Page 58 of Blood that Burns
“Push away the thoughts of my dream and hear me.” I stress the last two words and I watch as resolve enters his expression.
“I’m listening.”
“Katina introduced me to two of her friends today, Adèle and Reese.”
“Reese?” Law’s brows are scrunched in confusion.
“Her name was actually Lucresse Villa something.”
“Lucresse Villemont?”
“That’s it,” I say, nodding my head a little too vigorously.
His expression turns from confusion to shock and ends in something more like dread. “What was she doing here?” He stands up straight and begins pacing a hole into the wood floor.
His reaction to her name isn’t what I’d expected. I guess I didn’t think he’d know her, let alone appear to fear her.
“Who is she, Law? Why do you seem worried by her presence here?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not her. It’s just that she...” His words trail off, and he does that thing where he runs his hands back through his hair. He’s definitely worried.
“Law,” I drawl. “Tell me.”
He lets out a harsh breath and turns to me. “She’s a witch.”
His words don’t have the effect he thought they would, if his scrunched face is any indication.
“Umm... yeah. I caught that.”
He narrows his eyes. “You did? How?”
“It was spelled out for me. She told me exactly what she was. But why’s that a big deal? You’re a vampire.”
“She shared a vision?” he blurts, skipping over the second part of what I’d said.
“Something like that.”
Law remains quiet for several seconds, eyes squinty in concentration. What exactly he’s so focused on is another question altogether. “What did she say?” he finally asks.
“She saw two possible scenarios. In one, the auction falls. In the second... Julian does.”
He sucks in a breath and slouches down into a large ornate chair next to the bed. “Julian falls how?”
As soon as he asks the question, I realize we never asked Reese for clarification on that point. We’d been so overwhelmed. I’d just assumed it meant he’d die, but maybe she was only referring to his current position? Perhaps only his reign would fall?
“I’m honestly not sure. Reese wasn’t exactly forthcoming with all the details.”
“What’s the determining factor?” He fires the next question without lingering on the first. I can see the cogs moving and know I’m in for a very long night.
I chew on my cheek. “Marina needs to be at the auction.”
He jumps to his feet and begins pacing again. “Why? How can Marina being there help at all? She’ll only get in the way.”
I purse my lips. “I wondered the same thing, but Reese insists that’s what needs to happen for the auction to fall. She wouldn’t tell us any more. She said that was as much as she could offer, because anything more could put us in danger.”
He scoffs. “Typical witch. How do we know we can trust her?”
“Addy brought her to us because she believes what she’s saying. So does Katina.”