Semua Bab The Clandestine Saga: Bab 581 - Bab 590

Asteria looked out the window of the apartment where she was staying at a dark alleyway, full of garbage of both the living and discarded debris variety, and wondered how she’d wound up here. In the distance, the lights of Budapest illuminated the sky, though all she could see from this vantage point were a few dim streetlights that highlighted the rundown architecture of Terezvaros. In an adjoining room, the laugh track from some stupid television show interrupted her thoughts. It was just as well; in the past few months she’d become abundantly aware of the fact that often times her thoughts were not her own.She dropped the thin orange curtain and backed her way to the twin sized bed she’d been sleeping on the last several weeks. After Nello and Venette determined she was no longer safe at the castle, she’d fled here, only Hines alongside her. Leaving her baby behind had been both heartbreaking and a relief. As much as she loved Perses the Younger, a

Deciding to stay as neutral as Sweden, Cadence said, “Well, we all have our way of handling certain situations.” She was aware that he had gone to see Amanda, that that is why he hadn’t come straight back to headquarters, and while she was dying to ask him what was up with that situation, she’d decided he’d tell her when he wanted to. She’d thought maybe that’s why he was here, maybe he wanted to tell her he was getting back together with Brandon’s mom, but the tension in the air indicated it was something else.“I guess so,” Elliott muttered, shaking his head. “Well, I know it’s not quite your birthday yet, kid, but I’ve got something for you.” He dug into the pocket of his black jacket and pulled out a small box. “I’m not sure why I’ve decided to give this to you now, but on the way home, I had a long time to think, and I just thought it would be better if you had it sooner

Opening the oven door, Cadence peered inside, trying to decide whether or not the chicken was done. She’d cooked it for as long as the recipe said to, but it wasn’t “golden brown” on top. Or was it? She sighed and closed the oven again, resetting the timer for five more minutes. There was a reason she didn’t cook much. Not only did her husband never eat, she was terrible at anything that involved a stove. Still, part of her wanted to improve her domestic skills now that she was married, so she’d decided to try something different and actually cook a meal—chicken and two sides. So far, she was thinking she would’ve been better off ordering take out or heating up one of the entrees from the freezer.The front door distracted her from her cooking disaster. She gave the mashed potatoes one more quick stir before she headed into the living room. “Hey, honey,” she called in her best fifties-housewife voice. “How was

Mika Ito hung up her desk phone and slid the burner phone she’d been given a week ago out of the bottom drawer, looking around to make sure no one else at the newspaper was watching. In all of her years as a Vampire, never once had she broken a single rule, and she wasn’t about to start now. There was no sense angering a group of people who could easily hunt her down and destroy her without a second thought. Yet, something about using a specific, untraceable phone to contact the man who’d gotten in touch with her about the Eidolon Festival seemed shady, and she didn’t want anyone at all questioning what she was up to.Of course, none of her coworkers were aware of what she was. She’d hidden it well over the last five years. Originally, when she’d been infected at a night club right out of college, she’d thought the world was over, that she may as well turn herself in and let a Hunter destroy her. Luckily, the man who’d accidenta

The flight would be relatively short, and everyone was chatting about other matters, not really concerned about the festival itself, except for maybe Dax, who looked a little pale, and Alex, who had nearly refused to get on either plane—the one headed toward the wedding or the festival. He said he just didn’t trust flying contraptions, never had. But Cassidy had talked him into going to the wedding because she said it wasn’t every day one got to invite a true American hero to their nuptials, and he’d gotten on the second flight because he said he never did trust those bastards—the Vampires, of course—and if they were going to be given free rein, he wanted to be there to, “keep them vigilant.” He’d insisted on sitting in the row nearest the exit, the one across from Cadence, and when she turned her head to look at him halfway through the flight, his knuckles were still white from gripping the armrests so hard.“So