Chapter 22
After hours of reading the library’s texts, we find nothing.
Disappointment curls my stomach as I walk toward the servant’s dining hall.
After hearing my stomach grumble one too many times, Iza suggested that I go and eat.
The thought of being stuck in my room after being locked up in a dungeon for what felt like weeks was not appealing, so when she suggested that I might be more comfortable dining with the servants, I jumped at the opportunity.
I have no desire to eat with Karius again, and at least this way I won’t be alone, but I also don’t have to be around any more vampires.
I found myself forgetting what Iza was at times; her blue eyes fooled me into thinking she was something else.
She acts human. Oddly, I could relate to her being the last of her line.
If anything happens to Willow, then I will be just as alone, and the idea of it makes me feel sick.
I shake away the thoughts, not wanting to imagine such things.
I will get out of here, and I will find her.
The vampires may cloak their words in mystery, but humans give up information far more easily.
I take a turn down what must be the tenth hallway and finally hear voices coming from behind a door.
If I have followed Iza’s directions correctly, then this should be the right place.
I blow out a relieved breath, and my steps hurry in the direction of the hall.
Iza did offer to take me, but I honestly just wanted some time alone, away from vampires.
I pause at the threshold of the dining hall, my eyes widening as they sweep across the busy room.
Humans are everywhere, and not a vampire is in sight.
My chest tightens at the sheer number of people here, and my mind drifts back to the night I was in the tavern with Finn and Tori.
That same heaviness clutches at my throat, sending panic right through my chest.
Breathe, Athriel reminds me.
And I try.
Laughter carries through the air toward me, and I spot a group of humans all gathered around a table sharing stories as they eat, their plates piled high with meats, vegetables, and potatoes.
Behind them is a long wooden counter filled with large plates of food, and I’m surprised to find people casually just walking up to refill plates that are already empty.
I look around, but there isn’t a single vampire guard in sight.
Humans run the entire place. I step inside as I weave through tables filled with people, all chattering away and sharing stories.
None of them even looks up as I pass by, too engrossed in the conversations they’re having.
“Hi,” the voice comes from a girl with red hair who looks to be around my age. Her green eyes beam as she holds out her hand to me. “I’m Ember,” she says.
I finally stop staring and shake her hand. “Sorry. Adina.”
Her smile widens. “So, you’re the prince’s new pureblood. You must have done something right to gain that position. I know at least twenty girls who want it.”
They can have it, I want to tell her, but I opt for a more polite response.
“Oh, really?”
“Of course. It’s like one of the highest honors, not to mention the prince always chooses his personal pureblood to go to the human settlement. It’s like a thank you for your service type thing.”
She laughs at her own joke, but stops when she realizes that I don’t join her.
“Are you ok?” she asks, peering at me through thick lashes.
“I’m fine. I just…sorry…” I glance around the room again, taking in the joyful atmosphere. “I just didn’t expect it to be like this.”
“What were you expecting?”
I shrug. “Chains and cells.”
A loud laugh spills from her mouth until she sees the serious expression on my face.
“Oh, you’re being serious, aren’t you?” I nod. “Things are pretty good around here. The prince treats us well.”
I snort at that. “That’s surprising.”
She only smiles at my words.
“Come, let’s get something to eat.”
She wraps her arm through mine, pulling me in the direction of the counter. As soon as we get there, my nose flares with the mix of aromas in the air. My mouth starts to water, and my stomach grumbles loudly. This only seems to amuse Ember.
“What do you like?” she asks, gesturing toward all the food on the large wooden table.
I shrug. “Anything.”
Her brow crinkles in confusion. “You must have a favorite meat at least? Chicken, turkey, beef…?”
“I don’t know. At the bloodhouse, we just ate what we were given.”
Her face drops just a little.
“Oh.” She grabs two plates from the middle. “In that case, let’s try them all.”
She makes quick work of piling the two plates with a mixture of meat, vegetables, potatoes, bread, and gravy before shoving one into my hands. She guides me to an empty table and then plops down in the seat beside me.
She hums in pleasure as she shovels a helping of chicken into her mouth. “You’ve got to try it, it’s so good,” she says.
Slowly, I lift a forkful of chicken to my lips, savoring the exquisite flavor as it melts on my tongue.
“It’s good, right?” I smile in agreement. “So, what was it like…at the bloodhouse, I mean?”
The thought of that place dims my mood, and I find that after a few mouthfuls of food, I struggle to eat more. “Nothing like this.”
She seems to sense that I don’t want to speak about this and proceeds to change the subject.
“I noticed that you don—”
Something slams into my side, sending me flying from my seat to the floor, and I miss the end of what she says.
“Hey! Leave her alone,” Ember says as I scramble to my feet in confusion.
“Stay the hell out of this, Ember.” Someone says before I feel the hard edge of a fist colliding with my face, knocking me backwards.
Get up, Athriel growls.
I spring to my feet without argument. It’s only then that I notice the silence that has befallen the entire hall.
My attention is drawn to a girl who looks to be a couple of years older than me, her mouth twisted in anger that sends lines shooting through her tanned skin.
Behind her is a crowd of people watching me with the same rage that is currently on her face.
I wipe my mouth, noticing the blood for the first time, and feel anger ignite in my veins.
“I think there’s been a mistake,” I tell her, but this only seems to make her angrier.
“There’s no mistake.” She runs at me, but this time I see her coming and dodge the hit with ease.
Too much ease. I’m usually good, but that was unnaturally fast, and I realize that Karius’s powers are still running through my veins, heightening my speed beyond human limits—something I cannot reveal in a room full of humans. Or vampires, for that matter.
“I don’t want to fight you,” I tell her.
A scream leaves her mouth, and she tries to hit me again, but misses. I take a step back, but someone from behind pushes me back into her path.
“There's no point in playing innocent now when you killed my sister in cold blood.”
Confusion makes me raise a brow, and I pay for the hesitation with another hit to the eye.
“Stop hitting me,” I warn. “I don’t know who you think I am, but you have the wrong person.”
“No, she doesn’t. You went all crazy in your room and threw her against the wall. I was there. I saw it.” An older man with graying hair shouts, and a few others behind him nod in agreement, yet I don’t miss the distance they keep from me.
My stomach drops at the realization, and I look up at the girl. I shake my head. The memory of a dark shadow hovering over me that night comes to mind, then the sound of a scream and…
“It was an accident…I didn’t mean…”
“You didn’t mean to what? Murder my sister straight after you took her place as the prince’s personal donor? Sounds like a load of bullshit to me.”
A flash of the girl who took me to the prince that first night crosses my mind, and I can’t help but agree that the whole thing looks suspicious—but how do I explain the truth to her when I’m not supposed to say anything?
Guilt twists my gut, and I feel the world closing in on me as I think about how I would act if someone told me that they killed Willow by accident.
“Use this and end her,” a voice in the crowd sneers.
I see the glint of silver a second later shining from the girl’s hand. The sharp blade pointed in my direction. I also notice the sloppy hold she has on it. She hasn’t fought before, and she’s most certainly never killed anyone.
“Just stop. I don’t want to hurt you,” I tell her.
That only makes her angrier, and she runs at me with force, holding the blade level with my stomach.
I barely move, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and twisting her arm behind her back.
The knife clangs to the floor, and a scream rips from her mouth.
It’s a move I’ve performed many times when disarming the vampires I’ve attacked, but the sound of breaking bones doesn’t usually accompany it. I instantly let go.
The girl’s cries echo across the entire room as she falls to her knees.
I barely touched her, but the strength…Karius’s power.
Her arm is set at an unnatural angle, and an older, rotund woman drops down on her knees next to her, telling everyone to back away and give her some space, but I don’t move. Can’t move.
“What did I do?” I whisper. My eyes stay fixed on the girl on the floor—already hurting from the loss of her sister, and now in physical pain too, all because of me.
I feel a soft touch on my shoulder, guiding me backwards.
“It’s ok, come on. Let’s get out of here.” It’s Ember.
I don’t ask questions, and I don’t argue.
I follow the soft voice and allow myself to be taken away from the room, too shocked to do anything else.
I move without thinking, the tears in my eyes blurring everything in my path, but a soft hold on my arms guides me toward a small room, and it’s only when the click of a door lock fills the space that my head snaps up.