A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,85

scowled at Veliko, gradually calming herself through deep breaths.

“I’m holding you responsible,” she said. “Your meddling has made everything worse.”

“Said the woman who taught her son death magic even though he wasn’t a Darkling!” Veliko retorted. It earned him a stomping from Aganon and Simmon until he coughed up blood.

“With Kalon and Esme on the loose, we have to rethink our strategy,” Petra said, ignoring his plight as she leaned into Tudyk. “We can no longer stay here. That vampire bitch will tell her friends, and before we know it they’ll be raiding our beautiful home. We can’t go to the beach house, either. It’s public knowledge that we own that land.”

Moore looked up at her, stern and ready to do her bidding. I was still processing the speed with which Aeternae children matured, even if their bodies took a little while longer to catch up. “What do we do, Mother?”

“We go somewhere else for the time being,” Petra replied. “I need some peace and quiet to figure out what the next steps will be.”

“What about Kalon?” Simmon was visibly worried.

Petra frowned, though I could see a glimmer of pain in her deep blue eyes. “I will not let him run off with that creature. I will bring him to our side, one way or another.”

“Good grief, you’re delusional,” Veliko grumbled.

She shot him a cool smirk. “Maybe. But I’m not done with you yet. For everything you’ve done, Veliko… you will pay.” She paused, glancing at her eldest sons. “But not here. We’re taking him with us.”

“Where the hell are they going?” I wondered aloud.

Petra led the group out of the room, leaving the Darkling bodies behind. They collected the remaining scythes while we stayed behind for a moment in order to put some distance between us. Atlas had been distracted by Veliko and Kalon and Esme, but it was only a matter of time before he’d pick up our scents. Letting him go ahead seemed wise, considering I didn’t want to end up as ghoul chow anytime soon.

“We have to stay with them,” Seeley said.

We followed Petra and her group into the basement of the mansion, through a series of secret doors. The servants had vanished, likely terrified by everything they’d heard earlier. A tunnel had been opened beneath the mansion.

“This will take us straight to Laramis,” Petra said, grabbing a torch off the wall and setting it on fire. The amber light spread around, revealing the damp stone walls etched with claw marks—plenty of ghouls had been around, from what I could see.

“We’re going to Laramis?” Aganon sounded surprised. He and Simmon held Veliko up, forcing him to walk, while Tudyk and Moore stayed ahead with their mother. Atlas led them forward through the tunnel. Their voices echoed, and I was able to hear parts of their conversation.

“It’s not safe to get too close,” Seeley told me, holding me back.

“I know…”

“What business do we have in Laramis?” Simmon asked his mother.

Petra glanced over her shoulder, raising a disappointed eyebrow at her son. “There’s an entire regiment of Darklings there who are still loyal to this imbecile,” she said, looking at Veliko. “They need to be made aware that, for the time being and in the absence of a proper Scholar, they’ll be answering directly to me. Besides, we need more manpower if I’m to get my son back.”

“Sister, I understand you want to find Kalon, but where would we even begin to look for him?” Aganon replied.

“Believe it or not, my son is more predictable than he thinks. I smelled traces of where he’s been the moment he showed up at the house. I can track him. And if I can track him, Atlas will definitely find him. First, however, we need to strengthen our position, since Veliko here nearly ruined everything.”

“I understand,” Aganon said. “What about Ansel?”

“We’ll get him back, too. Hopefully before he gets himself executed. The fool actually thinks he’ll survive this without us, without his family,” Petra muttered. “I’ll get to him before the other Darklings, that’s for sure.”

“Mother, we can’t fight among ourselves,” Tudyk advised. “GASP’s presence here has already caused enough trouble. We can’t let them divide us any more than they already have.”

Petra put an arm around his and Moore’s shoulders. “I completely agree, my darling. But we must also protect our own. I don’t know what I would do if I lost any of you boys. Everything, absolutely everything I do has been for your sake and no one else’s.