Blood Trial Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #1) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,133
concern.” Props to her, she somehow made that sound like a big fuck you.
“Oh, good,” Fred replied, his warm smile growing. “In that case, Mrs Le Spyre kindly requests you get the fuck out of her way.”
Laurel and Fernando gaped at him. I bit down hard on my lip, struggling not to laugh as the butler tipped an imaginary hat to the two Vissimo and returned to the car.
The back window rolled down and a pale arm stretched out, her middle finger extended.
Agatha Le Spyre was flipping the bird. At us.
My laughter got the best of me, erupting in a loud peal. Fred whipped his head around as Laurel sped us away.
I pressed my fingertips to the window, low enough to hide the gesture from the vampires with my body. I didn’t know if the butler could see. But if he’d recognised my laugh, perhaps he’d tell Grandmother. She hadn’t heard from me since my email several weeks ago, but at least now she’d know I was safe.
I’d come here hoping to catch a glimpse of the estate. I got more. My grandmother was going about her usual life. She was safe and charging through life unapologetically.
… Knowing that righted something within me.
She was my rock. My magic rock.
“To the tower, Miss Tetley?” Laurel said quietly.
I lowered my hand and released my knees, placing my feet on the floor like someone who wasn’t at breaking point. “Yes. Let’s go back.”
29
The phone trilled.
I stared. It had never rung before. Shaking out of my stupor, I glanced at the alarm clock.
1:00 a.m.
I’d sat in silent misery for longer than I thought.
I picked up the black handset. “Yeah?”
“Miss Tetley.” Laurel’s voice filtered down the line. “I have something to discuss with you. Is it okay if I come up?”
Her tone was impersonal.
Wasn’t as if she was tearing me away from anything important, even if the 1:00 a.m. call was unusual—even for vampires.
“Sure. But can I come to your room? These walls are getting to me.”
“Uh,” she blurted. “I sleep in the Indebted quarters.”
“Oh. I’m not allowed down there?”
“You are. It’s just… we don’t usually have visitors.”
I pulled a face at that. “If you’re up for one, I’d really like to not go insane in here.”
“Of course. Level LL4, room 54. You’ll have to go to the basement and exit the lift. There’s a separate elevator that brings you down to us.”
“Okay, see you soon,” I told her, hanging up the phone.
Throwing on a royal blue cardigan over my white-collared, two-piece summer outfit, I slipped into white loafers and grabbed my key.
Part of me expected Angelica or someone else to be waiting at the elevator to stop me, but I stepped off the second elevator—a far older model than the one I rode each day—without issue.
I eyed the concrete floors and exposed plumbing of the Indebted quarters. The doors to their rooms were like the ship doors on Titanic—heavy and metal. Many of the doors were open and the occupants fell silent as I passed by. Not hostile. Yet not welcoming in any way, shape, or form.
If I was an Indebted and this was my safety net, I’d feel pretty pissed to see non-Indebted down here.
I stopped outside number fifty-four and knocked, wincing as the sound boomed through the entire level.
With a deep groan, the door swung inward.
“Miss Tetley.” Laurel greeted.
“Hey,” I said, smiling. “Found you.”
She opened the door wider. “Come in. Take a seat.”
There was only one seat to take. Jesus, it was like a prison cell in here. I’d called Kyros’s room cold and empty, but it still had creature comforts.
A metal-framed bed was shoved against the far wall. A tiny inbuilt wardrobe was the only storage space, so Laurel had shoved her possessions underneath the bed to keep the floor free. All that remained was a crate table and a rickety chair. Nothing on the walls. The blanket looked decades old. Then again, why would she spend a cent on herself when she was trying to buy her freedom?
I sat on the wooden seat.
Her grim expression didn’t budge.
“What did you wish to discuss?” I asked, suddenly very certain I didn’t wish to know.
She sat on the bed. “I asked the nurse to keep me informed on Rhys.”
I shot to my feet. “Don’t say it.”
“He passed away just before midnight. I’m so sorry, Miss Tetley.”
“No,” I whispered, staring at her. My knees buckled and I sat heavily. “How? He was okay when we saw him.”