Something Bolder (Book Two)

LXXI. Prep

I didn't have a moment to spare, so I immediately got down to work.

First, I needed to get ahold of some tools.

I knew I had to get exceptionally creative if I wanted my attack to be successful because I didn't have a lighter, not even a plain ol' Bic one, on me and I didn't have any way to incapacitate Sebastian.

So, basically, I'd have to find a way to light him up, and light him up fast.

The fire would have to be intense from the start. Big and bright, with rapid escalation. It would have to be strong and violent enough to be too dangerous to put out immediately. I was counting on the bystanders to either hesitate to reaction or to not bother to help him at all.

If the rest of the coven was anything like my little quadrant of vampires, then it wasn't an outlandish expectation on my part because, no offense, but my friends had the capacity to be real bastards.

Once I managed to concoct a plan that I felt just might maybe not completely fall apart on me, I steeled my nerves and picked up the phone from the bedside table to call Anita at the front desk.

"Hey, Anita. I totally shattered my bottle of wine up here. Could you bring a broom and another bottle up please?" I asked politely, being careful to not come across too sweet.

I needed to sound casual if I wanted to avoid suspicion.

"Sure, no problem," she chirped through the phone. "I'll be right up."

"Thanks," I said quickly before hanging up.

While I waited for Anita to arrive with the broom and wine, I hastily changed into my coven uniform and pulled my hair up in a high ponytail.

Anita dropped off the items relatively quickly, though she didn't stick around for long. I was able to ask here where everyone was, just to get an idea of where to look. The castle was large and I didn't have time to scour the whole place without at least a little intel.

"Hey, do you know if Demetri and the guys ever made it back?" I asked breezily.

"Yes, they arrived a few hours ago," Anita confirmed.

"Really? Where is everyone?" I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

I was relieved that no one had stopped by and interrupted my scheming, but part of me was marginally offended by everyone's absence.

Okay, I'll be honest - I was mostly just offended by Demetri's absence.

'Hello? Does no one care about how I was doing anymore?' I pouted.

"Everyone is in the throne room at the moment," Anita informed me as she handed over a wooden broomstick and an unopened bottle of red wine. "They're having a coven-wide meeting."

'How could those jerks not invite me?' I thought with annoyance as Anita exited the room to return to the front desk at the front of the castle.

The more pressing concern, however, was that I'd have to find a way to pull off the kill while Sebastian was in a room full of coven members.

'Well. I guess there's no way around getting caught,' I thought dully as I opened the bottle of wine, tossing the cork carelessly on the floor.

It's not like I'd realistically have an opportunity to return to my room, anyway - not after what I was about to do.

Without missing a beat, I grabbed the broomstick and took a swig of wine for good luck before charging out of my bedroom for the last time.

I moved quickly and quietly as I hastily made my way through the dark, snaking hallways. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, but I focused all of my energy on keeping quiet - if the room full of vampires heard me coming I would be officially done for.

My stomach dropped when I heard Aro's voice drifting through the corridors. I was getting close. The walk to the throne room from my tower was a long one, but as I approached the double doors I wished ardently that I had more time.

l silently crept against the wall towards the thick, wooden doors, which stood wide open, and peeked around the corner to get an idea of what I was working with.

Seeing every vampire in the coven standing at attention, facing the leaders and their wives in the back of the room in neat, orderly rows, made me feel grateful that I had the forethought to put my uniform on, as well. Not that my looks would matter too much when I was being strung up on treason charges.

The good news was that not only did everyone have their back to me, but Sebastian was standing closest to the doorway.

'Thank God he's such a loser,' I thought with grim humor as I studied his medium grey cloak. 'Nobody will miss this sonovabitch.'

A sane person would've walked away then and there, but I was already too far gone. My back was against the wall and I was completely out of time.

'Only one shot,' I thought gravely.

And I wasn't willing to miss it.

With one last deep swig of wine, I crouched down and slowly crept through the threshold of the throne room, and past the point of no return.