Fashionably Hotter Than Hell: Book Six, The Hot Damned Series by Robyn Peterman Page A

of power she now held within her body.
     
    "Why do you say that?" Ethan asked as he armed himself with several more long swords. "Bennett," he instructed, "have the men and women get rid of their daggers and strap on swords. Short blades are useless with the Trolls."
     
    "Yes, Sire." He bowed and left the room.
     
    "It’s at the same time as the Summit and your troops being depleted. What did the Trolls ask for?" Raquel inquired as she slid a katana into a holster on her back.
     
    "Samuel and the one who dies," Astrid replied as she hooked several grenades to her belt. "They’re stupid motherfuckers. We're already dead."
     
    "They want me," Raquel said simply.
     
    Ethan froze and the rest of the occupants of the room looked around in confusion.
     
    "Why do you say that?" I demanded in frustration, staring at the Vampyre I loved.
     
    Raquel exchanged a look with her brother and turned back to me. "I am the one who dies. I am the one they want."
     
    "What the fuck does that mean? Tell me."
     
    "I can't," she said.
     
    "You won't," I shot back.
     
    "She can and she will, but not now. Not here," Ethan said. "There is no time for debate."
     
    "Correct," Raquel said, avoiding my stare. "It's odd that the Trolls would know."
     
    "There is no way they could have the information without someone betraying you," Ethan said angrily. "Who knows?"
     
    "Our brothers and sisters, our father, Pam, and Jean Paul," she told him.
     
    My eyes immediately narrowed on Jean Paul. The bodyguard took several steps back, but held his head high. I stepped forward to kill him but stopped as Ethan held up his hand.
     
    "I would rather die than betray my Princess," he said levelly. "It was not me."
     
    "Bastard's telling the truth," Martha said as she ripped the tape from her mouth.
     
    "And how would you know that?" I demanded in a tone that made the old Vampyre cower.
     
    "It's the damnedest fucking thing," she croaked out. "Since I've become a bloodsucker, I can tell when people are lying."
     
    "She can and it sucks ass," Jane volunteered. "I can't cheat at cards anymore or give her the wrong change or have sex with her boyfriend or… "
     
    "Oh my Hell," Astrid snapped. "First of all, you two are asexual. I refuse to picture either of you getting it on with anything. And second, if this is a joke you are both going to die violently today."
     
    "No joke," Jane said truthfully. "It's real and it sucks donkey balls."
     
    "True that," Martha added, holding up her right hand.
     
    "Fine," Ethan said. "But I have no idea who it could be. This makes no sense."
     
    "While it would be helpful to know what the fuck you are discussing, I beg to differ about not knowing which family member could have revealed a secret," I said tightly as I watched the realization hit. Raquel's mystery was killing me, but she clearly didn't want me to know. This ate at me viciously, but it was what it was.
     
    "No freakin' way," Astrid shouted as sparks flew wildly from her fingertips. "I am going to kill her this time. She is screwing with my child. Of course it would be lovely to know what she blabbered to the Trolls, but I'll leave that for her to tell me when I torture her ass."
     
    "Juliet?" Ethan asked as he paled even further and shook with fury.
     
    "It has to be," Raquel added with ire that made her skin sparkle.
     
    Juliet was the half-sister of Ethan, Raquel, and Astrid--complicated and bizarre, but what in our world wasn't? Astrid and Juliet shared the same mother. Raquel, Ethan and Juliet shared the same father. Bottom line, Ethan and Raquel were blood related. Astrid and Ethan were not.
     
    Juliet had been the one who had changed Astrid into a Vampyre against her will. It was a fucked up plan of their mother's to take over the world. But it had failed. However, Juliet had gotten away and now it appeared she was back with more deadly trouble. No matter. Her time in this world was getting short, if I had anything to do with it.
     
    "The