Death Game: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #3) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,91

can’t believe you’re doing this for everyone.” She cackled. “My first overseas trip.”

Yep. My staff thought I’d sprung a surprise vacation on them.

She dug her bony elbow in my side. “You’re sure you won’t tell us where we’re going?”

Pretty sure, considering I had no idea where Kyros believed he was sending me. Knowing him, somewhere nice.

I stood back as my staff went through the procedure of boarding.

Tommy joined me. “So this is the part where I tell you that I’m not going with everyone else.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Nope,” she replied, leaning against the car. “I’m going into that room with you, Basil. And that special clause you added? I want to read it aloud as I look at their faces.”

She’d done such a good job of hiding how she felt, but the bitterness and anger were there in spades.

My friend wanted revenge.

I was familiar with the feeling.

“Tom,” I told her. “When I told you about Vissimo, I swore to never let harm befall you. I already broke that oath once, so please don’t make me do it again.”

She scoffed. “What? You’re rich and so you get to decide my life? My actions don’t belong to anyone but myself. I wanted to be with Theodore—who I thought he was anyway. Now, I want to spit in the faces of the other two. Most of all, I’m going to be there by your side because I’m your fucking best friend.”

I cut her a look. “Your body will betray you in there. The royals are strong. Their power will flare. You’ll want to fall in a heap and piss yourself.”

“I’ve been practicing with the vampires on the estate.”

My voice dropped to dangerous levels. “Practicing how?”

She didn’t answer. “I’m going into that room, Basil. The easy way or the hard way. Give me this moment, and I accept full responsibility for my actions. If I’m hurt, it’s on my head and my head alone.”

But it wouldn’t be.

Tommy whipped out a hand to clutch my forearm. “You think you’ll blame yourself if I’m hurt. Why do you feel like it’s different for me? You think I want you walking into that shitshow without me? If anything happens, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“It’ll be—”

“Dangerous. Got that, Sherlock.”

I let out a frustrated hiss. “I’ll be fucking pissed if you die.”

Understatement of the century.

She grinned at me, opening the car door. “Love you, Basil.”

Leaving her to bask in her triumph, I paced around the hangar, certain Kyros was watching me like a hawk—I couldn’t sit still in the car for an hour when I should be moving into the plane like everyone else.

Did I have everything? I spent three hours that morning cross-checking the piles of documents for the third time.

Everything was in the bags.

Everything except the document in my back pocket.

“The plane is ready to depart, Basi,” Laurel reported a while later, moving to my side.

I blinked at the grey wall. I’d been staring at it while running over what I wanted to say at the negotiations. The kings would try to unsettle me—just like Julius did last time.

I had to stick to my script.

There was too much to lose.

“Thank you. Please get someone to make excuses for Tommy and me. Tell them, something urgent has come up.”

Fifteen of my Vissimo would go with my staff. The rest of them were called back by Sundulus for the negotiations, so I’d walk into the lion’s den with my crew of seven.

Somehow, that felt right.

I waved at my staff as the plane left the hangar. They were safe for now. My oldies wouldn’t be far behind, though I doubted the destinations were the same.

I breathed a little easier as the plane took off.

Eleven thirty came and went, and I kept an internal eye on Kyros’s emotions, feeling the exact moment his fear began to climb.

“Text him,” I instructed Laurel. “There’s a delay due to air traffic from the public airport. Expected wait is fifteen minutes.”

There was every risk he’d call my bluff, but Kyros was in Grey and the private airport was on the far side of Orange. It would take him twenty minutes to get here at least, and then he wouldn’t have enough time to return for the meeting.

Laurel sent the text and her brows shot up at the reply.

“Making threats, is he?” I smirked.

“Get that fucking plane off the ground now,” she recited. “Now is in capital letters.”

Shouty. Couldn’t blame him.

But Kyros was on the move too.

“Shit, he’s changing locations,” I whispered, focusing on the drawing sensation pulling