Isadora (Masters Among Monsters Book 2) (20 page)

“So he’s what? Yours?” Elias straightened his shoulders. He was slightly taller than the male in front of him, and he was egotistical enough that the fact Alasdair had to tilt his head up gave him immense satisfaction. “If you hurt me or Paris, Leo will never forgive you.”

Alasdair grabbed his shirt, and before Elias could blink, he’d hoisted him up and off his toes.
Yeah, okay, that’s not fucking intimidating or anything.
As the male studied him, his blood raced around his head in a loud rush.

“Do not speak of him again in my presence. Do you understand?”

His time left actually breathing was likely coming to a close, and he’d never been one to heed a warning, so of course he didn’t take note of this one. “Don’t like to think about that, huh? Yeah, I get it. Leo—he’s a great guy. Smart as hell, stubborn, impulsive, oh, and loyal. Well, usually.”
 

Alasdair’s fangs punched out of his gums, and Elias gave an arrogant-as-fuck smile. He’d hit on something there. Possession
. Yeah
, their kind was extremely territorial over what they considered theirs. All animals were.

“He’s too good for you,” Elias taunted, seeing how far he could go. “He’s meant for a much higher purpose than to be your—”

“Do
not
finish that sentence,” Alasdair snarled.
 

Elias grabbed the wrist in front of him and held Alasdair’s stare. “I don’t have to. You already know it’s the truth.”

As the final word left his mouth, there was an insistent pressure by his temple as the vampire tried to invade his mind, and then he laughed.
 

“Oh, sorry. Please continue.”

He was jerked down so he was eye to eye with Alasdair, and the stunning shade of green was darkening.
 

“Can’t find what you’re looking for? That’s a shame.”

“What are you?” Alasdair grated out. “There is no way a human can cause the damage you did. Or block us out as you can.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Alasdair’s dark presence was fulminating with his rage. “The only reason you still breathe is because there is someone much more vicious than I who wants your head.”

“That must be a real shame for you. Dying to kill me yourself, aren’t you?”

“
What
are you? What is Leonidas?”
 

Elias managed a halfhearted shrug. As soon as it was apparent Alasdair would get no more information from him, he was dumped on his ass. Then the vampire slowly turned to see past the monstrous vampire standing guard of Paris.

 
“Just because you will not speak,” Alasdair said, crouching to eye him with malicious intent, “does not mean someone else you told will not.” As he straightened to his full height, he strode across the room and issued an order to Goliath. “Cuff him.”

PARIS WAS PARALYZED like a deer in headlights as the man he’d once shared coffee with in Leo’s apartment stalked him—and stalk was the only word for it. He was prowling across the room with coal-black eyes pinning him in place as if he were anticipating his every move. It was eerie and unnerving, and it made his palms sweat.
 

When he’d poofed in there from out of nowhere, Paris had gotten to his feet pretty damn quickly. He hadn’t wanted to be sitting on his ass if this guy, man, or…
or vampire
came any closer—just as he was doing now.

The other one who’d appeared with him, the one who looked like a bulldozer, was currently blocking his view of Elias, who’d just been tossed aside like a rag doll. And all that was running through Paris’s mind was,
I’m going to die. This…this guy I had coffee with at Leo’s is going to kill me.

“Come here.”
 

The two words were so far removed from what he’d expected that he made himself put one foot in front of the other and walk towards Leo’s guy—however fucking terrifying he might have been.

“I’m pleased to see that you know how to follow an order. That will likely work in your favor when your fate is decided. If you behave as your friend over there, however, whatever happens to you will be nice and drawn out. I’m sure you can imagine how unpleasant that will be.”

Paris could hear him talking, but all he could focus on were the pointy tips of what he assumed were this guy’s fangs.
Vampire, vampire, he is a fucking vampire.

“That’s quite accurate. I am a vampire,” he admitted, leaning forward. He was so close that Paris could see his black eyes shimmer like the flash of a light had passed behind the irises. “The question is: What are you?”

And the first thing that came to mind was his conversation with Elias.
We are their descendants, which makes us demigods.
 

MINUTES BEFORE THEY were due at the Assembly Hall, Diomêdês arrived to collect Isadora. When he walked into the room, the bed was made and the candles were lit. He scanned the space, spotted the shut door of their closet, and made his way over towards it.
 

He’d gotten ready in a separate room this morning, sensing she might have needed some space leading up to the trial, and once he’d gotten closer and the door had opened, he stopped in his tracks.
 

As always, the sight of her filled him with pride. Just as he, she was dressed in full regalia. His Isa was stunning.
 

She stepped out into the room, where he was waiting patiently, and when he extended his hand, she placed hers in his.

“As always, my sire, you look exceedingly handsome.”

“As you are beautiful.”

He urged her closer with a soft tug of his hand, and she came to him. When he placed his fingers on her cheek, he shut his eyes and let his thoughts drift into hers.

Are you well enough for this, Isa?

She brought her hand up to cover his, and when his eyes opened, she nodded.
 

“I am.”

“You are courageous,
mikri mou polemistria.”

 
She squared her shoulders, and her eyes glowed under the praise. “You are the strength in my backbone, the fire in my blood. You are the conviction in my actions, and with you beside me, it is easy to be brave.”

He smoothed his hand down to her arm and inclined his head. “You have always been brave, even without me. And you always avenge those you love.”

A flicker of something he couldn’t quite pinpoint crossed her features, and then she schooled them.

“Will Thanos be in attendance today?”

He shook his head. “No. Eton said he will not leave his room. He also will not let anyone enter it.”

She gasped and covered her mouth.
 

“He will be okay,” he tried to reassure her.

“Will he?” she asked, her earnest eyes holding his. “I don’t understand any of this. How Elias could have—” Then she caught herself and lowered her gaze.

He placed a finger beneath her chin and raised her face to his. “It is okay to feel—”

“No, it is not,” she snapped and then spun away from him. “Do
you
ever feel sad? Feel guilt? Do you ever curl up on that bed and cry for a human?” She looked over her shoulder at him.

Diomêdês could sense her shame, her mortification.
 

“I don’t want to
feel
anything for him. Not even hate. I want to be indifferent. That’s how he was when he stood over me. Watching me suffer.”

As she turned from him, Diomêdês came up behind her and ran his fingers down her hair. “He wasn’t so indifferent when you were brought back to me. He was defiant, possessive, and he was proud to tell me he had lain with you. I do not think these are emotions one would possess if they did not feel anything. The question is: What do you want, my Isa?”

She pivoted back to face him, and as they stared at one another, he took her hands in his and nodded. No words were needed—he already knew what she wanted.

LEO SAT ON the bed and waited for Vasilios to emerge from the massive closet. He was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he’d more than likely condemned his friends to death. But, every time he tried, his brain rejected the notion as not possible.
 

I couldn’t have been that stupid, could I?
 

He chided himself as he thought of Elias. He’d been so angry with him for having lied, for having kept secrets about his life from him. But he didn’t want him dead. He didn’t want anyone dead. That’s why he’d told Alasdair where the woman had been.
 

What was it about death and destruction that seemed to be following him around lately? And had he really thought that Vasilios would keep his end of the bargain? That he would keep Elias and Paris safe?
 

Oh god. Paris. He must be freaking out
.
 

He’d done this, given himself over in the hope of saving them, but instead of accomplishing that, he’d been the orchestrator in sending them all to their fucking deaths.

“You cannot go to a trial dressed like that.”

At the sound of Alasdair’s voice, Leo shot to his feet. He had appeared in front of him, and he looked…
devastating
. Like a crowned member of royalty, minus the crown.

“Around here, that is exactly what I am. And, consequently, what you will be too. Now, come. You need to be presentable to stand by me.”

As Alasdair reached for him, Leo shrank back.
 

“Where is Elias? Paris? I know you went to get them.”

“For now, they are in a holding cell outside the Assembly Hall, awaiting the rest of us. If you do not wish for them to be there longer than the five minutes that is left to make you acceptable, I suggest you hurry, or Vasilios will become aggrieved.”

Leo allowed him to clamp his fingers around his wrist. “He’s going to kill them, isn’t he?”

Alasdair’s stoic expression didn’t change as he told him, “One can never predict Vasilios’s actions. Or his mood, for that matter. However, some new information has come to”—Alasdair paused, and then his lips twitched— “light. So to say.”

Leo narrowed his eyes on him, trying to gauge his mood, but it was impossible to garner anything from his unreadable features—not to mention his empty thoughts. “I don’t understand.”
 

“I know. But I finally do. Come, Leonidas. We have somewhere to be.”