, but when he didn’t rise to the jab, I put a hand on his shoulder. “Holden?”
Holden Chancery, once my vampire liaison and council superior but now technically one of my flock, was crouched low to the ground, cupping his nose like a dramatic schoolgirl who’d been struck by a dodgeball. I wanted to tease him some more, but I had to be sure he was ready for it.
Since I’d been promoted to a seat on the Tribunal, I now had to worry about stuff like undeads’ feelings and the other day-to-day concerns of pulse-challenged Americans everywhere.
“I’m sorr—”
He grabbed my extended arm, locked the elbow and swept his leg out to knock my feet from under me. I landed flat on my back with a loud thud, and the breath was forced out of my lungs. Holden jumped on me, sitting on my stomach with one leg on either side of my ribs and well out of reach of my knees. My arm was still extended, and he grabbed my fist as I was swinging for a punch.
“Hmm. This feels familiar,” he said.
“Who’s playing dirty now?”
Holden leaned in close so his face was only inches away. “Do you want to play dirty?”
A thrill rocketed through me, but I kept my breathing even and my pulse stayed level. His brown eyes were fixed on me, waiting for some sort of invitation. A not-insignificant part of me wanted to give it to him, especially knowing how magnificent his kisses were, but I wasn’t free to indulge in what he was offering.
So I headbutted him.
He released his grip, and I squirmed out from under him and ran. He was hot on my heels, and when I was out of the tunnels I got as far as the winding stone staircase before he caught up with me. Strong arms locked on to my waist, and we both tumbled to the floor, where I narrowly avoided cracking my jaw on the bottom step. Before we had a chance to rise, someone grabbed Holden and someone else came to stand between us.
The vampire warden blocking Holden from me had fixed my former handler with a hard stare. Holden, for his part, looked ready to kill the guard who was holding the sentry’s arms behind his back.
“Wardens,” I snarled. “Stand down. ”
The two guards looked at each other in silent debate over whether or not it was safe. I balled my hands on my hips and tried to look as menacing as a five-foot-four girl could. It was the power radiating off me that seemed to settle the matter for them. Holden was released, and the guards moved aside.
“Our apologies, Tribunal Leader Secret. ”
The title made my blood run cold. This new job was going to take a lot of getting used to. I no longer faded into the background of the vampire council. Now I was in charge of it.
“Chancery will escort me to my next location,” I instructed.
“I—” One of the guards tried to argue, but I wasn’t having it.
“Look, we both know Sig will have me followed regardless. There’s no harm in the sentry walking with me. ”