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demand an answer before killing the vamp, but she didn't think that was wise. Not with the King. He was too strong, too powerful. Memories of their last meeting played through her mind and Kahli shivered. The compulsion scared her the most. She didn't know how to resist his commands. The King's threats rang in her ears as she stalked closer and closer to the palace.

When she reached the back of the garden, a long shadow caught her eye. The stake rose in her fist. Kahli moved forward silently, ready to strike. But, when she realized what she was looking at, she lowered her arm. The ground was open, like someone placed a door in the frozen earth. Kahli glanced side to side before moving forward. The metal doors were thick and coated with ice. Each door was covered in a sheet of ice that cracked along the edge. Glancing into the hole, Kahli saw a set of stairs that descended into the dark earth.

Carefully, she moved toward the hole without making a sound. Reaching out, she touched the ancient door with her gloved hand. It reminded her of the doors in the older safe houses. The metal was thick, and rust-colored, caked in ice. The snow at the throat of the hole was disturbed, pushed away. There were two sets of prints that descended the tired old staircase. Kahli pressed her eyes closed hard. Steeling her nerves, she took a deep breath and descended the stairs alone, immediately swallowed by darkness.

Chapter 33

Cole moved ahead by himself, methodically slaughtering every vampire he came across. He smiled and walked toward them, alone. The vampires didn't fear him. Most thought he was wandering the halls because he could. They tried to force him back to his room. That was when Cole attacked. They never saw it coming. They never suspected him capable of murder.

As Cole wiped the inky blood off his knife he muttered, "Arrogant bastards." His foot connected with the dead vampire in front of him, kicking the body hard. Killing them wasn't enough. It didn't fix what they did to him, to his family. Cole tried hard to contain his emotions, but they threatened to pour out. Killing brought out the worst in him. Cassie knew it, which was why she wanted him to show mercy, but Cole didn't want to show mercy. He wanted to annihilate their kind, and wipe vampires from the face of the Earth.

Maybe he shouldn't have told her what the vamps intended to do with her. The Captain told him that little piece of information last. She meant for it to make him realize there was no escape. Killing her shouldn't have changed anything, but it changed everything. Cole knew what was happening in the palace that night and where. Maybe he should have protected Cassie from the truth, but it was too late now.

After Cole cleared the hallway, he went back and singled to Cassie that they could follow. Then, the pattern repeated. As they moved closer to the exit, there were more vampires moving through the palace. They were flooding toward a single point like rats running from a storm. At one point, Cole forced the group into a room. There were too many vampires moving through the halls. Sneaking the group outside with so many vampires present wasn't an option. He needed a better vantage point to see what changed. This was not what the Captain had planned. Something was happening.

Cole signaled to Chaucer for him to remain by the door. Crossing the room swiftly, Cole reached out and pushed back a massive velvet drape. He looked out the window and cursed under his breath. From where Cole stood, he could see the front palace lawn. It was covered in vampires with a single figure leading them forward, dressed in red. Sophia. Cole watched closely, trying to determine what was happening. The front lawn was mostly smooth, with the exception of the front drive that curved toward the palace with thick snow banks on either side.

Turning his face, Cole looked the other way. The room they were in jutted out from the side of the building in one of the remote wings of the palace. It allowed let him see the edge of the Southern lawn, as well, which appeared undisturbed. The orchard sat there frozen, the jagged branches jutting up into the cloudy sky like bony fingers. That side of the palace was all hills and shadows. While Cole didn't