Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Iwoke up from a weird dream, like my arm was on fire, distantly throbbing on and on and on until I blinked awake and sat up. I was still in the boat, but there was a cloud over the sun, and the boat was drifting in the center of the pond.
Richard was still there, lounging with his glorious wings, looking like the spread in some magazine titled: Hot Angel. Speaking of hot, my elbow burned in real life. I frowned down at it, stretching out and twisting so I could see my inner elbow where it really burned.
“Are you all right, Princess?”
I looked at him, so perfectly beautiful and delicious, and then something wrapped around my extended wrist and yanked me over the edge of the boat and into the water.
The shock of cold, the pressure all around, and the grip on my wrist bone as I was dragged down by the tentacled monster, was panic-inducing. Seriously, now I was getting tentacled assassins? I didn’t like it.
I slashed with my claws while I struggled to hold my breath, but another tentacle came around my waist, then around my throat, then, all of me, until I was in the full-bodied grasp of a pulsing worm.
I was on my own, and underwater I couldn’t do spells.
I channeled my vampire, ripping off tentacles, but more took their place.
I struggled and strained, but I was running out of air, and I needed more blood to replenish my vampire side.
Black specks filled my vision while pressure on my throat increased. Would the sea monster crush it?
Though the murky water, a bright light shone, brighter and brighter and brighter while my arm burned until with a hiss and a crackle, the water evaporated, and then the monster screamed.
Tentacles shriveled and bubbled in the overwhelming heat. Heavenly fire. Richard was going to burn the pond? And then he was there, carrying me up with steady beats of his enormous wings, but the edges weren’t tipped in soft downy fluff but sharp blades of fire and gold.
I clung to him while he flew me, shivering, gasping, heart beating too hard in my chest, back to my cottage.
No, he was going directly to the castle.
He burst through a window and landed in the library, shards of glass surrounding the Siren, Pearly White where he sat on the red velvet couch, looking cold and irritable.
“So that’s where you’ve been. I wanted you to do an interview,” he told Richard.
“A tentacled sea creature just tried to kill the Princess. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you,” Richard growled, baring his teeth in a truly terrifying grin.
Pearly White gave his own scary smile. “Do you honestly think I’d kill off my main contestant when this show is getting better ratings than anything else I’ve ever done?
Nonsense. If I were going to kill her, I’d wait for the show’s conclusion.
And even then, I wouldn’t because I’m not an assassin.
If I kill someone, it’s going to be right out where everyone can see it. ”
Like the time he’d eaten that one guy. I patted Richard’s shoulder. “I believe him. Also, how could he have controlled the monster when he was all the way in here? Don’t they have to be in line of sight? That’s what the Tortizi text says.”
The Siren swung his smile in my direction. “What do you know about the Tortizi text? No one can read that language.”
I blinked at him. “I wouldn’t say no one. It’s not common knowledge, but there are translators who specialize in lost, dead languages.” And sometimes they make you figure out the code for this week’s lesson. Sultry was so good at that.
Richard set me down and flew back out the window, heading back to the lake. Ah. Because whoever had done that would have been in the monster’s line-of-sight.
Pearly White stood, eyed the glass and then began a spell that shimmered in the air until with a clink all the glass returned to the window frame where it had been.
“I don’t suppose you know precisely what kind of sea monster it was,” he said, going over to the fire and stretching out his hands like he was cold. Cold-blooded, probably not cold.
“I do not specialize in sea monsters.” I followed him to the fire, although my dress was only wet in spots. Richard had really vaporized the water and the sea monster. How was I not dead?
My inner elbow throbbed, and I looked at the golden star flower on my skin.
I’d dreamed about it, but what if it hadn’t been a dream?
What if—crazy thought—Richard had put some kind of spell on me to make me impervious to his heavenly flame.
I mean, if you think about how many times he’d had to use heavenly flames around me, and considering how dangerous it was…
that almost made sense. But you never put a spell on someone else without their consent.
It just wasn’t done. Then again, Richard did all sorts of things that weren’t done.
Pearly White cleared his throat. “For the ceremony, we’ll give you two red roses instead of white, because we aren’t voting anyone off since we’re short one contestant. You’ll dance with each one and then give a flower to the one with the best baking, and the one you want to stay.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t really listening. When was Richard going to come back? I waited in the library for twenty minutes before I decided to check the kitchen. Rafe was there chugging down some disgusting shake.
I backed out before he saw me and then headed to the cottage.
I didn’t want to run into any other contestants.
Two red roses? Obviously, Richard had won the baking competition.
But I felt bad for Banus, being wrongfully accused and then Richard stealing his pants.
I guess those were my two roses. The fairy hadn’t tried to heal anyone when they were supposed to be good healers.
When I got to the cottage, I noticed the smoke coming from the chimney. Did Mitt make a fire?
I went in slowly, and there was Richard with a woman with tentacle hair on my happily overstuffed couch, wrapped from chin to toe in glowing golden rope.
“I found the assassin,” Richard said, not taking his eyes off her. “She claims not to know who hired her.”
“Oh, good! Then she doesn’t have to die! Hi! I’m Katriana. How long have you been working with tentacled monsters? How do you transport them? That would be so hard! And can you make them do things other than killing or are they specially trained for that? I’d pay to see a tentacled monster juggle.”
She blinked at me. “You’re the vampire princess? You should be more afraid. The price on your life is very high.”
“High enough to tempt an angel?” I glanced at Richard.
He winked at me. “No. I’m incorruptible.”
“That’s right. You just corrupt yourself. Should we give her to Pearly White? He looked hungry.”
The woman shuddered. “I deserve a trial.”
“You are having your trial,” Richard said with an icy smile that gave me shivers.
I walked to the fire, rubbing my arms. Maybe it wasn’t the smile. Maybe it was everything else. And I was exhausted. I needed to drink some blood.
I slowly turned back to the woman. Sometimes you could hear the thoughts of a living blood donor. “Is your blood toxic to me?”
She blinked and shook her head. “I’m not a blood sack!”
“But maybe I can drink your thoughts, and then we’d know for certain whether or not you know who’s behind these stupid attacks. Honestly, can’t you find a better way to make money that isn’t so…vile? That’s got to be animal abuse.” Thinking about the evaporated tentacle beast made me queasy.
She stared at me like she’d only just realized that I was, in fact, a vampire and not just some insipid little princess. What had Banus said, inconsequential and foolish? I smiled at her sweetly.
“Don’t drink her blood if you don’t want to. I can torture her into speaking,” Richard said with great confidence.
I shivered again. “I need blood, and it will save you from torturing someone. I know how you hate torturing people with anything other than your personality.”
He wrinkled his nose at me. “Actually, I would be honored and delighted to torture someone who tried to kill you.”
I beamed at him. “Aw, so sweet. I’m starting to think that you don’t want me to die.” I turned back to the woman, keeping my smile. “If you struggle, your arm will be more damaged.”
I took her hand, stretching it out while she pulled and twisted in the rope’s grasp like she wanted me to shred her skin.
My vampire could smell the blood and knew it was going to feed, so it gave me strength.
I buried my face in her arm and pulled out her blood as fast as I could.
Blood loss would weaken her will, and that was key to mind control.
I’d never liked doing it, but it was important to develop all your talents if you were the Scholar’s ward.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, panic, disappointment, fear, but not of me and Richard.
She was terrified of whoever had given out the job, because failing came with really harsh repercussions.
No wonder the other assassin had killed himself.
The client would kill her entire family for her failure.
She had suspicions as to who it was, a wealthy ancient vampire, or a secret organization that fought against anomalies like me.
A born vampire? How revolting! I didn’t deserve to live!
I pulled out of her thoughts while I dropped her arm, her blood thick and heavy in my mouth. My emotions tumbled around like laundry in the drier. Which way was up? I stumbled around until Richard put his hands on my shoulders, holding me in place, golden gaze piercing me through.
“Are you all right?”
I blinked at him. “Of course I’m all right.
I’m just not the best at reading minds, so I get a little nauseous and dizzy.
She doesn’t know who hired her, but she thinks it’s an ancient powerful vampire or a secret society that wipes out things like me.
Also, they’ll destroy her whole family once they know she’s failed. ”