Chapter 17

The Hidden Sky Castle

Echo stepped out of the guest bathroom wearing one of his new outfits. Ollie had a good eye, and everything fit well. There was even a slim pocket for his new switchblade, and he would need to stifle the urge to run his hand over the fabric, as comforting as it was to know the knife was there.

“Looks good,” Ollie commented. “I hate to admit Dante was right, but black does suit you. And I’m glad I got the sizing right.”

“Thank you for all of this,” Echo said, reaching up and absently touching the end of his long ponytail. Ollie had even thought to bring him a brush and hair ties.

“You’re welcome, and please let me know if you need or want anything else. Now, let’s go. It’s hard being cooped up all day.” With that, Ollie gently took Echo’s hand, and they left Dante’s apartment.

Echo bit his lip, not bothering to clarify that he hadn’t been “cooped up” all day. But he’d rather not talk about his visit to the breeding facility.

Once the door closed behind them, Ollie led Echo down the hall, away from where Echo knew the elevators were. Ollie caught Echo’s backward glance.

“This is the way to the service corridors. There’s a whole system of elevators, stairwells, and hallways for the slaves and servants to use. It keeps us unseen but accessible.”

Intrigued, Echo watched as Ollie came to a plain metal door. With his foot, he stepped on a lever discretely sticking out from the baseboard right next to the door. It opened, sliding into the wall rather than swinging out.

Ollie winked at Echo before gesturing him to follow. “Opening that way comes in handy when you’re carrying a bunch of stuff.”

Echo supposed so, and together, they entered the hidden side of Sky Castle.

Because they were so high up, they used the service elevator to get down to the lower levels rather than the stairs. Ollie showed Echo the bustling kitchen, filled with dozens of busy humans and an array of delicious smells. The laundry room of giant machines, washing clothes and linens far easier than a washboard in creek water. A cavernous storage room with shelves and shelves of supplies, and another storage area that buzzed with the whirring of oversized refrigeration units—all containing blood bags.

It was a maze of infrastructure, all for the upkeep of the entire skyscraper. Echo would learn it well, for he could go practically anywhere in Sky Castle through this convenient system.

“Thanks, Miss Tanya,” Ollie said, receiving two fresh-baked cookies from a smiling older woman.

After his long and informative tour, Ollie had circled them back around to the kitchen. And the smells went right to Echo’s stomach.

“And here,” the woman said, also giving Ollie a small white box, “for His Highness. I just baked up his favorite.”

“You spoil him too much.” Ollie laughed, turning to Echo. “Abram calls Miss Tanya’s pecan pie a slice of heaven, and he’s not wrong.”

Tanya blushed. “If I’d known you had a new friend, Ollie, I would have saved you an entire pie to share.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Echo gets a chance to try all your desserts, starting with the world’s best snickerdoodles.”

Ollie handed Echo one of the cookies. It was still warm and soft. He took a bite, and nothing had ever tasted as sweet and delicious. Cinnamon and sugar flooded his senses, and the cookie was gone before he realized it. He couldn’t help thinking of Cross and Winny—she would have made such things if she could have, and Cross would have devoured every crumb.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Echo said, the corners of his eyes stinging. “It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“Oh, you sweet thing. Ollie, you make sure and bring him around often. I want to see him try the pie next. Hmm, or maybe the chocolate cake,” she said, smiling and nodding to herself.

Ollie laughed and made quick work of his snickerdoodle. “Will do. The chocolate cake is my favorite. Can’t go wrong with chocolate. We’ll be off now, Miss Tanya. Thank you. I’ll try and make sure this makes it to Abram!”

Ollie already had Echo’s hand and was halfway out the door when he added that last part. Echo had a feeling the pie would make it to Abram quite safely.

Ollie informed Echo that King Luther lived on the entire hundredth floor, and Prince Abram was on floor 98, along with a couple of other vampire nobles.

The two thralls emerged from the service door onto floor 98—and right into the path of one of those vampire nobles.

And recognition struck Echo.

Despite the darkness of that night and how swiftly he was brought down, Echo would never forget the vampire who had caught him in Dante’s warehouse.

“General Marcus! Sir,” Ollie said, bowing his head immediately.

Echo didn’t need the squeeze of Ollie’s hand to know how to act, but it was comforting nonetheless, and the pounding of his heart eased. Echo bowed his head just as prettily as Ollie.

“Well, if it isn’t Dante’s new toy. Being shared out already? Is our prince getting a taste?”

Cold fingers touched Echo beneath his chin and roughly pushed up, forcing Echo to meet the eyes of the vampire responsible for his capture.

“Yes, sir,” Ollie said. “Please. We don’t want to keep him waiting.”

Marcus was as handsome as the rest of the bloodsuckers, but his sneer twisted his features into the ugliness that was his true form.

“Doesn’t look like Dante tamed him yet. Of course”—Marcus ran his thumb over Echo’s bottom lip—“I can see the appeal of these defiant eyes.”

A lesser trained rebel would not have held steady, but Echo did not move as Marcus ran his fingers down to the collar, brushing over the skin of his throat not concealed behind leather. Echo had been trained to endure, to never put a mission in jeopardy. This was nothing.

“Please, sir,” Ollie said, so respectfully. And Echo got the sense that this meek Ollie was just as good, if not better, at deception as Echo.

Marcus finally took his hands off Echo, but then he turned to Ollie. “I heard the rebel happens to be a highblood. I’m sure Abram will enjoy it. You’re good to keep around for a fuck, but no high-standing vampire needs to stoop to such filthy blood for sustenance.”

Marcus played with a lock of Ollie’s copper-red hair. The vampire’s eyes turned distant for a moment, and he grinned maliciously. “But I can’t complain. It was your blood quality that landed you in that cheap whorehouse. We had some good times, didn’t we? Before Abram came across you.”

Echo clenched his jaw to keep himself quiet. He could take almost anything done to him and bear it stoically, but seeing this disgusting vamp taunt and toy with Ollie was a thorough test of his control.

Ollie couldn’t suppress a shiver, and Echo yearned to test out his new knife.

“Please,” Ollie whispered, clutching the white box and keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

Marcus groaned, his eyes darkening with lust. He tucked Ollie’s hair behind his ear and left a lingering touch there before stepping back. “Fuck. You still beg so sweetly, even after all these years. Go on to your Master then, before I can’t help myself.”

Ollie bowed before grabbing Echo’s hand. They made it several steps before Marcus called out.

“And give Dante a message from me. If his new rebel toy steps out of line, the king has given me the authority to execute him. The public wants to see him pay for the rebels’ crimes, and the late King Heinrich’s assassination is still fresh in their minds.”

“Yes, sir,” Ollie said, and they continued quickly down the hall.

Echo glanced back once at the satisfied but hungry visage of General Marcus before they turned a corner. He didn’t know what the vampire meant by his words. He wasn’t surprised the king wanted him dead, and he had to acknowledge that Dante had saved him from that fate. But what was meant by mentioning the late king? As far as Echo knew, the rebels had no hand in Heinrich’s death.