Tristan shot her a warning glance before smoothly redirecting the conversation. “What are these leads you were following, my friend?”
To my relief, the Judge turned his gaze from me. “They were nothing, but thoroughness will eventually lead us to the executioner.” Then he looked at me again, and I squeezed Augustus’ neck some more. It was a wonder the poor thing didn’t choke.
“You have no memory at all?” the Judge asked.
“None.” I wondered how someone so undeniably frightening could have such an enthralling voice. What a waste. It would have been more fitting for Augustus to possess it.
The ancient monster looked at me, as much as he could see of me hiding behind the griffin. “So the killer was just another client for you. Nothing remarkable about him?” He came closer, and I fought the urge to duck behind Augustus.
“I don’t do vampires. He wouldn’t have been a regular client.”
The Judge sneered at me, and his long, yellowed fangs were very much in evidence. God, I wished Isabella would take over her body so I could get the heck out of here. “A slut with standards. What a refreshing piece of vermin. In my day you would have been whipped until the skin hung from your flesh in tatters.” His bloodless white tongue, looking like a slimy slug, ran over his thin lips. “Perhaps such methods would help you recover your memories. They would at least cleanse your diseased soul a little.”
A small spark of my self-esteem lit, and though my voice came out weak I still managed to say, “Yeah, well I’m sure you think I got what I deserved. Death is a pretty good punishment, isn’t it?”
He grinned, and that’s when I felt tears forming in my eyes. “It’s a start.”
Tristan growled, “Enough, Judge. You will keep your opinions to yourself.”
The elder vampire’s eyes turned completely black for an instant, but he bowed his head in acquiescence. “As you wish, Tristan. But perhaps when coddling fails to yield results, you will concede some creatures respond better to more forceful means.”
I gasped when Tristan flashed fangs at him. “She’s the victim. I won’t have her hurt any worse than she’s already endured.” He brought his sudden burst of anger under control with effort. “Continue working on finding the killer. Lana will give you the location they found the body.”
The Judge bowed again. He showed no temper to Tristan at all this time, making me wonder how he’d managed to be lassoed by a vampire two hundred years his junior.
Tristan stepped down, taking my arm. “Come, Brandilynn. I think you’ve had enough for tonight.”
I knew he had to feel me trembling as he guided me out of the ballroom.
When we reached the hall, the dual realities of the King George’s past and present reasserted themselves. It gave me a sense of vertigo, and I staggered against the vampire at my side. Tristan steadied me, one arm wrapping around my waist, the other holding my upper arm.
“My apologies for the Judge,” he murmured, his honeyed voice soothing despite the coldness behind it. “He is not pleasant to women but his ability to get to the truth is unmatched.”
I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. “I’d rather not speak to him again if it’s all the same to you. Just because I’ve done unsavory things doesn’t mean my feelings don’t get hurt.”
Tristan’s hand tightened on my arm. “Yes, well if sex was a crime, the Judge would be the only one not a million times convicted. He has the most self-control of our kind. Vampires’ hungers usually run the gamut.”
“Sex and blood, huh?” I managed not to shudder. Dan had warned me, after all.
The animal growl that preceded his next words drew the shudder out of me after all. “Too bad I can’t show you, but it would hardly be fair to Isabella to use her body for such things. I’d enjoy sharing with you the pleasures of being consumed in all ways possible.”
I stiffened, and Isabella’s heart quickened. “The attraction is one-sided, I’m afraid. You’re fun as a ghost, but too different as a vampire for me to consider giving myself that way.”
Tristan chuckled, as if he knew better. “You fear me in this guise, do you? It’s that spark of terror that makes blood sharing so intense. It’s the ultimate submission, Brandilynn.”
I wanted to run, but I feared he might chase me. “You’re freaking me out, Tristan.”
“Of course I am. Hunger makes a man a little more on edge, and I. Am. Always. Hungry.” He said that last with emphasis, low in my ear.
Before my terror could spike higher, I felt shoved within the body I occupied. I grunted at the force and staggered, falling against Tristan who kept me upright. “Whoa, what’s happening?”