at hunting for food.”
The black guard seemed confused. “For food, milord?”
Veliko shot him a cold grin. “There are small villages south and north of here. Wouldn’t you like some fresh blood, instead of that stale and nearly congealed sauce you’ve been drinking for the past couple of days?”
The black guard’s eyes lit up as he nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely, milord. Do you think this one is ready to be let loose, though?”
Veliko laughed, pointing at Rudolph. “Look at him. He’s obedient and tame. Smarter than the average ghoul, for sure, since he clearly understands he’s better off complying with our orders. Besides, he’s got the collar on. If he doesn’t return, I have ways of making him come back.”
That had to mean more death magic, but Rudolph didn’t seem to care. He probably knew I’d set him free once I got a scythe. Seeley and I would be much stronger for whatever came next, if we had a conscientious ghoul like Rudolph on our side.
“Understood, milord,” the black guard said, taking over Rudolph’s rein.
I stayed with Rudolph, not wanting to be close to Veliko anymore. He scared me. If he still suspected that I was around, I did not wish to be within his reach. He could easily stun me or, worse even, reveal me with his death magic, and we were too close to getting the heck out of here.
However, I did keep a certain distance, and Rudolph stopped looking at me so often. Thankfully, he still had the mental clarity to understand what was at stake here.
“Hang in there, Rudy,” I murmured as we walked with the black guard along the northern edge of Astoria. “We’ll get this over with soon.”
Veliko worried me. More than Zoltan, even. At least the Scholar showed some sense of restraint. Veliko was easily unhinged, and he could pose a serious danger—not just to Seeley but also to my GASP crew. Zoltan had run away. Veliko struck me as the kind who would lead the Darklings back into the palace just to kill us all and get it over with.
It made me wonder… why hadn’t Zoltan done the same? Maybe he was more fearful of retribution coming from the Lord and Lady Supreme if he so much as tried to harm my people. I wasn’t going to find out any more. All I could do was make sure that Seeley, Rudolph, and I got the hell out of dodge before it was too late.
Taeral
While Derek and Sofia’s crew continued their work on Visio, with the death of Nethissis burdening their hearts, the rest of GASP was growing increasingly impatient. Ben and River wanted to get involved, but they had to respect Visio’s wishes. Their desire to intervene had only grown stronger when Zoltan Shatal had been revealed as the Aeternae responsible for Nethissis’s death, but Derek had insisted they stay back. He had it under control—or so he’d said.
I knew he wanted to stay there until he got the day-walking protein, since it was deeply important to him, on a personal level. I also knew that Sofia and the others had chosen to stay with him because they had faith in him. I did, too, but I just didn’t have the same kind of faith in the Aeternae. The one thing that gave me some sense of comfort was the knowledge that Rose and Caleb had already prepared a fleet of GASP agents, in case an immediate intervention was required.
We all hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but we had to keep all options on the table, nonetheless. Amal and Amane sent regular reports about their work—not only regarding the protein, but also everything that had to do with the Black Fever. We had been made aware that it could affect vampires, too, even though it was harder to catch and likely not fatal. Even so, our vampire agents had to be prepared for and protected against all possible scenarios.
Ridan was part of Rose and Caleb’s fleet, dying to get to Visio. He was worried about Amane, and I couldn’t exactly blame him. Not after what had happened with Nethissis.
Lumi and Sidyan were investigating the Darklings’ trail on Visio, so I regularly stayed in touch with the swamp witch. The fact that she was officially in mourning and thoroughly isolated from the rest of the world had worked in her favor—no one bothered to look for her. Well, no one dared. They knew she’d come back when she was ready. Besides, Kailani did a