Death Game: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #3) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,93

the vampires inside were paying attention, they’d be listening to her. I tapped my head. Aside from the obvious problem of having another person in my head when I needed total focus, complete joy filled me as I heard Kyros’s voice for the first time.

The mental sound—if that’s what it could be called—rumbled through my body just as his voice rumbled through me in real life.

Kyros, I’m okay, I thought, testing it out. I’m coming inside—

His thought cut me off. Over my dead body.

I’m going to do my best to save your family, I said.

Using every inch of the focus I’d cultivated since my senses came in, I gathered the rapid stream of his shouting voice and did my best to box it up. I only managed to hush him to a whispering volume that had a bead of sweat trekking down my back.

It would have to do.

Straightening, I strode to the doors, nodding at two of my Vissimo who opened them. I winked at them—because bravado—and headed directly to where I could feel the thrum of Kyros.

He was debating whether he could leave the room.

Kyros, the last time you left things to me, the plan exploded in my face. I understand your hesitation, but I’m asking you to trust me again. I’m doing this for you. For us. But I need to have this moment for my grandmother.

His confusion over the last part took over everything else. The way he turned over problems was incredible. As I walked to the second set of doors, he’d come up with ten different reasons for me mentioning my grandmother and prioritised them from most likely to least likely.

None of your theories are right, I told him. But it’s time you know the truth.

I drew forth everything I’d kept from him—the underground office, the Churchill team, the acquisition team, the stacks of properties I owned in Bluff City.

The tumult of information shocked him to silence, but it wasn’t awed. The silence was confused. Shoot, did he even get any of that? I wasn’t sure if I’d sent the information in a logical way or if I’d thrown it at him in a pile.

But I hoped he understood enough.

I wanted him to know at last. I never wanted to keep anything from him again.

Standing outside the double doors, I braced for the sweaty state two entire clans of vampires would put me in.

Tommy planted herself at my back, and I threw her a searching glance.

Her jaw was set. Her eyes hard.

Laurel shadowed my right. Kelsea, my left. The rest of my crew surrounded me and Tommy from behind. They carried eleven bags, and I held out my hand to take the bag from Laurel.

I took a steadying breath, tilting my chin and straightening my back.

This one’s for you, Agatha.

Laurel and Kelsea pushed the doors open.

And I strode into a sea of vampires.

24

Holy shit. Entering a stadium packed with what had to be over six thousand vampires was eerie. Really, less than half of the fifteen thousand vampires that lived in the city had managed to cram in here. It was comforting and interesting to note that both sides had prioritised space so most of their Indebted could attend. Guess if a fight broke out, they didn’t want their actual clan members to die.

Assholes.

The clans were seated in tiers rising on opposite sides. In the middle was the space I usually saw during the dice roll. Instead of the thrones facing off against each other, a long table had been placed in the middle. The kings and queens sat in thrones in the middle of the longest sides, facing off. Their children sat either side of them, also facing off. As I listened to Tommy’s erratic breathing at my back, my gaze honed on Kyros to the right of his father.

His thoughts were still spilling over from everything I’d just unleashed on him, but I’d managed to keep his mental frenzy to a whisper. Kyros was painfully aware of my presence, devastated by it.

I strode between the two towering tiers toward the table. In short duration the clans became aware of the mostly human and actual human in their midst.

I listened to the conversation ahead of me. I’d expected shouting and blazing eyes and barred fangs, but the calm poise of both sides—the steady pitch of their voices—was the stuff of nightmares.

Almost in unison, the royals stiffened, their conversation trailing away as they turned to me.

Tommy’s breathing stopped altogether as I led the way to