“Why did you accept this girl in your school, Sir Richard?”
“She was escorted here by vampires I personally know. They are trustworthy. I would stake my life on the fact that they would never choose to serve a vampire who wasn’t.”
He had many resources at his disposal, but none of it had proven useful in unearthing any information about Rhapsody. Alexandru had a feeling whoever her Master was, it would be someone even more powerful than he was, and such beings were only a handful.
“Has her Master been informed of what’s happening?”
“Yes.” It was obviously all Sir Richard would say. “Have you come up with any possible motive for this, Lord Alexandru?”
He shook his head. “I hate to say it, but another corpse will be the only way for us to gather more clues.”
Sir Richard sighed. “I feared as much.” His fingers restlessly tapped on the armrest. “The students are getting worried, though. I need to take some kind of action. For the time being, I may have to place those two girls under house arrest.”
Alexandru nodded in understanding.
“The Madonna, of course, will only look even more pitiful. She has that kind of persona. But as for Lady Rhapsody…I am afraid this will only isolate her even more. And people who are close to her may likely be treated the same way.”
“You mean my pet.”
Sir Richard asked frankly, “Has she had a vision about the murder? Is that why she’s suddenly developed a friendship with the other student?”
Alexandru shrugged, unwilling to admit the truth, and that was that his own pet had stopped confiding her thoughts to him. He could, of course, try to read her mind, stealthily, but such a thing was beneath him. Doing so would make him seem to care too much about her thoughts, and that was not a direction he wanted to take.
When he went back to his rooms, he expected Zari not to be there. She had been avoiding him of late, and the only reason she was able to was because he had let her. Since he had come back, his pet had looked at him like being with him was an open wound. One neither of them wanted to heal.
He opened the door, and the first thing that greeted him was her scent.
“Zari?” Her name slipped past his lips, surprise evident in his voice.
She was already dressed for bed, but instead of her usual pajamas she had on a nightgown. With its high neckline, loose billowing sleeves, and ankle-length hem, it would have been extremely modest if not for the fact that it was completely transparent. Completely.
And his pet?
His wicked little pet was just naked under her nightgown.
Completely.
“Welcome back, Master.” She was seated on the floor, her knees bent, legs folded to the side.
Alexandru slowly locked the door behind him. As he walked towards her, he asked, What’s this all about, pet?
He took a seat on the couch. She immediately moved close to him, and Alexandru stiffened as her breasts, covered with such thin silk it felt almost bare, brushed against his legs, making him stiffen.
At the question, she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. What she was about to do was something she had read from Pet Grooming. The magazine had the silliest name, but Rhapsody had assured her it gave the most “proper” advice for a pet.
So…here…goes…
She looked up at her Master with the widest eyes possible. According to the magazine, this was supposed to make her as irresistible as a puppy.
Alexandru’s lips tightened. What in hell was she doing really? Right now, she appeared to be attempting to look like…an alien, with the way she was trying to stretch her eyeballs to incredible proportions.
He told her as much.
Zari gasped, quickly returning her eyes to normal.
“What are you doing?” He had to ask. There were few things in this world that his mind failed to comprehend, but this was definitely one of them.
She mumbled, “I was trying to look cute.”
He was stunned.
“It’s been a while, Master. Haven’t you noticed?” Zari’s voice was tremulous. “It’s been a while since you called me…that.”
Her words had the power of a nuclear bomb, quiet and precise at the way it had his heart devastated, breaking into thousands of pieces.
His pet was rubbing her eyes, trying furiously not to cry, and his heart shattered anew. “Zari…”
She looked at him.
And at that moment, it became undeniably clear.
She knew.
About Katarina.
About her being his heartkeeper.
About his heart no longer being Alexandru’s to give.
“Right now, you are that.” His voice was hoarse. “Too damn cute.” Heartbreakingly so.
“Make me feel like your pet, Master.” Because that’s all I can ever be. She felt her Master stiffen, and she wondered numbly if he had somehow managed to read her mind.
He felt so fucking helpless, the way his pet was struggling so hard not to cry. Who had told her? He smelled the scent of two people on her. The Lady Rhapsody and his rival, Lord Erou. Which one of them had told her the truth – one he had been too much of a damn coward to tell her?