3. Kieran

I tense when I hear Crai Vasile say he wants to see me. I know who he is, of course. How could I not?

Taking a deep breath, I try to keep my heartbeat slow. If I show fear, I'm done for.

There might only be the slimmest of chances I'm getting out of this, but I'm going to seize it with both hands and hang on.

One of the vampires moves behind me—Tristan, I assume, since I heard his voice come from there—and the bag is pulled from my head, bright lights making me slam my eyes shut. Some of the vampires hiss.

Oh, I've still got blood on me, haven't I? Great. I hope their crai has them all on a tight leash.

Blinking slowly, I open my eyes, trying to get a sense of the room and how many vampires are in it. It's a huge space, and I take in the dark hardwood floor and smooth cream walls with ornate gold decorations. My attention turns quickly to the humans I spot through the mass of vampires that surround me. They outnumber the vampires, some of whom are leaning closer, eyes glowing in anticipation of a feed.

I remember what Pris told me. The crai remains here, in his seat of power. The chieftains have their districts. The fledglings stay here too until they're in control enough to move to a district and live their own lives.

Adelaide stands off to my left, and the little crease between her eyebrows is a welcome balm. At least whatever plan she's concocted seems to be going awry.

The vampire standing directly ahead of me has to be Crai Vasile. He exudes an aura of power that has even me wanting to duck my head, and his face is expressionless as he looks me over. He's handsome, of course, in a cold, distant way, wearing a suit I'm sure costs more than my yearly rent.

I keep my back straight in the face of him, tilting my chin high. I'm not about to bow to a vampire, especially not one who's probably going to kill me.

To his left and right are two other vampires. Well, I think they're vampires. There's something strange about their eyes and the way they tilt their heads in unison, making me shiver. I sweep my gaze across the other vampires surrounding the crai and pause, stomach lurching when I see him.

The vampire my gaze has snagged on stares right back at me, and for a second, I wonder if our expressions are mirrors of each other.

He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

I study his shoulder-length blond hair, wondering if it might flow like water through my fingers. His eyes are big and green, stark in his pale face. He parts rose-coloured lips, and a tremor goes through his slight frame, but though the air he gives off is fragile, something tells me a core of steel hides beneath.

"Hunter?" Vasile says, and I tear my eyes away, my head spinning. "You are accused of killing one of our number tonight."

I frown. "Am I?"

Tristan growls behind me and I tamp down on the sudden urge to grin. Oh, I like pissing this guy off. Especially since my head is throbbing in two places now—unlike the vampire I killed tonight, Tristan packs a real punch.

I take the moment—all the vampires scandalised by my attitude or my answer or both—to tug on the cuffs holding my wrists in place. Are they… Fuck. They feel like iron. That's going to make things more complicated.

When I look up again, the blond vampire's eyes are on me. The corner of my mouth twitches, and he looks away quickly.

"Aren't you lot not supposed to kidnap humans anymore? This doesn't feel like a consensual feeding situation to me."

Tristan growls again. "Show some respect."

"What, like you did?" I shoot back, this time a little lower. I hear him take a step closer, but Vasile interrupts him.

"Lucien," he says, and the blond vampire steps forward.

"Yes, crai?"

He has an accent. Heat coils low in my belly. Aside from the vampires I've been dealing with the last few months, I've not so much as set eyes on one since I arrived in London. I know better. They feed and they kill, and I shouldn't give in, not for a second.

Something inside me screams the opposite. I need—

I derail that train of thought before I can get off track. This is a life-threatening situation, no matter how hot I apparently think one of the vamps is.

"See what you can get out of him."

I huff a laugh, leaning back slightly as I test the cuffs again. If I keep my shoulders tense, they won't be able to tell I'm doing anything—at least from the front. I just have to hope no one behind me is watching too closely.

Lucien approaches slowly. When I meet his eyes, there's something like apprehension there, and it gives me pause. He breaks eye contact just long enough to look at Tristan, waving him off with a jerk of his chin.

Tristan backs up immediately. My pulse picks up at that stern look on such a pretty face.

Shit. Another deep breath. It's one thing to be scared in a room full of vampires; that's a normal reaction.

But to be turned on?

Fucking hell.

Lucien crouches so we're at eye level. I force myself to remain still. I can do this.

"What is your name?" he asks softly. There's a tremulous smile about his mouth, and it feels genuine enough that I open my own to speak before I snap it shut again.

My name is on my tongue. My true name. What am I doing?

"I do not know how much you know of vampires," Lucien continues. "Crai Vasile leads our clan. You heard before, I am certain, that my name is Lucien. What may I call you?"

I look at Lucien, then past him at Vasile. He's watching us both intently, and I still can't read his expression. The vampires around him aren't quite as inscrutable, and though I know they should all dislike me, I don't like the way some of them are looking at Lucien.

"Call me Kieran."

Lucien nods. "Excellent. Thank you. I apologise for the way in which you were brought here. It is not how we would usually go about such things."

I tug at the cuffs again, and I can feel the links beginning to give. Just because one vampire is being nice to me—and he's trying to interrogate me, I can't forget that—it doesn't mean I'm going to stick around here any longer than I have to.

Even if I want to hear Lucien talk all night long.

Lucien nods again, even though I've said nothing, and goes on. "What you have been accused of is, of course, serious. We have heard of no Council sanctions on any of our vampires. If you killed one…"

"You think I did?" I ask. There's no real point in denying it, but the question makes Lucien pause. I hold his gaze even when I see a slight tremor run through him. Do the others see it? I feel like every expression on Lucien's face is open to me, that if I spend enough time on my knees, I'll be able to read him like a book.

"I do not know what you have or have not done."

I snort, looking away. I sweep my gaze around the room again. There's a door to my back and another directly ahead… through all the vamps. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Kieran," Lucien says gently, and it draws my gaze back to him. "We only want to help you."

I roll my eyes. I'm done with this game. My head is still throbbing. I'm tired. I want my bed. "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why would you give a fuck about a human when you've all been letting vamps run around doing whatever they want for the past few months? Yeah, I killed some. They were killing people."

It feels like all the air has rushed out of the room and for a second, silence rings in my ears.

All at once, the noise comes crashing back. Tristan growls and Lucien rears back like I struck him. When he meets my eyes again, whatever I thought was there before is gone, replaced by something that looks a lot like fear.

"Silence!" Vasile calls.

Lucien stands and moves a few paces backwards, coming into line with his crai. I tug on the cuffs again. I'm so close…

"You admit to killing clan vampires?"

I glare at Vasile. "No. I admit to killing vampires who were killing humans. Don't give a fuck if they were clan or not."

"See, he admits it," Adelaide hisses. "He sounds proud of it."

Okay, she's hamming it up a bit. I rock back so I'm almost sitting on my heels. No one seems to notice.

"Adelaide, a vampire does not automatically get clan protection," Vasile says. "You know this."

"He's not even a hunter!" Adelaide snaps. That gets everyone's attention, as does the way she stalks over to Vasile. "Some human has been killing vampires, has been managing to get the upper hand because of your weak leadership—"

"That's enough," Vasile says.

"William was clan." Tristan's voice is quiet, clipped in a way that almost makes me shiver. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I need out of these cuffs before shit hits the fan. "He killed him, and you did nothing!"

"We investigated. William was not feeding from donors. He killed people."

"Then we should have dealt with him. The Council should have dealt with him," Adelaide says. "Not some human who thinks he can do as he likes!"

Vasile looks furious, but I can see how he's trying to keep his temper in check. The not-vampires to either side of him have tensed their shoulders and I wonder if they'll stop Adelaide if she rushes to attack.

"Did you kill William?" Vasile asks.

I blink up at him and shrug. Possibly. Probably. "I didn't exactly ask all their names first."

Tristan lets out another low growl behind me, and this one does set my heart racing. It's the growl of a predator, a threat seconds away from being carried out.

A growl I've heard before.

I turn slightly and see the way Tristan has bent his knees, the dark gleam in his eyes.

Well, if I'm going to go down…

Might as well do it fighting.

Tristan leaps and I pull at my wrists, putting all my strength into it. The links snap. I grin wildly when my hands separate, rolling to one side and narrowly avoiding Tristan.

He spins and growls again. I get to my feet. I've got no eyes for the others.

Nothing exists but me and the predator I need to fight.