Read Online Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9) by Tina Folsom - Free Book Online Page A

and his guard. We were friends. And I mourned the loss of that friendship more than the loss of my king.”
    “Was I not a good king then?” Cain deflected, not wanting to respond to his guard’s claim.
    “That’s not for me to judge.”
    John’s words were too evasive for Cain not to react to them. “Are you trying to say I was a bad ruler, and that’s what prompted the assassination?”
    “As I said, that’s not—”
    “—for you to judge, I get it,” Cain finished the sentence.
    Suddenly John slowed and turned to him, placing a finger on his lips thus ending their conversation. He pointed to another tunnel. From where Cain stood, he could see that it was short, only a few yards. At the end of it, he could make out the outlines of a door.
    John bent to his ear, whispering now, “It leads to the secret corridor that connects the king’s chambers with those of the queen. The king’s are to the right, the queen’s to the left. You will find Faye in the queen’s suite. When you get to her door, move the lever on its left. It’ll open a tiny spy hole to look into her room, so you can assure yourself that she’s alone before you enter. Don’t worry, the door is disguised with an elaborate piece of art on the other side, so that nobody will notice the spy hole or the door itself.”
    Cain nodded, his heart suddenly thundering.
    “I’ll wait for you here. If you’re not back within fifteen minutes, I’ll come for you.”
    Wordlessly, Cain conveyed his agreement. Taking a deep breath, he marched toward the door and walked up the few steps that led to it. He eased it open, making as little noise as possible as he stepped inside the corridor and pulled the door shut behind him.
    The hallway he found himself in was made of stone, and the air inside was cleaner and less damp than what he’d encountered in the tunnel.
    His eyes darted to the right. He felt physically drawn in that direction, as if the answers to his questions lay there. But he forced himself to go left, knowing there wasn’t enough time to both investigate the king’s rooms and talk to Faye. His friends from Scanguards wouldn’t hesitate to make good on their promise to search for him should he not return in time, and he had no intention of putting them in undue danger. There would be plenty of time later to find out more about his old life.
    If this was indeed his old life.
    Careful not to make any sound with his shoes, he walked to the door John had indicated and perused it. The lever next to it was shaped like a stake. Cain shook his head. Somebody around here had strange tastes, and he sure hoped that he wasn’t the one to blame for this odd choice of handle.
    Cain twisted the lever and immediately saw a tiny beam of light shine through the hidden door. He moved to bring his eye in line with it and peered through the small hole.
    His heart stopped.
    There was no mistaking her. Faye looked exactly like she’d appeared in his dreams, though she was dressed in casual clothes, a pair of tight jeans and a loose-fitting sweater. It had slid to one side, exposing one creamy shoulder. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and back, and her eyes were as green as a meadow in the spring.
    The room looked eerily similar to the one in his last dream. He’d been here before. He’d made love to her in this room. Yet as much as he wanted to open the door and walk to her, he couldn’t.
    Faye wasn’t alone.
    The vampire who was with her stood with his back to Cain, preventing him from seeing his face. The stranger now extinguished the distance between him and Faye, his hand already clasping her bare shoulder, the other one sliding around her waist to pull her to him.
    The moment the vampire kissed her, Cain closed his eyes.
    The man whose face he couldn’t see had to be Abel. Faye had gotten over his death and maybe even forgotten him. She was in love with somebody else.
    Cain released the lever. He’d come too late.
    His entire body numb, he walked