Blood Promise Page 0,112

choosing a long ivory silk one that had purple flowers delicately painted into the fabric. It fit like a glove.

I wanted to wear my hair up, but after looking at the bruises again, I decided to wear it down. I'd been provided with a curling iron and makeup recently, so I worked my hair over carefully, turning the ends up in perfect little curls. Once made up, I stared happily at my reflection, certain Dimitri would be happy too. All I needed now was to put on some of the exquisite jewelry he'd given me. But when I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of my back from the side and saw I'd missed fastening a clasp. I reached around to do it but couldn't get a hold of it. It was in that perfect spot just out of my reach.

"Damn," I muttered, still grappling with the hook. The flaw in my perfection.

Just then, I heard the door open in the other room, followed by the telltale sound of a tray being set on the coffee table. A stroke of luck.

"Inna!" I called, walking out of the bathroom. "I need you to-"

Nausea rolled through me, and as I stepped into the living room, I saw that Dimitri wasn't the source. Nathan was.

My jaw dropped open. Inna stood near him, waiting patiently by the tray, eyes downcast as always. I immediately ignored her and then looked back at Nathan. Presumably, he was still on guard duty, but that had never actually included him coming inside. For the first time in a while, some of my battle instincts kicked in, assessing escape options. My fear urged me to back away, but that would trap me in the bathroom. Best to stay where I was. Even if I couldn't leave the room, this gave me the most space to maneuver.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised at how calm I sounded.

"Taking care of a problem."

I didn't really need any pointers to figure out the subtext here. I was the problem.

Again, I fought the urge to back up. "I've never done anything to you." It was faulty logic to a Strigoi. None of their victims ever did anything to them.

"You exist," he said. "You're taking up space here, wasting everyone's time. You know how to find her-the Dragomir girl-yet you'll offer nothing remotely useful until Belikov gets off his ass and awakens you. And in the meantime, Galina forces me to waste time watching you and keeps promoting him because he's convinced her that you're going to be some amazing asset to us."

It was an interesting set of grievances. "So... um, what are you going to do?"

In a flash, he stood in front of me. Seeing him so close triggered that memory in my mind's eye-him biting Dimitri and starting all of this. A spark of anger kindled in me but didn't do much in the way of development. "I'm getting the information one way or another," he hissed. "Tell me where she is."

"You know where she is. She's at the school." There was nothing useful in giving up that news. He knew she was there. He knew where the school was.

The look he gave me showed he was not happy about me providing knowledge he already had. Reaching out, he gripped my hair and jerked my head painfully back. Wearing my hair down maybe hadn't been so useful after all. "Where is she going? She won't stay there forever. Is she going to college? The

Royal Court

? They must have made plans for her."

"I don't know what they are. I've been away for a while."

"I don't believe you," he snarled. "She's too valuable. Her future would have been planned out a while ago."

"If it is, no one's shared it with me. I left too soon."

I shrugged by way of answer. Rage filled his eyes, and I swear, they grew redder.

"You're bonded! You know. Tell me now, and I'll kill you quickly. If you don't, I'll awaken you to get the information, and then I'll kill you. I'll light you up like a bonfire."

"You... you'd kill me once I was one of you?" Foolish question. Strigoi felt no loyalty to each other.

"Yes. It'll destroy him, and once Galina sees how unhinged he is, I will return to my original place by her side-especially after I stamp out the Dragomir line."

"The hell you will."

He smiled and touched my face, running his fingers along my neck and the bruises all over it. "Oh, I will.