Of Blood and Passion by Pamela Palmer Page A

rarely talked to us of the past and never told us when he was born or anything about his own childhood. But a couple of times, a couple of things he said, made me wonder if he’d turned immortal as some of the most powerful sorcerers do. He may have fathered many children in his lifetime. You’re probably descended from one of them.”
    Quinn nodded. “Thanks for this,” she said, pocketing the crystal.
    “You’re welcome.”
    Grant motioned the others to join them and the small group continued down the tunnel. Quinn felt the stone in her pocket. Now that she had her magic feather, what could go wrong?
    Her gut cramped, because she knew the answer to that.
    Everything.

    A rturo parked his Jeep in front of the iron gates of Gonzaga Castle. After leaving the tunnels, he’d retrieved his mount and ridden it to his house, then switched to his Jeep. The yellow Wrangler drew far too much attention these days, when he needed to be stealthy, but today he had no need or desire to hide his movements. Arturo Mazza, Cristoff’s most loyal, danced attendance on his master, and he was happy for all the kovena to know it.
    The moment he turned off the ignition, the screams hit him like flying glass.
    Dio . Cristoff must be torturing a dozen at once.
    As he climbed out of the vehicle and strode up to the gates of what, for decades, had been his second home, his flesh chilled to ice. Because all he could think about was that within minutes Quinn would be walking those deadly halls without his protection.
    And that Cristoff wanted to hurt her with a hunger bordering on madness.

Chapter 12

    I t is time, cara . Arturo’s voice sounded in Quinn’s head as she and Kassius waited in the torch-lit tunnel at the base of the stairs that would lead directly into Gonzaga Castle, her back against the cool stone. Cristoff is well occupied. Mio Dio, but he has grown depraved.
    As if he hadn’t been utterly so before. Maybe Cristoff really had grown worse. Or maybe Arturo could just, finally, see him clearly.
    “It’s time,” she told Kassius, her heart starting to race. They probably hadn’t been in place and waiting for more than ten minutes, but her nerves were stretched almost to the breaking point. What kind of idiot was she for willingly going anywhere near that monster? Every couple of minutes, the question burst in her mind all over again.
    Was she really going to do this? It wasn’t too late. If she told them she’d changed her mind, there wasn’t a one of them who would blame her. But all she had to do was think of Zack lying on the kitchen floor and her spine turned to steel.
    “Ready?” Kassius asked.
    Not in a million years. But she took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s go.”
    Respect lit the werevamp’s eyes.
    Bram stepped forward, the female Slava at his side. “Deb and I will climb the ladder first and let you know when the coast is clear.” The ladder led to a small empty bedroom, one in an unused hall of dorm rooms originally intended for slaves. No one would question a vampire male leaving a small bedroom with a female slave. If they encountered anyone in the hallway as they left the room, Quinn had no doubt Bram would greet them loudly…assuming Bram was on their side, as he claimed, and not Cristoff’s mole. Once, she might not have questioned the motives of everyone around her, human and vampire alike. But if there was one thing Arturo had taught her, it was that.
    Even as a myriad of doubts preyed on her mind, she knew she had to trust. She couldn’t carry out this mission alone, and they couldn’t do it without her. They’d never get into Cristoff’s private study without her magic.
    Bram clambered up the ladder first and the rest of them held their collective breaths as he opened the hatch slowly, then disappeared into the room above. The distant sound of screams filtered down into the tunnel, making Quinn shiver. Bram motioned for Deb and the woman followed him. As soon as she was up, Kassius