Cristal nodded enthusiastically. “I’m very smart. I’m not a failing vector. I’m smarter than my parents.”
That’s great. “Where is Halle now?”
“At my lab.”
“House Ferrer lab? Biocine?”
“No, my personal lab. The real lab. Biocine is where my parents work.”
“Where is the real lab? Can you give me the address?”
Cristal’s mouth gaped open. Her eyes widened, her eyebrows rose, pulled together, her lips stretched, baring the edge of her teeth. Horror stamped her face, and she stood petrified, locked in place, but shaking. I turned around. Behind us, at the mouth of the hallway leading back to the Grand Foyer, Benedict stood, his face twisted by pure rage. The aegis waited two feet behind him, his face flat. He had seen it all before and none of it bothered him.
Cristal fell to the floor and scrambled up on all fours. A high-pitched animal shriek broke free from her mouth. She spun and dashed down the nearest hallway, sprinting away like she was running for her life.
“Well.” Benedict raised his arms. “Here we are. She’s an expensive asset. It will take me weeks to undo what I did. Stupid bitch.”
I didn’t ask which one of us he was referring to. He was a combat Prime and he had an aegis. My best bet was to make it past him and run back to the Grand Foyer, where I’d have the combined firepower of Alessandro and Linus and hundreds of witnesses. Problem was, Benedict stood between me and that hallway.
“I’ll need that phone,” Benedict ordered.
“You can have it. Let me go and I’ll give it to you.”
“Let you go?” Benedict tilted his head. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to recruit a Prime from an active House? I cultivated Cristal like a priceless orchid. I flattered her, I did her favors, I consoled her when she failed, I rewarded her when she succeeded. I have eighty million and four years wrapped up in this project, and you almost fucked it up for chump change and a dead woman.”
I could run into the hallway behind me, but I wasn’t a fast runner. If he didn’t catch me, his magic would.
Benedict shook his head. “Until now I stayed my hand, because I thought you were working for Montgomery, following that mishap. But now I have confirmation that you’re on your own. So, let me break it down for you, Ms. Baylor. You’re not going anywhere. You will hand me that phone and walk with me out of this theater. You will get into my car and you will smile the whole time, because if you don’t, I’ll murder your entire family and I’ll make sure they suffer.”
You arrogant asshole. I slid the phone into my clutch and gave him a tepid golf clap.
His magic slithered out of him, splaying out like a black thundercloud. The ghostly serpents snapped, demonic mouths forming and melting.
The more I delayed him, the higher the chances were that either Alessandro or Linus would get here. I stalled.
“At first I thought you were creepy, but intelligent. Sadly, I was mistaken. Only an utter moron would bring a Madero into this setting. You’ve offended two hundred of Houston’s most powerful Primes. Yeraz, one of your employees, attacked Lilian Woods in public, in front of witnesses. Do you really think you’re coming back from this?”
“Nothing that can’t be fixed.” Benedict stared at me, his gaze cold and hungry. “Last chance. Come with me or die here.”
Behind him, the aegis looked bored.
Benedict’s arrogance had curdled his brain. He killed people without remorse. He kidnapped women just like me. They were scared just like me. He tortured them, squeezing out every drop of fear for his perverse pleasure until there was none left, and then he threw them away like trash. I wanted so much to rip into him. For the first time in my life I wished for Arabella’s magic. If only I could grow huge and strong, I’d grab his bodyguard and beat Benedict to death with him. I’d kick him and bounce him off the walls, while his pitiful little snakes bit at my hands. The sight of his terrified face before I stomped him into human pulp would mean everything.
“Fine,” Benedict said. “I would have rather done this in private, but why wait?”
The ghostly serpents rose around Benedict. He was about to strike.
My wings snapped open, every feather visible, glowing, radiant with power. Emerald fire danced across