37. Adam

Chapter thirty-seven

Adam

Adelaide paces in front of me. My head's still spinning, but I try to follow her movements; any sign of weakness is a danger.

I'm lucky I'm not injured. I felt a surge of magic from the spell bag in my pocket when the mages tried to knock me out, and I guess it can't help me anymore. That doesn't matter. What matters is Drew. Is he okay? My last memory of him is tainted with the overwhelming scent of his blood. I swallow the urge to bare my fangs. That's not going to help.

"Why are we even bothering with this one?" one of the mages asks. Elliot. I remember him, and from the way he raises an eyebrow when I glare at him, he doesn't care. He crosses his arms over his chest, his suit jacket stretching across his shoulders.

Who dresses like that when they come to kill people? The three other mages are huddled together. I can see them out of the corner of my eye. They're all wearing dark clothes, shapeless things, enough to make them hard to track. They seem warier of me, though, which is surprising.

I can't do anything against magic.

"We need his sire," Adelaide growls, turning on Elliot quickly. He doesn't step back, but his arms drop, and I taste the metallic flavour of his magic. "You know that."

"I don't care." Elliot snarls, but if he's trying to rile Adelaide up, it doesn't work. She just waves him off, instead turning to me.

I don't get it. She could have kidnapped basically any vampire from our district and Lucien would come for them. Hell, Lucien's been the one out and about recently—with Kieran, sure, but even he'd have trouble with four mages.

Otherwise… There's no reason to target me. I'm hardly more than a fledgling. I have no real responsibility within the clan, aside from how I help Elle and Lucien from time to time, and I take more than I give.

"Why do you need Lucien?" I ask.

Adelaide growls. Her eyes flash gold, and I jerk at the cuffs that have my arms pinned behind the chair back. I'm not Kieran. I'm not about to snap them apart and escape.

When she comes closer, though, she smiles. "What do you know about your crai's ascension to power?"

I blink up at her, confused. "What?"

"When Vasile became crai, hardly any of the older vampires wanted to deal with him, you know. He killed his sire to get the position. The others recognised how brutal and vicious he was."

What? I shake my head, wincing at the painful after-effects of whatever spell they hit me with. "Surely not."

"Silly little fledgling," she says, scorn dripping from her words. "Our master has been plotting his revenge for a century. And he's gathering others, others who know just how much Vasile deserves everything that is going to happen to him."

"Lucien doesn't. I don't."

"No," she says and moves closer. "You don't. Lucien… Well. He never should have fallen under that hunter's spell. A better vampire would have resisted. But my master admired his efforts to resolve the situation. What he admires less is Lucien's choice of mate."

"Kieran?"

Adelaide nods. "Tristan fucked that up, of course. If everything had gone to plan, Lucien might have survived this." She glances over her shoulder at Elliot, who isn't looking at her. "Well, probably not. He's still close enough to Vasile to be a useful sacrifice."

"I don't understand," I say. The cuffs really won't budge, and fear suddenly strangles me. What if the others don't find me? Adelaide wants Lucien to come here, but she hasn't called him. We teleported away. Is she just going to kill me and—what? Leave my body to be found?

I don't have time to dwell on it. She slaps me, hard, and the taste of blood fills my mouth. I swallow down the sound I want to let out. Fuck her. Fuck this.

"Luckily, I do," she says, crouching so we're at eye level. "I knew what Kieran was before we ever brought him to the clan. And once I knew what a mating bond looks like… How long do you think it will be before that other little wolf comes for you?"

I surge forwards, lifting the chair in my anger, trying to get to her, but one of the mages moves and whispers something, and the legs of the chair slam back down again. "I'll kill you," I growl.

"Well, that wolf of yours certainly won't," Adelaide replies. "Of course, he'll probably bring the mage, but that just solves a problem for you, doesn't it, dear?"

She turns her head to look at Elliot, who won't meet my eyes. "Yes," he says.

"Lucien won't come here alone. Kieran won't let him, especially not if his brother's here."

Adelaide stares at me, but some of the triumph leaves her eyes. Is she—

Oh. She's scared of him. She knows something about him, something that makes her hesitate.

"Is that why you didn't kidnap Kieran?" I ask, injecting just enough mocking into my tone that I see her lip curl. "Because you know you couldn't? Four mages and you know he'd manage to kill you. Especially if he knew you were planning to kill his mate."

Adelaide growls and I allow myself a smirk.

"You're just doing the same shit Tristan did," I say. "Lay a trap and hope they somehow fall into it. You know he's dead, right?"

"Yes," she hisses, and suddenly her face is only inches from mine. I dig my fingernails into the palms of my hands, forcing myself to remain still. "Of course I know that. I'm the one who sent Kieran back here to kill him."

"He'll kill you, too."

She growls and pushes away, pacing the room again. The mages to my right are watching me, but they seem scared of her—and Elliot. His eyes are on me, too, but his expression is more speculative.

I need to get her angry. Angry enough that she fucks up because that's my only chance of escape. Elliot is more dangerous than she is. He's willing to wait to get Sam.

"I could just kill you now," Adelaide says, eyes gleaming. "That will get Lucien crawling out of whatever hole he's dug himself into."

"He's not hiding from you," I snap. "He's trying to find you."

She's not listening to me, though. She's watching me like a vampire watches its prey, and I don't like that I want to shiver.

"Killing Lucien isn't going to do anything to Vasile," I say. "He's already down one chieftain."

Adelaide shakes her head. "It's not about that. Killing off the chieftains weakens Vasile's position. Killing your sire… Everyone knows how he cares for Lucien. How he brought a thief into the fold, how he protected a would-be murderer and, now, his strange abomination of a mate."

My thoughts catch on how coolly she says it all. Killing off the chieftains… I close my eyes and shake my head.

"You killed Lazarus."

"In a manner of speaking." Adelaide shrugs. "My master wants his revenge on the Council, too."

Elliot scoffs. "Tell him everything, why don't you?" He doesn't flinch when she swings around to face him. "Just kill him if you're going to do it. We can't do anything to the wolves without Ta—"

She moves so quickly that Elliot doesn't have time to throw up a shield, and he groans when she slams him against the wall. Pain cracks his expression, but he doesn't make another noise, even as she holds him there, hands on his shoulders.

"Give me your wrist."

Elliot's expression hardens. "No."

"Do it, or I'll drink you dry."

He stares at her for a moment, and I'm certain the other mages are holding their breaths. Elliot nods once, jaw set, and Adelaide lets go, though she doesn't step back. He shrugs off his jacket before he uncuffs his shirt sleeve, rolling it up to his elbow.

Adelaide snatches up his arm and digs her teeth into his wrist. She's not even trying to be gentle, and she drinks greedily. Elliot pales. I hear his heartbeat pick up, then begin to slow.

"You're taking too much!"

She lifts her head at my shout, gifting me with a vicious snarl, and I bare my fangs back at her. Her eyes glow gold. She's more predator than anything else right now.

It gives Elliot a chance, though. He tears his wrist from her grip and when she whirls around, he's already lifted a magical shield between them. "He's right," he says, and fuck knows how his voice comes out that steady because mine wouldn't. "That's enough."

Adelaide wipes the back of her mouth with her hand. There's still a glow to her eyes, but she doesn't seem like I did when I drank from Sam. I felt… drunk. Silly. More aware of magic, maybe, but that's a sense I've always had.

Elliot puts his jacket back on as Adelaide stalks over to me. When she hits me again, I groan, feeling skin split and blood slide down the side of my face.

There's a sound from below. Footsteps on the stairs. I can't turn to look, but I don't need to; a shield buzzes between us, but I pick up Sam's lightning scent, Drew half a foot behind him.

One of the mages lets out a groan and collapses to the ground.

I don't care about that. Has Drew shifted? His scent is different, and I want to see.

"I told you he's a threat," Elliot says to Adelaide. He's still angry at her; she's weakened him, and how is he supposed to face Sam now?

"He will not be for long," Adelaide replies. She looks past me, at Sam. "I assume Lucien is on the way?"

He doesn't answer. I try to look at him, but I can't, and moving just makes my head spin.

"Good. Here is just where I want him to be."

She rushes towards me all at once, and when she reaches around and snaps the cuffs easily, I hear Sam's gasp. Magic fills the air, the mages preparing to launch attacks against him as Adelaide spins me, pinning me to the wall near Elliot.

I try to twist out of her grip. Elliot's shield only encompasses the three of us; he doesn't give a shit about the other mages, clearly. Adelaide growls and her hand twists in my hair, yanking my head to the side.

No, no, no. Past her, I see Drew barrel into the room, knocking one of the mages to the ground. That only leaves one. One and—

A spell hits Elliot's shield. It wavers. Maybe Sam will—

Adelaide tears into my throat, and pain lances through me. I scream. Blood pours over my collarbone, soaking my shirt, sticking it to my skin.

She lifts her head. My blood coats her chin, dripping gruesomely to the ground.

"He'll come for you now," she says and drops me to the floor.