The Immortal Bond (The Immortal Mark Book 3) Read online

  “Wow,” I say.

  Theo shakes his head. “That’s not all. Eighteen men were slain that day, all immortals. The Dover clan stepped up their security from that point and no one was allowed into the castle who wasn’t a member of the royal family or the clan.”

  “Does this mean what I think it means?” I ask.

  Theo nods once. “That woman was Lady Em. Her name was Meredith. She envied the Lord’s wife. She killed him and his men and stole the stones. Back then the lifebloods were held in the dungeon, and they were all slain as well. Dover clan claims they recovered the stones, but that has to be a lie. If Lady Em has twelve on her neck, the rest of the guys in Rosewater make up the other six.”

  I stare at the bracelet on my hand. Was it once worn in a dungeon by a lifeblood from a hundred years ago? Was this very bracelet one of Lady Em’s stolen treasures?

  “She cut her hair and took what she wanted,” I say, chills running down my arms. “She calls herself a Lady even though she could never be one in real life.”

  Theo nods. “That’s how she knew my name. We’ve met before, and I refused to help her. Something tells me she hasn’t forgiven me for it.”

  Chapter 11

  We make a temporary home at the Houston Holiday Inn. After the revelation that Lady Em is a scorned mistress from a century ago, Theo called his friend and sire, Damien, saying he wanted his advice before we do anything else. Since he lives on the literal other side of the world in Greece, it’s taken him three days to wrap up whatever work he was doing and travel here.

  I make a cup of coffee from the hotel’s breakfast bar, adding two sugars on top of my creamer, until the drink is almost all cream and sugar. It’s almost noon, but I’ve woken up to coffee the last three days with Theo, so now I’m starting to crave it. I take a sip and then walk over to where Theo is sitting near a large waterfall in the middle of the lobby. Despite being one of the biggest cities in the world, this hotel is nearly empty. There’s not a single person hanging out in the lobby except for us. Last night, we’d spent hours in the hotel’s rooftop swimming pool and only saw one other person, a guy who didn’t speak English and preferred to hang out in the hot tub.

  “I just got an email from Kyle,” Theo says, looking at his phone. “He says Alexo hasn’t checked in for a few days and he’s wondering what he’s up to.”

  “Well that’s good, right?”

  Theo shrugs. “I think so. But if Kyle wanted to lie to me to see what I know, email would be easier, right? On the phone or in person, it’s harder to hide when you’re lying.”

  I swirl the cream around in my coffee with a little red straw. “Did he ask when we’re coming back home? If he starts getting pushy about making us return, then I’d worry.”

  Theo shakes his head. “No, he hasn’t.”

  Ever since we woke up this morning, Theo hasn’t let his phone leave his side because Damien should be here any minute now. We take a walk outside, roaming the streets of downtown like tourists. There are cute shops sprinkled in between the skyscrapers, but neither one of us actually wants to go inside of them. We’ve been on edge ever since Theo discovered who actually runs the Rosewater clan. Everything feels so out of sync right now. We’re stuck waiting, wondering what to do and guessing what might happen.

  Theo’s been so out of it, he didn’t even wake up when I pulled his arm off me so that I could go pee this morning. And then, when he finally did wake up, he got dressed from the dirty clothes pile. I made him change clothes into a new pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. He doesn’t seem scared or upset, just weird. Like maybe he’s been thinking too much.

  Around one in the afternoon, he gets a call. It’s so brief, I expect him to say it was a wrong number. Instead, Theo shoves the phone in his back pocket and looks toward the left. “There’s a pool hall three blocks away. That’s where we’re meeting him.”

  “A pool hall?” I ask curiously. “In the daylight?”

  Theo laughs. “What’s wrong with that?”

  I shrug as we start walking toward the left. “I guess I figured pool halls are more of a night time thing.”

  “Damien is a big fan of pool.” Theo reaches for my hand and flashes me a smile that makes me remember the real him, not the guy he’s been lately, weighed down with immortal drama. “He used to make good money in one night of hustling drunk idiots.”

  The pool hall is more family friendly than I’d imagined. I guess I pictured it more like a bar, but this place reminds me of a bowling alley. Long and narrow, with dozens of pool tables and loud music playing. There’s a food bar and seating area, and large screen televisions hang from the ceiling, playing sports games.

  My attention is immediately drawn to the man standing at a table in the middle of the room. He’s wearing black pants and a plaid button up shirt, the sleeves rolled midway up his forearm. He has short copper hair but a decent beard, and he reminds me one of one of those lumberjack male models that are popular on Instagram. He’s holding his cue stick and staring right at us.

  “Damien,” Theo says as we approach. They shake hands. I try to picture them back in the Depression era, when Damien owned a farm and Theo worked for him as a delivery boy. Damien’s shiny black shoes and anchor tattoo on his arm make that image very hard to conjure up in my mind.

  “This must be Cara,” he says, reaching out his hand. I go to shake his hand, but he takes my fingers and brings them to his lips, where he kisses my knuckles like a true gentleman.

  “Nice to meet you,” I say, resisting the urge to curtsey.

  “The pleasure is all mine.” Damien winks, his bright blue eyes sparkling under the neon beer signs on the wall. “Would you like a drink?” he asks me.

  “No, thanks,” I say.

  He looks at Theo. “Beer?”

  Theo nods and Damien waves to a waitress who’s been waiting just a few feet away, her tray already holding two frozen glasses of beer.

  Damien racks the balls and Theo finds a cue stick from the shelf on the wall. I sit on a barstool next to the pool table, wondering how we’ll get him up to date on all that’s happened without looking like we’re doing a secret drug deal or something. I watch an older man amble over to the jukebox and drop in some quarters. A few seconds later, Garth Brooks plays over the speakers.

  Damien leans over the table, aims his pool stick, and breaks. Theo and I watch the table as the balls roll around, some of them sinking into pockets. He looks up, his expression casual. “Looks like I’m solids. You called me here for an emergency meeting,” he says, like it’s not a question, but a statement.

  “I know who runs Rosewater,” Theo says, just as plainly. I have to hide my smile because these men are so different than Riley and I. We’d be talking a mile a minute with information this serious. I would have grabbed her arms and she would have said holy shit about ten times by now.

  Damien nods once, and then aims at the blue ball, sinking it into a corner pocket. “And Alexo?”

  “Dead.” Theo walks around the table, tapping his pool stick on the floor. “Her name is Lady Em, and she’s the mistress who gave me trouble that time I traveled to Dover to deliver a letter.”

  Damien’s eyebrows cocks and he misses his next shot. He holds his stick up and tilts his head. “The woman who supposedly slaughtered Lord Timothy?”

  “The very same.” Theo hits the green stripe ball and sinks it. “Dover’s reserve of stones were taken. Lady Em killed all those men and took their stones. Remember the rumors that their lifebloods had been slaughtered, too? Dover tried hiding it, but it has to be true. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “How many stones was that? Twenty or so?” Damien’s brows pull together as he surveys the pool table for his next shot. “Rosewater has only five members and you have your own stone.”

  “She has twelve,” Theo says, meeting his gaze. “And the rest of the members have the others.”

  “Twelve stones?” Damien stands straight. “What does that mean?�
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  “She wears them all.”

  Damien tilts his head. “Why?”

  “They give her powers,” I say, stepping off the barstool. “She can move things with her freaking mind.”

  He cocks an eyebrow. “Did you see her do this?”

  “I saw it, and I felt it,” I say. “She held me down with just a flick of her wrist. My whole body seized up and couldn’t move. The stones give her power.”

  Damien turns to Theo. “Why the hell haven’t we heard of this before?”

  “Because Dover clan keeps the stones and their power locked up. They’ve had stones for centuries and they’re picky on who gets them, probably for this very reason. Too many stones gives you too much power.” Theo sighs and scratches the back of his neck. “I’m guessing the only reason Dover allowed Embrook to remain a clan this whole time is because we abide by the rules they originally set forth. One stone per person, total secrecy on everything immortal. It’s exactly why we can’t figure out how to remove Cara’s bracelet—we’re kept in the dark about the extent of these things.”

  Damien sets his pool stick down, leaning it against the side of the table. “There’s something more, Theo. Five elders of Embrook have been killed in the last week.”

  The whole room seems to go silent. The booming country music, the clashing of pool balls and the cheers of other people playing their games. It all fades into the distance as I watch the blood drain from Theo’s face.

  He swallows. “Five?”

  Damien nods. “Dover has lost three men this week as well. They haven’t been found, but they believe they might be dead and have asked Embrook to stay aware of our surroundings. I only just heard of the news this morning.”

  “Someone is killing us off,” Theo says, his knuckles turning white on his pool stick. “It’s her. She did it before and now she’s doing it again. Killing and hoarding the stones for herself.”

  “The evidence would suggest so,” Damien says in his level voice. “It would also explain why you two escaped her prison and she hasn’t been looking for you. She’s on a mission.”

  “She has stones and her own clan,” I say. “What more could she possibly want?”

  Theo grabs the square of blue chalk from the pool table and tosses it in the air, catching it in his palm. “Everything. She wants everything.”

  “Brother,” Damien says, leveling his gaze at Theo. “You know more about her than anyone else at Embrook. We will warn them and Dover as well, but this woman must be stopped immediately.”

  “Then let’s go stop the bitch,” I say. My hands squeeze into fists.

  The guys turn to me, and Theo smiles. “I love your enthusiasm, but we should think this one through.”

  “I will tell Embrook to go on high alert,” Damien says. “We’ve lost five men, we can’t lose anymore. As for Rosewater… you’re sure the other members are unaware of their true leader?”

  Theo shakes his head. “I can’t be sure, but I’m going to find out. If they’ve been lied to like I was, there’s a good chance they’ll agree to join me.”

  “Dover will have them killed,” Damien says. “The Rosewater clan is no friend to the true immortals.”

  “They are good men,” Theo says. “Let’s have faith they will choose the right path.”

  Damien shakes his head. “Good or not, there’s no way Dover will allow this clan to continue after its head leader has been severed.”

  I think about Riley, about Kyle, sweet innocent Kyle. The bracelets that were forced upon us. I agree that Lady Em should be taken out, and the clan uses innocent lifebloods and that’s not okay. But no more Rosewater means no more Riley. We’ve spent all of our time at the mansion trying to discover a way to remove our bracelets and live. We’ve been doomed to die slowly from the moment we put those bracelets on.

  But now, the timer has been shifted up. The end will be here before we know it, and we still aren’t ready.

  Chapter 12

  The familiar road stretches into the distance. I look out the window, squinting to see the outline of the mansion on the horizon. We’re only a few minutes away now. My heart is racing, but Theo is calm. At least on the outside. I study him while he drives, admiring the outline of his jaw, the soft hint of stubble on his chin. His eyes are fixed on the road in front of us, but his lips curve up in a smirk the longer I’m staring at him.

  “Looking at something interesting?” he says. His hand slips off the steering wheel and grabs my thigh.

  “Not really,” I say with a shrug.

  “Ha!” He sticks out his tongue at me.

  “You’re being very cool about this,” I say, exhaling slowly. “I’m over here freaking out.”

  “I’m trying to manifest good vibes. I’m pretty confident the guys don’t know anything about Alexo, which means they won’t be hostile when we get there.”

  “And if they are?” I ask.

  He winks at me. “I’ll leave the car running.”

  “Oh ha, ha,” I say, turning to look out the window. “My best friend is there. I’m not leaving her.”

  Speaking of Riley, I send her a text telling her we’re almost home.

  YAYYY!!!!!!!! she replies back a few seconds later.

  The gate code still works. We drive our rented car straight down the long winding driveway, and halfway to the house I realize I’m holding my breath. I tell myself to calm down. It’s not like the car will suddenly explode if Lady Em is here. Still, I hold onto the seatbelt around my chest, and I don’t feel at ease, even as we park in front of the garage.

  The house is quiet on the outside. There’s no splashing sounds coming from the swimming pool, no loud music indicating a party. It’s noon on a Wednesday, but that doesn’t exactly mean anything because this mansion has parties all the time.

  “Ready?” Theo says, closing my car door behind me. It’s taken me a while to step out of the car.

  “Ready.”

  “First thing’s first.” Theo walks around the side of the garage. I follow him, more out of curiosity than worry. He walks halfway down the side of the house to where a metal box is mounted on the wall. He opens it up and rips out a couple of cables. “No internet, no spying on us,” he says with a sly grin. “Only Alexo monitored what was going on in the house. Now he’s gone, but we don’t need his computer listening in.”

  “I wish we could have done that a long time ago,” I say. It’s so simple—the way to stop the surveillance doesn’t require crazy computer hacking skills, but just the simple pull of a cord from the wall. I feel like laughing, or crying. Or maybe both.

  We enter into the garage door because there’s a keypad on the outside, so we can get in even without a garage door opener. Again, everything looks normal in here. The house is just the same, although I’m not sure what I was expecting. To be greeted by Lady Em in the living room like a pissed off mother who stayed up late because her kid missed curfew?

  That hardly seems like Lady Em’s style.

  “I could use a snack,” Theo says absentmindedly when we pass by the service kitchen.

  My stomach is empty too, but there are more important things right now. “I need to see Riley.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  Theo walks me upstairs, where things still look just like the day we left them. My name tag is still next to my bedroom door, but I skip right past it and go to Riley’s room.

  “Riley?” I say, knocking. “It’s me!”

  She swings open the door and greets me with a huge smile. “CARA!”

  I throw my arms around her and we hug like we haven’t seen each other in decades. And yeah, it’s just been a few days, but I spent every minute of them worrying that Lady Em was going to kidnap her or something. Seeing her alive and whole and looking totally normal unties that final knot of anxiety in my stomach.

  “I’m really glad you’re okay,” I say into her hair.

  “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’ve just been here the whole time.” She smacks my
arm. “You’re the one off traveling around mysteriously!” She tugs me into her room.

  “Whoa,” I say under my breath. Riley’s room is in shambles. It’s not close to as bad as Jayla’s room, but it’s definitely out of the norm for my best friend. There’s dirty clothes on the floor, opened bags of candy and chips on the desk. Her bed is unmade and the pillows are on the floor. It reminds me of how she used to get at the group home when we’d be buried in school work and she would drop everything to focus on one important class project. But we’re out of school now, so there’s really no excuse, especially when we have maids who are happy to clean up and make beds.

  Riley glances behind me, noticing Theo for the first time. “I’m glad you took care of my girl,” she says, using her Mom voice. “Shall we go get some ice cream and talk?”

  “No need for ice cream,” Theo stays, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “I cut the internet cable that monitors the wall tablets. We can talk freely.”

  “Whoa,” Riley says, eyes wide. “Won’t they just turn it back on?”

  “Alexo was the only person who monitored that account, and no. He won’t turn it back on.”

  Riley lifts an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

  Theo glances at me, his hand warm on my lower back. He raises his eyebrows as if asking if I want to tell her or if I should let him do it. There is so much she doesn’t know yet. So many things have happened since that night Theo and I sat out on the balcony and spied on Alexo’s talk with Lady Em. I don’t even know where to begin. So I start with the most insane part.

  “Alexo is dead. I killed him.”

  “What the hell?” Riley steps backward. “You what?”

  “It was pretty badass,” Theo says, cracking a grin. “She saved my life.”

  Riley crosses her arms over her chest. “Spill it.”

  Before I can talk, Theo gets a phone call. When he answers it, Kyle’s voice is so loud on the other end that we can all hear it.

  “Dude!” Kyle says. “Malina said you’re home! Where the fuck are you, man? I checked your room and the kitchen and the garage.”