Blood Ties Bundle: Blood Ties Book One: The Turning / Blood Ties Book Two: Possession / Blood Ties Book Three: Ashes to Ashes / Blood Ties Book Four: All Souls' Night. Jennifer Armintrout

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СКАЧАТЬ Hades. I knew what I was doing when I’d committed myself to this Underworld. I’d resigned myself to accept my plight, and now I wanted to explore the life Cyrus had offered me, but I feared his interest in Ziggy might do something to usurp my place.

      It sucks when your little palace o’ denial comes tumbling down.

      

      The next night, Nathan waited at the gate.

      “How’s Ziggy?” he asked as soon as I was near enough to hear him.

      “He’s fine. Hello to you, too.” I stamped my feet, trying to get some feeling back in them. It had snowed during the day, and the depth of the stuff almost kept me inside.

      Nathan’s hands were nearly blue where his gloveless fingers gripped the iron of the gate. “Is he on the list?”

      “No.” I thought relief would register on his face.

      Instead, it twisted with horror. “Tell me he’s not—”

      “A guest of honor. I just don’t know which one.” I looked at my feet. “I know how you were turned.”

      A muscle in his shadowed jaw twitched. “He told you?”

      “I saw it.” I don’t know why I felt the compulsion to tell him how, but I did. “I drank his blood…from him. And I saw it.”

      Nathan was repulsed, but I knew he was scared more than he was disgusted. Maybe he was afraid I wouldn’t help him. Or that I’d throw Ziggy to the wolves.

      He cleared his throat. “That’s all in the past. I just don’t want it to happen to Ziggy. Who’s the other one?”

      “Dahlia.”

      “Dahlia and Ziggy, and they need to pick the one with a pure soul? Oh, that’s going to be a tough call.” Nathan looked away, but not before I saw the suffering in his eyes. “Are the Fangs staying for the party?”

      “They were supposed to leave a week ago. I think they’re hanging around so Cyrus will have to invite them to the party. What’s going to happen?”

      “He’ll probably invite them to the party.”

      I glared at him. “You know what I meant. When you and your little friends show up. What’s going to happen?”

      “We’ll bust in, I’ll grab Ziggy, and they’ll kill all the vampires.”

      His pointed gaze added including you.

      My heart constricted painfully in my chest. Did he really hold such a grudge? I’d thought we’d built a friendship of sorts.

      That was before you left.

      I cleared my throat. “That sounds dangerous.”

      “It will be.” Still, he offered no assurance of my safety.

      “Would it be easier to just sneak him out before the party? I could go get him. We could just boost him over the fence right now.”

      “That has crossed my mind,” Nathan replied bitterly. “But I’m not allowed to do anything that might compromise the integrity of the mission. Movement orders. They think Cyrus would step up security if the compound was breached this close to the event.”

      “Compound? You make it sound like I’m in some weird religious cult.”

      That at least brought a half smile to his mouth, but it died quickly. “I’ve been playing host to a couple of full-time Movement guys. The terminology starts to creep in after a while.”

      “Is that why you haven’t been showing up?” I sounded jealous, like a spoiled child whose playmate has made friends with the neighbor kids. It just crept into my voice on its own.

      Nathan didn’t appreciate it. “I’m sorry, but you’re not a priority for me anymore.”

      Anymore. That stung. Not because his feelings for me were gone, but that he’d confirmed he’d had some in the first place.

      It was much easier to be angry with him than regretful over our lost friendship. “So you’re going to march in here on the night of the party and kill me, then?”

      He shook his head. “Not me. I’m going to find Ziggy and get him out. But watch out for the other guys. We’ve been ordered to kill any non-Movement vampires on the premises.”

      “You’re not going to tell them about me?” I hated the fear in my voice. “I took care of Ziggy, that has to be worth something.”

      “It was worth the advance warning I gave you,” he snarled. “You put yourself on the losing team, Carrie. It’s a little late to back out now.”

      “You know what, I didn’t come here because I wanted to!” I spat.

      “What are you talking about?”

      I hadn’t wanted to tell him, but there was no avoiding it now. Some deranged part of me demanded honesty, as brutal as it might sound. And really, if I stood a good chance of dying on Saturday, I didn’t have much to lose. “It was a trade, asshole. Your life for mine.”

      He stepped back from the gate. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to believe me. “No.”

      I wasn’t going to soften the blow. “I couldn’t reverse Dahlia’s spell on my own. So I went to Cyrus for help. This is what he asked for in return.”

      He ran a hand through his dark hair, mussing the strands. “I don’t believe you.”

      “Fine, don’t believe me.” I was too tired to convince him of a truth I hadn’t wanted to reveal in the first place. “Ziggy will tell you. He drove me here to get the antidote. And he’ll tell you what I’ve done in here to keep him safe.”

      Whatever I’d said to make him change his mind, Nathan clearly felt like the jackass I thought he was. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

      “Because it was something I had to do. I didn’t want you to die, and I didn’t want you to get killed barging in here as if I needed rescuing.” He looked so penitent, I couldn’t help but ease his guilt a little. “Besides, I wanted the chance to know my sire. There’s a reason he became the way he is.”

      I thought of the scar his father had inflicted on him and the pain he’d felt. Yet Cyrus still wanted to please the Soul Eater. Could he have been a good person before his father had tempted him with the promises of wealth and power? Then again, he did kill his own brother in his sleep.

      Nathan blew out a long breath as he scratched his head. There were things I wanted to say, but I didn’t know where to begin. Although I’d suffered abuse at Cyrus’s hands, I didn’t hate him. I certainly didn’t want him to die, and a part of me desperately wanted him to pursue me again.

      Wow, it has been a lonely couple of weeks.

      But despite what I felt for my sire, I didn’t want Nathan to leave without some sort of resolution between us. Perhaps what I’d dismissed СКАЧАТЬ