Ignoring the catcalls from the crowd, he shoved his shoulder into Diggory’s gut, using the momentum to lift the vampire from the ground and hurl him backward. The entire cage rattled as his body collided with the chain-link, and before he had a chance to recover, Nye was on him, striking his face with a well-aimed punch.
Blood erupted from Diggory’s nose, and he howled with rage, struggling against the hold Nye had on him.
“C’mon, Dig,” he taunted. “You’re making this too easy. I thought you were meant to be a prize fighter?”
Standing, Nye urged him to get up off his ass and have another shot.
Flying forward, Diggory attacked aggressively, punching and kicking with as much grace as a pile of shit. Nye moved around each attempt with ease, landing a blow in return for each missed attempt. The sound of Diggory’s ribs cracking under the weight of his fists was like music to his ears.
Making a last ditch attempt, Diggory punched with his right and then came back quickly with his left as Nye dodged. Seeing the trap the fighter had made for him, he ducked, the fist meant for his eye sailing right over his head.
Nye had given the fighter a chance to land a punch or two and had remained untouched. There was no way in hell this guy could lead the London underworld. No way in hell. Truthfully, Nye was disappointed with the lack of challenge tonight had presented. Diggory was all talk and no spine.
His patience had run thin, and Nye knew he’d drawn this out long enough. Time to put an end to the fighter’s miserable little existence and make him the example he needed him to be.
Launching himself onto the fighter, he sank his fangs into his neck and tore into his flesh like it was butter. Diggory stumbled and fell to his knees with an agonized wail, but still, Nye didn’t let go. Fisting his right hand into the vampire’s hair and shoving his shoulder with his left, Nye tore with all his strength.
Flesh and bone ripped apart, blood splattering across the concrete floor and coating the vampires who stood closest to the side of the cage as Diggory’s head detached from his body.
Pushing to his feet, Nye felt the vampire’s blood run from his lips and down his chest, hot and sticky, the scent rancid with the hatred the fighter had felt toward him. Raising his hand, he thrust the severed head into the air.
“I am your king!” he roared at the crowd, his fangs throbbing. “If any of you miscreants want to challenge me, now is your chance.”
The silence was deafening as he turned around, his gaze burning into every single vampire that was assembled. They stared at him with unmasked fear, not a single soul game enough to step forward and claim the crown.
“This is my city now,” he proclaimed, holding up Diggory’s head. “You can live in it under my rule, or you can die alone in it. The choice is yours.”
Nobody uttered a word. Not after he’d ripped apart his challenger like he was made from soft butter.
Nye’s lip curled in satisfaction, and he let Diggory’s head fall to the floor. The lump of flesh and bone collided with the concrete, a dull thud echoing through the room.
Long live the king.
Chapter 3
Nye’s favorite place in the mansion had fast become the study.
Regulus had spent a lot of his time here, surrounded by his vast collection of grimoires and ancient tomes that now belonged to Gabby. The fireplace gave it that homely feeling Nye had missed over the years as the world modernized around him. It reminded him of the grand rooms he’d seen in houses across the country when he was working as a spy under Queen Elizabeth I. That was a long time ago and another life.
Flipping through the dossiers Tristan had compiled on the most notorious vampires in the city, he began narrowing down his choices. He knew all the faces present, but if he was to trust any of them, they had to dig deeper into their comings and goings.
After the other night’s spectacle, the underworld was beginning to fall into line and not a moment too soon, but if Nye was going to rule long-term, he needed his own version of the Six, and he needed it soon.
He’d gotten halfway through the pile of folders when the doorbell rang. Rising to his feet, he listened to the still air. Tristan was out, and Gabby was away, so that left him to answer the door himself. As he moved from the study and down the stairs, he made a mental note to compel himself a housekeeper. A pretty one if he could manage it.
Placing his hand on the doorknob, he cast his hearing out and listened to the heartbeat on the other side of the door. It was slightly faster than average, and it put him on edge. Peering through the peephole, he caught sight of a shock of red hair, and he caught a familiar scent.
What was she doing here?
Opening the door, his gaze collided with hers, and she gasped. “Nye.”
“Isobel…” He breathed deeply, her sweet scent washing over him, and he tightened his grip on the door. Incredible.
She stared at him, her hazel eyes connecting with his deep brown irises, and neither of them moved. Locked in a silent battle of wills, Nye allowed her to gather her thoughts lest he scare her away.
“I was looking for Alex,” she finally said.
“He’s not here.”
“Oh…”
“He’s gone to America with Gabby,” he explained. “He didn’t tell you?”
She frowned, her forehead creasing. “No. No, he didn’t. He hasn’t been around since… Well, you know. All that stuff with Aed.”
At the mention of the fae hybrid’s name, Nye stepped back and gestured for her to come into the house. She didn’t hesitate and moved past him, giving away the fact she trusted too easily. Her scent slammed into him like a sledgehammer to the face, and he held his breath. Giving the yard and the street beyond one last glance, he was satisfied no one else was there and closed the door behind her.
No one was lingering, but that didn’t mean much. Not in his world. There was no telling who had eyes on the house given his new position and the show of power he’d put on at the fight the other night.
“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Isobel said softly, sounding distracted. Her gaze flickered around the foyer, her eyes widening as she beheld the size of the house. “I was worried about Alex.”
“He’s got a lot to worry about himself,” Nye replied, watching her closely. “He’s a new vampire. These things don’t take weeks—it can take years for a vampire to become accustomed to… Time becomes…”
“Irrelevant?”
“Something like that.”
She snorted. “I’m sure I’ll never be able to grasp the concept of forever.”
“He’ll be fine,” he murmured. “He has Gabby.”
“I’m his big sister, Nye. I can’t just forget that. He’ll always worry me, no matter what he has become.”
Nye didn’t care about Alex and his transition. Up until five minutes ago, he was more worried about being staked in the back. Now he was concerned about Isobel.
By just showing up, she’d unknowingly made herself known to the London underworld and had put herself in a great amount of danger. It wasn’t her fault, she didn’t understand, but Nye couldn’t let anything happen to her. Her brother was the only founding vampire in the world, and now that Gabby had destroyed the spell that created him, the only one to ever walk it again. That made Alex dangerous, and if something happened to his human sister while she was in Nye’s care… He didn’t want to think about the mess that would be left of him if he failed.
Isobel mustn’t leave the house. Not if he wanted to keep his head and his throne and especially not if Isobel wanted to go on living.
“I need to make a phone call,” he said, making Isobel’s gaze return to his. “Will you wait?”
A smile appeared on her lips, and he began to feel bad for what he was about to do.
“Sure,” she replied.
Returning her smile, he guided her to the sitting room where she sat on the couch, her shoulders stiff with tension. She was worried about being left alone, but she’d be safe inside the
mansion. Gabby had made sure of that weeks ago when the deed was signed over into her name. No vampires who were not invited by the witch herself could come inside. Moving upstairs, Nye made sure he was closed inside the study before he pulled out his phone.
Isobel was human and had no way of overhearing his conversation, but he’d been around vampires for far too long. He didn’t know how to act around a mortal, and his one memory of what came before was dull at best. Time eroded a great deal of happenings from his mind…nothing remained but the most powerful images—his mother, the battle on board the Spanish galleon that had resulted in the scar marking his face, his death in the lowest reaches of the Tower of London, and then his subsequent transition into a vampire. Those were the things that lingered from his human life.
Putting the past out of his mind, Nye unlocked the screen on his phone and scrolled through the contacts. Pushing the number labeled Sabine, he wondered how much this was going to cost him.
Asking a witch for a favor never came cheap.
Isobel sat awkwardly on the plush leather couch, her gaze taking in every inch of the extravagant sitting room.
This was Gabby’s house now? Wow.
She knew Nye lived here with Gabby, but so did Tristan. Nye was the last person she’d expected to answer the door, and in all honesty, she was surprised he was here at all. Gabby was the one she’d imagined seeing when she arrived. She didn’t know the first thing about vampires and their sleeping habits but assumed daylight was off limits even with the fancy magic that kept the sun from burning them to a crisp.
And Alex! He’d gone back home without so much as a word. She knew he didn’t want to worry her, but she couldn’t help it. Her brother was now the most powerful vampire in the world, not to mention immortal and bloodthirsty. Her little brother!
His human life would become a liability soon enough when people realized he wasn’t ageing, and she knew that was why he’d gone home with Gabby. She just wished he’d told her so she could be there for him. She’d never understand, but she could listen, right?
“Apologies,” Nye said from behind her.
Isobel jumped, her heart beating double time. “Shit.”
His lips curved into a smile. “I keep forgetting myself,” he said. “I don’t spend much time with humans.”
She was about to say ‘only when you eat them’, but she closed her mouth. She wasn’t sure if she could joke with the vampire anymore.
He was the same man she’d taken a shine to back in Oxford, but something had changed in him. He had the same features, the same stature, and the same scar running across his face, but he was different. He seemed a great deal more serious, but she supposed it was because he was now the head honcho around these parts. At least, that’s what Gabby had told her he intended to do after they all parted ways weeks ago.
Anyway, since when did he start talking in such a fancy manner? Saying things like cannot, and apologies, and not shortening his words at all. He was like a proper English gentleman. He’d only been around a few days, but she missed the roguish vampire who flirted like a total floozy with her. Where had that guy gone?
“I think you should stay here until Alex returns,” he said, breaking through her thought pattern.
“What?” She tilted her head to the side, not understanding. “Why? I have to get back to Oxford by Monday. I’ve got class…”
“I think it would be in your best interests. At least in the short-term.”
“Education is in my best interests,” she declared. “Besides, Alex could be more than a few days if he’s gone home.” Home to tie up his human life. It was a sobering thought when she put it that way.
“I don’t think you understand my meaning,” he came back with. “I think you should stay here until Alex returns.”
“Thank you, Nye, but I don’t think I can.” She didn’t add the part where she didn’t think it was a good idea to stay in a house with only a four-hundred-year-old vampire and his one-thousand-year-old BFF for company. No matter how easy on the eye they were.
Nye shrugged but didn’t try to sway her. He just stood there watching with his creepy unblinking eyes. Turning, she crossed the sitting room and the foyer. Opening the front door, she went to walk through it and smacked face first into an invisible wall. She rubbed her nose and tried again but was met with the same resistance.
“What the hell?” she exclaimed and bashed her fist into the invisible barrier. There was nothing there, but something was stopping her from leaving. Magic.
“As I’ve been trying to say in the most polite way I can,” Nye said from behind her, “I cannot let you leave.”
Isobel spun on her heel and strode toward the vampire. When she was in reaching distance, she raised her hand and slapped him. Her palm connected with his cheek with a sharp crack, but he didn’t even blink.
“How dare you,” she said, seething. “You’re forcing me to stay? Am I your prisoner now? All I wanted was to see my brother.”
“Do you want to die?” he asked, not reacting in the slightest to her anger. “Because that’s what you face by going out there. They know you know about us.”
“I just got here!”
“That’s all it takes,” he said firmly. “The house is watched.”
“But I’m just a human,” she exclaimed, not understanding a single thing about the world she’d been pushed into. “I’m worthless!”
“On the contrary. You’re the human sister of the only founding vampire in existence. You show up on my doorstep in broad daylight, and there is only one conclusion they can draw from that. You’re now in my care whether you like it or not. I have many enemies who will use you against me. Who better to unseat me than Alex?”
“Alex? The leader of the London underworld?” she scoffed. Alex couldn’t lead himself out of a corn maze when they were kids, let alone rule a pack of bloodsucking—
“No,” Nye said. “They can’t get to me, but he can.”
“Manipulate my brother into becoming an assassin?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You lot are raving mad. All I wanted was to see my brother. He’s not here, and now I want to go home. I have class and—”
“I’m sorry, Isobel,” he interrupted.
“No, you’re not!”
“You’re angry now, but you’ll understand soon enough.” He raised his hand, gesturing for her to follow him.
“It’s kidnapping,” she cried, following him through the foyer and up the stairs. “I’m being held against my will.”
“And will you call the police?” he asked, unsuccessfully stifling his amusement.
“Fat lot of use that will do.”
“So you hope by annoying me enough I’ll eventually end up throwing you out?” Opening a door at the end of the hall, he smirked at her.
“A girl can hope.” She rolled her eyes and stepped into the room she supposed would be her prison cell for the foreseeable future. Or at least until she could find a way through the magical barrier.
Stopping just inside, her mouth dropped open as she beheld the bedroom Nye had led her into.
The king-sized bed was made up with silver and white silk sheets, a thousand pillows littered along the leather bedhead, and a plush cream-colored rug underneath. Windows opened out onto the back garden, letting in lots of natural light. A walk-in wardrobe sat beyond, taunting her with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Bookshelves that were packed full of books, lined another wall while the opposite end of the room was set up as a little sitting area with a couch, armchair, coffee table, rug, and faux fireplace. Above it all was a sleek flat-screen television.
It even had its own private bathroom beyond the walk-in wardrobe. She could see the black marble tiles through the open door and the massive ivory claw-footed bathtub that probably dominated the space.
It was posh. Very posh. Just how big was this house?
“This is yours to do with as you wish,” Nye said, smiling at her stunned reaction. “I’ll send someone to get your thi
ngs.”
“They won’t be able to get in,” she said, assuming he’d send a vampire lackey to do his bidding.
Nye smiled and shook his head. “You’ve a lot to learn about us, Isobel.”
She threw her hands into the air in defeat. “Well, I guess I’ve got all the bloody time in the world now. What time does Vampire 101 start?”
His smile turned into a grin, and she shoved down the urge to slap him again. He was so infuriating! Holding her against her will and dumping her in a palace. Sighing, she supposed she could be worse off. Nye had nothing on Aed. That guy had been stark raving mad. Seriously, he’d believed she was the reincarnation of his lost love.
If there was such a thing as being normal in the supernatural world, she supposed Nye was normal enough. He didn’t want to make her into an immortal fairy, after all.
“I have some matters to attend to,” he said after a moment. “I’ll be in the study. First door at the top of the stairs.”
Before she could reply, he was gone. One second he was there, the next, she was alone—just like that. Damn vampires.
Glancing around the alien-looking room that was at least four times the size of her tiny shoebox apartment back in Oxford, she shivered. She could pretend she was at an exclusive spa in the Cotswolds if she focused hard enough.
When she put it like that, it didn’t sound bad.
Right?
Chapter 4
Nye resumed his work on selecting his new elite team of vampires with one ear on his unexpected human houseguest.
As if he didn’t have enough problems to deal with, she had to turn up and spin the whirlwind even faster.
“What is Alex’s sister doing in the house?”
Nye glanced up at Tristan and rolled his eyes. He knew there was something he was forgetting to tell the knight. In all honesty, the only thing on his mind was the human asleep down the hall. If he listened hard enough and the house was still, he could hear the soft patter of her heart.