“I’m not Alaric,” he said. “I don’t want you for your blood.”

  “What do you want me for?” I asked, answering my own question. “Oh, right, I remember… you wanted me, so you could get close enough to your brother to kill him.”

  “You wanted that, too, if I remember correctly.”

  He was right—why was I arguing with him?

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I confessed. “I should have. I was just afraid it would tempt you even more….”

  “Not possible.” His lips brushed the top of my head. “No wonder I find you so irresistible.”

  “It’s always my blood.” I sighed. “Never me.”

  “You are your blood, Poppy. And your blood is you.”

  “I just meant… that’s not all I am.”

  “No. Hardly all.” He chuckled. “I just wish I’d known. Everything makes so much more sense now. I had no idea my brother had such an advantage.”

  “Well, he won’t for long.” I lifted my head to look at him. “Now that you’re awake, you can feed from me. It will make you as powerful as he is.”

  “No.” Ulrich’s jaw tightened. “I won’t use you like that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re not using me if I’m offering.”

  “I’ve got the Axe of Freyr—” His eyes widened, and he reached down to pat his pocket. “Please tell me you still have it?”

  “I do.” I reached for my own pocket.

  “Don’t pull it out in here,” he warned. “It will kill us both.”

  “Where in the world did you get such a weapon?” I’d never seen anything like it.

  “It was given to me by my father.”

  “To kill vampires?”

  “Yes.”

  I contemplated this. “Was your father a vampire hunter?”

  He laughed. “No. He was a king.”

  “A king,” I mused. “Does that make you a prince?”

  He chuckled. “Once upon a time.”

  “You lived in a fairy tale?”

  “Until I was turned…” His voice trailed off. Then he said, “I suppose I did.”

  “Was there a princess?” I asked, curious.

  “I didn’t have a sister,” he said, dispelling my idea that the mysterious Bryn had been related to these two brothers. “Just Alaric.”

  “You know what I meant.” I nudged him with my elbow.

  “Was there a woman?” He sighed. “Yes. Yes, there was a woman.”

  “And you loved her?”

  “Very much.”

  Why did that give me such a pain in the middle of my chest? It made it hard to breathe.

  “Did you marry her?” I asked softly, not sure I wanted to know.

  “No.” He smiled, but it was grim. “There’s no happily ever after in this tale.”

  “Just an ever after…” I frowned, wondering how it all had happened, so long ago, when this man had been made immortal. “Forever.”

  He nodded. “Indeed.”

  “Well you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?”

  “What happened?” I asked softly. “How… how it happened?”

  He stiffened. “Shhh.”

  “What is it?” I cocked my head, listening.

  “Someone passing in the tunnel.”

  “I didn’t hear anything,” I whispered.

  “You’re not a vampire.” His arms loosened a little as he relaxed. “They’re gone.”

  “I told you,” I prompted, nudging him again. “What happened to me.”

  He snorted. “You left out a pretty important detail.”

  “Still…” I shrugged. “I told you.”

  He sighed. “What is it that you want to know?”

  “How did you go from a prince to a vampire?” I paused. “Does that make you a vampire prince?”

  “Our royal line ended long ago.” His face darkened. “Thanks to my brother.”

  “So… it was Alaric who turned you.” Why wasn’t I surprised?

  “No.” Ulrich swallowed. “He turned everyone I loved.”

  “Your mother?” I guessed.

  “My father, my mother… my…”

  “Woman?”

  He nodded. “Her, too.”

  “What was her name?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore.” He shook his head, looking away. So, he wasn’t going to tell me. Clearly, that part of his life remained under lock and key. I tried to imagine what it must have been like, for him to lose everyone he loved that way. It made my heart ache for him.

  “Who turned your brother?” I asked.

  “A very powerful vampire who had his eye on my father’s throne,” Ulrich said. “Kylan saw an opportunity in my brother and he took it. Along with my father’s kingdom.”

  “And where was this kingdom?”

  “Askiham.”

  I didn’t recognize it. “Where’s that?”

  “Back in the eleventh century, it was right about where I found you, photographing the wolves.”

  “The ice cavern,” I breathed.

  “My father had it built.”

  “A safe place from vampires?” I mused. I wondered at the undertaking. Clearly, Ulrich had modernized it, but his father had created the vampire safe-haven in the first place.

  “My father had it consecrated. No vampire can enter there—without permission,” Ulrich told me. “He thought he was protecting his family from Kylan. He didn’t suspect for a moment that his son would betray him.”

  “Did Alaric turn your father into a vampire?” I asked.

  “No…” It was clear from Ulrich’s face that talking about this was painful. “He drained him. So that Alaric could become the king.”

  “He was the heir? The oldest?”

  “I am the younger son, yes.”

  “Didn’t this Kylan want to be the king?”

  “No… he wanted to control the king.”

  “And Kylan was Alaric’s master?” I asked. Ulrich nodded. “Why didn’t he turn you, too?”

  “I wouldn’t let him.” Ulrich gave me a grim smile. “I had the Axe of Freyr. Even Kylan was afraid of it.”

  “Why didn’t you kill them both?”

  “Alaric declared me a traitor,” Ulrich explained. “I was banished. Besides, my mother… she was… ill. I took her with me to the ice cavern while I planned my revenge.”

  “Ill?” I frowned. “Wait… you said she was turned… oh no.”

  “Oh yes. He’d turned her by then,” he said, bitterness in his voice. “I spent a few days down in the cavern, taking care of my mother, until…”

  “Until?” I prompted softly when his voice trailed off.

  “She… she started to get better. I thought. And then… she woke.”

  I lifted my head. “Woke…?”

  “And she was thirsty.” He rubbed his hand absently on the side of his neck.

  I stared at him, aghast. “She fed on you?”

  “I was the only food available.”

  “But she didn’t kill you…”

  “Worse.” He grimaced. “She turned me.”

  “Oh Ulrich, I’m so sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “But she’s still alive.” Nadia had been the one to push us in here, hiding us. “Did you know?”

  “No.”

  “She did her best to help Lily. To help me. And you,” I said. “She’s down here somewhere. We could save her.”

  “She belongs to him,” Ulrich said with a shake of his head. “And we need to get out of here, before Alaric returns and he discovers where she’s hidden us.”

  “But she’s your mother…” I understood feeling ambivalent about the woman who had given birth to you. I certainly felt that way about mine. But I don’t think I would have given up a chance to save her life, if I’d had one.

  “She was. Once,” he agreed, his face hard. “And he was my brother. Now, he is only my enemy.”

  I couldn’t blame him for feeling that way, considering what Alaric had taken from him. But it seemed to me that Nadia was just a victim in all of it, like he was.

  “We need to get out of here.” Ulrich moved to sit up.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked, sitting up beside him. “Has the sun set?”

  “I wouldn’t be awake if it hadn’t.”

  I reached out to touch his face, turning his chin so he had to look at me. My necklace was the only light, casting a greenish glow to his face.

  “We can fix that,” I reminded him softly, tilting my head to the side and reaching down to pull my shirt away, exposing my throat. “All you have to do is drink.”

  “Poppy, no.” He shook his head. “I told you no.”

  “You said it yourself… he has the advantage. Let’s take that advantage away from him.”

  “I’m not going to use you for my own gain.” His eyes glittered in the dim light.

  I sighed. “But—”

  “I have my father’s axe,” he reminded me, reaching out and pulling my collar up.

  I straightened with a sigh. “You had your father’s axe yesterday and you didn’t manage to kill him.”

  “I didn’t know he and his men could stay awake when the sun rose,” he snapped. “Or go out into the sunlight.”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” I cried. “Let’s put you both on equal footing, at least!”

  “Alaric wants to use you and your sister to create some sort of invincible vampire army—but I’m not stooping to his level.” Ulrich pushed against the rock wall and, incredibly, it began to move. Vampire strength never ceased to amaze me.

  “But Ulrich…” I protested, putting a hand on his broad back.

  “No more buts.” He glanced back at me, frowning. “You’ll need to climb on my back. It’s a long way out of this hell hole.”

  “We’re near a shortcut,” I said, remembering the place where Alaric had escaped with Lily.

  “Let’s go,” Ulrich said, pushing his way out of the crevice.

  I sighed and followed him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The bathtub in the hotel suite was bigger than my whole bathroom at home. I sat in the hot water, soaking off the dirt of the catacombs, hoping I could scrub away the memory of Alaric’s hands on my body. The one thing I couldn’t get rid of was the memory of Ulrich’s mouth on my neck, the way he nuzzled my throat, the hungry sound of his groan as he pulled away, denying himself. That particular memory stuck with me, replaying in my head over and over, no matter how many times I pushed it away.

  Outside, it was full dark, the sky dotted with distant stars. I could see a sliver of the moon through the skylight above. For the first time since Lily had called me on that weird psychic hotline—with Nadia’s help, I now knew—I thought about my wolves and wondered how the pack was doing. They were out under that moon tonight on the tundra, and despite the fact that I was soaking in a bathtub in Paris, I wished I was out there with them.

  I closed my eyes and sank down deeper into the water, trying to relax. The hot water should have helped, but it wasn’t, not really. My muscles were still tight, my whole body on-edge. I couldn’t stop thinking about Ulrich. Our trip out of the catacombs had been as silent as the one back to the hotel. He’d dropped me off at the room, not looking at me when he ordered me to stay put, telling me he would be back in a few hours.

  I took in the pained look on his face, the hard set of his jaw, and didn’t ask him where he was going. I guessed that it probably involved Gregario and a Sanguinarians Anonymous meeting—maybe just a call to a sponsor. He had valiantly managed to resist the siren call of my blood in the catacombs, but I knew my close proximity wasn’t helping. I’d offered myself to him twice now, and he’d turned me down both times. I understood his reluctance, given the circumstances, but I thought he was being both stupid and stubborn.

  Alaric had already proven what a huge advantage he had. His entire vampire guard had fed from Lily—meaning all of them could stay awake during the day. Alaric himself had fed from me, years ago, making him able to go out into the sunlight without any harm coming to him. Ulrich couldn’t do either of those things, and that put us at a serious disadvantage. We’d lost a whole day down in the catacombs, waiting for sundown. We’d managed to escape without being caught, but now we were no closer to Lily that we’d been before we made the trip down into the Empire of the Dead.

  I sighed, giving up on the whole relaxing bit, and pulled the plug on the tub with my toe. The water started to drain, and I stood, reaching for one of the big, fluffy bath sheets as I stepped out, wondering what we were going to do now. Ulrich seemed to think he could defeat Alaric with the Axe of Freyr, but I wasn’t so sure about that. Especially given the fact that Alaric had managed to escape it once already. The weapon was only as powerful as the man wielding it, and while I didn’t doubt Ulrich’s ability, he couldn’t go out during the day like Alaric could.

  And Alaric would use that advantage as much as he possibly could, I had no doubt.

  Which meant that I was going to have to convince Ulrich, somehow, that he needed my blood. We just didn’t have any other choice, not matter how much either of us wanted to protest. The irony of the situation didn’t escape me. Ulrich didn’t want to drink from me—or anyone—and I didn’t want to offer myself to a vampire again. But if I didn’t… if he didn’t… we had no hope of saving Lily from Alaric.

  I didn’t understand Ulrich’s abstinence, but I did respect it. And him. He was the only vampire I’d ever known willing to make such a sacrifice. His abstinence had made me feel safe around him. It had made me grow to trust him, if I was being honest with myself. So now that it had become obvious—at least, to me—that Ulrich needed the advantages my blood would give him, I just needed to convince him of that. Somehow.

  I dried off and pulled on one of the long, cream-colored silky robes with the hotel logo on it hanging on the back of the door. The room was quiet—too quiet—so I found a music station on the television and went to the mini-bar to find myself something to drink. After our trip down into the catacombs, I needed something to relax me. The hot bath had failed in that regard, so maybe a little alcohol would do the trick.

  I’d already ordered and eaten room service, so I wasn’t drinking on an empty stomach. There were tiny bottles of almost everything. The selection would have sorely tempted Sebastian back in the day, I thought, choosing two little bottles of whiskey.

  I didn’t bother with a glass, twisting off the caps and drinking both, two gulps each, wincing at the hot burn in my throat as the alcohol went down. That fire stayed in my chest, warming my cheeks. I walked over to the sliding door, looking out at the balcony and the view beyond. The Eiffel Tower was stunning from here, sparkling with light. I didn’t care if it was just a stupid tourist attraction and looked down upon by most Parisiennes. I thought it was beautiful. The alcohol was starting to work, giving me a warm, floating feeling.

  Somewhere down there, Alaric had my sister. Had he taken her somewhere to hide her before going back to the catacombs, looking for us? What was he planning? We’d lost the advantage of surprise. He knew we were here, he knew we were looking for Lily. He’d drawn me in, using Nadia to call my name, using Lily’s voice. He’d known I couldn’t stay away, that I would do anything to help her, once I knew she was in trouble.

  I had been his goal all along. Lily was just the bait.

  I startled when my phone went off in the other room. It was on the night stand and I slid the button to unlock it, finding both a voice message and a text message—they were both from Aron. The text was just: I’m catching the next flight from L.A. to Paris. Tell me where and when to meet you. The phone message, on the other hand, was long and rambling. He started out telling me he got my number from his friend, that he was incredibly excited to hear from me, relieved that I was involved in the process, going on about how he’d been looking for Lily since she disappeared. He sounded so hopeful about our leads in Paris, I almost wanted to cry. He thanked me a million times, told me how much he loved my sister, that he would do anything for her—and then told me he was coming to Paris on the next available flight.

  Poor Aron. I wish I had better news, I thought, as I started to text him back.

  That’s when the door to the suite opened, and I got another sort of message at pretty much the same time—except this one wasn’t on my phone, it was a line direct to my head.

  “Poppy!” Ulrich called my name as I went to my knees, cradling my head in my hands, my phone dropping to the floor.

  His big arms went around me, and I moaned in pain, leaning against his chest, the sound of my sister’s voice, panicked, screaming, out of control, filling my head.

  “Lily,” I whispered, clinging to him.

  “Shhhh.” He rocked me, stroked my damp hair, and I felt something pushing back inside my head. It took me a moment to realize that it was Ulrich—he was hearing Lily’s call, trying to mitigate it for me. Like taking a psychic message.

  “Tomorrow,” I groaned, shaking my aching head. “Before sunrise… okay, okay, I got it—stop, it hurts!”

  Maybe it was because the origin of the message was so much closer, because the force of the message was enough to snap my head back and make my body jerk uncontrollably in Ulrich’s arms. He held me close, whispering something, although I couldn’t hear him. My head was far too full of Lily.

  Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone again. If it had felt like a spike was being driven through my head the moment before, now, suddenly, the pain simply disappeared. I gasped in sheer relief, feeling my body trembling all over.

  “Did you… hear…?” I could barely get the words out.

  “Yes.” His response was gruff. “He wants to meet you at the Metro, La Défense station, just before sunrise. But I’m not waiting until then.”

  “Ulrich, no!” I put my arms around his neck to make myself a weight, to keep him from rising. It didn’t work. He stood anyway, taking me with him.

  “It’s another trap.” He scowled down at me, eyes glittering, full of fire. “He knows I can’t come with you, if the meeting is at sunrise. I’ll find him tonight, and end this.”

  “You can’t.” I grabbed onto his jacket, trying to keep him from going. “Ulrich, please—I’ve been thinking about this the whole time you were gone…”

 

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