A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,3

her genes would be useful for something related to the cloning process, but I admit I didn’t pay much attention to the details. Two months ago, I’d seen Hammer for the last time, with a promise from Haldor that they would destroy him unless I did their bidding. And their bidding involved Isabelle’s abduction, so I complied.”

“You came to The Shade, and you took her,” I murmured, disappointed. I should’ve understood, but still… it felt like a good reason to stay angry and distrusting of him, if only to make myself feel better. His allegiance was to Hammer first, not to us. Not to me. I needed to remember that.

“Yes. I came to The Shade, and I took her. I would do it again, if I were to go back in time,” Brandon replied. “She wasn’t hurt. I was careful and gentle. Barely a tap on the forehead, and she was asleep. By the time she realized what was happening, Isabelle had already been settled in the dungeons beneath the Port here.”

“They had you coming to The Shade often,” I said, remembering his account of stolen and tainted DNA samples. “What else did they have you do?”

“They have me run different errands, but I usually stick to labors of this false Shade. Keeping the order, disciplining the clones, stuff like that.”

“Disciplining the clones?” I asked, exchanging a brief glance with Thayen. He looked curious, too.

Brandon lay on his back, groaning as he stretched his arms and put his hands under his head, staring up at the blank, black sky. My gaze wandered over the toned muscles drawn from his shoulders to his forearms. The skin was almost pearlescent, faintly shimmering under the artificial glow. “It takes a while to get the newly made ones under control. They tend to be rebellious at first. They long for freedom and independence, which is exactly the opposite of what’s expected of them. Naturally, some refuse to cooperate and make a little bit of noise, which is where some of my brothers and I come in. Crack a whip here, kick an ass there, and poof! Obedient doppelgangers to serve HQ without further objection.”

“Right, because you’re punishers,” I muttered.

“It’s in my nature, yes. I cannot change who I am. I live and breathe violence, Astra.” That was the first time he’d said my name. And the way he’d said it sent a rush down my spine. I would’ve liked to respond, perhaps offer a witty retort, but my brain betrayed me. Brandon seemed to have that effect on me. Why?

“You’re always so dark and full of yourself,” Myst cut in, appearing on the same ridge where the Berserker had shown up earlier with the stag. Her presence made all three of us stand, and my heart started to pound in my chest.

Brandon smirked. “Took you forever.”

“It wasn’t easy to find the hostages,” she replied dryly, then looked at Thayen, the blue fires in her eyes burning brighter than before. “I know where they are.”

Silence settled as we waited for her to continue. It seemed like Myst didn’t quite pick up on certain social cues. “Well?” I croaked, stomach tight.

“You won’t like it,” she said.

“We didn’t like it earlier in the Port, either,” Thayen replied. “Please… just tell us.”

Myst sighed. “They’re in the glass extension on the west side of the island.”

Brandon swore, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

I moved closer, watching his expression carefully. It made him take a step back, eyeing me nervously as though I might attack him. “What is it?” I asked, secretly enjoying the knowledge that I had some kind of effect on him, too, though I wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

“That’s where HQ is,” Brandon said. “They took your people back to HQ.”

I finally understood why this made him nervous. Why he’d felt the need to curse. Our friends had been taken under the watchful eye of the alt-Shade’s leadership. Going in to save them meant going deep into the belly of the beast. It made me wonder, considering Brandon’s earlier warnings—were we even cut out for this mission? Had we survived purely on the basis of luck so far, only making it through because of help from Myst and Brandon?

It didn’t matter, I realized. We’d come this far. We could go a little further.

Thayen

My heart was skipping beats as I stood next to Myst inside the main cave. Her close proximity always did that to me. We’d woken Viola and the others up, since the plan to