Chapter 13 #4
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Lorcan said. “Vander says you saw his ward in the Wendlewood. And you saw magic in the witch’s eyes in the dungeon.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. “Can’t everyone see wards?”
“No. Wards are generally invisible. That’s part of what makes them so powerful.
The ability to see them is a rare gift among the witches.
The same is true for magic. You did a poor job of hiding your reaction to the witch in the dungeon.
Rasimir noticed. In the future, only show him what you want him to see. ”
My mind raced, the possibility of more gruesome encounters making my stomach churn. “What if I can’t keep the powers I take? Rasimir will kill me.” My gaze fell on Lorcan’s fingers around my knee.
He followed my stare. Then he stood, an odd look in his eyes there and quickly hidden. “There’s a reason Rasimir wants us to marry.”
Vander stirred, drawing my attention. “Your father is hedging his bets. If you can’t pass on power to him, perhaps you’ll pass it on to your children. The Drachvi are a unique breed of vampires with their own magic.”
“ Were unique,” Lorcan said, bitterness in his voice. “My people die a little more each day.”
Vander sat up straighter, his jaw set. “They haven’t died out yet. And you’re still here, despite your determination to court danger at every opportunity.”
Lorcan narrowed his eyes, but he stayed silent, one hand resting on his dragonstone pommel.
Vander turned to me. “I tolerate the sun better than a natural-born vampire, but you saw how it burned me in Ghedda. You’re a daywalker. Imagine an army of vampires who can walk in the sun. Not even the Feyline could contain them.”
Anger and revulsion pumped hot in my veins. “Rasimir will have to kill me. I won’t spend my days in a birthing bed, churning out soldiers for his nightmare army.”
A warning gleamed in Lorcan’s eyes. “If you’re capable of giving him what he wants, he won’t kill you. And don’t think for a second he’ll allow you to take your own life.”
“I won’t be a slave,” I said, outrage driving me to my feet.
“Good,” Lorcan said simply. “That’s what Vander and I hoped for.”
I looked sharply at Vander. “What do you mean? What are you planning?”
He stood, his silver stare unflinching. “Rasimir intends to use you one way or another. You’re young.
He wants your powers to mature. That’s why he ordered us to tell you the truth about your heritage.
And while he’s not happy about the witches and werewolves stepping up their attacks, he’s just fine with you knowing you’re their target. ”
“He wants you frightened,” Lorcan said. “He’s counting on you being too afraid to ever think of challenging him. And you should be afraid, Corinthe. The three of us play a dangerous game.”
“What kind of game?” They’d pummeled me with so much information, I might never sort it all out.
“Deception,” Lorcan said. “Rasimir is too unstable to train you himself. Fortunately, he knows it. That leaves Vander and me to help you find your magic. He likes to create conflict between us, and we’ve gone to great lengths to foster his impression that we despise each other.
That’s the reason he ordered us to take you from the Drakhold together.
He wants us to spy on each other and report back to him.
” Lorcan glanced around the garden. “As long as we’re careful, we can train here and help you get stronger.
But Rasimir can never suspect you want to overthrow him.
He needs to think I’m jealous of you supplanting me, and he needs to continue believing Vander is a mindless oaf who does what he’s told. ”
Vander’s nostrils flared. “He doesn’t think that.”
Lorcan stared at him, his arrogant expression in place.
“He doesn’t think that.”
I barely heard their exchange as my new reality crashed over me.
I could either let Rasimir crush me under his heel, or kill him and seize his throne.
But I didn’t want his throne. I didn’t want to rule Nocta.
I didn’t want to rule anything. And yet Lorcan spoke of training me like I was fully on board with his and Vander’s plan.
On the other hand, what choice did I have?
Rasimir thought I was some fabled key to unlimited power.
He wouldn’t tolerate me politely declining to serve as a conduit for magical gifts—or a vampire army stocked with my offspring.
Escape couldn’t be my goal because escape wasn’t possible.
Rasimir was never, under any circumstances, going to let me go.
And if I managed to flee by some miracle of the gods, he would continue killing.
More Alons would die. More Duncans. Other Delphines would shiver in fear, their eyes darting to the shadows as they praised the king.
Pixies would stammer apologies on the road because their friends dared to insult the king’s knights and, by extension, the king.
All of Nocta serves the king. But the king was a tyrant. He was a cold-blooded killer, and he was completely, hopelessly mad. And if Vander and Lorcan were right, I could stop him. As implausible as it sounded, I was the only person who could stop him.
It couldn’t be true. But what if it was? My throat dried, my thoughts spinning faster. Rasimir wanted me. He’d gone to great lengths to find me. I could see wards…and magic. What else could I do?
“…take issue with ‘mindless,’?” Vander was saying on one side of me.
“But not ‘oaf’?” Lorcan asked on the other. “Noted.”
Vander stepped toward him. “Shall this mindless oaf put you over his shoulder again, Your Highness?”
“Try it. I have my wits about me now.”
“Right. All five of them.”
Lorcan’s voice went silky. “Did you have to count on your fingers to come up with that?”
Vander squared his shoulders, a determined glint in his eyes as he started forward. “That’s it—”
“Stop,” I said, lifting my hands. Silence fell as both men stilled, obviously waiting for me to speak.
Dread opened wide jaws around me as I turned to Lorcan.
“If I want to challenge Rasimir, I need to gain more power. But the only way to do that is to steal it. If I’m really this mythical dhampir capable of holding on to magic, I’ll have to drain people to take their gifts. Vander is right. I don’t want to kill.”
Lorcan’s stare didn’t waver. “Not even if doing so will save thousands? What about tens of thousands?”
“Killing is always wrong.”
“As it was when you killed the farmer last night?”
Sorrow and anger flared with equal force. “That was different. Rasimir would have killed Duncan anyway.”
Lorcan’s fangs showed between his lips as he dropped his voice to a hiss. “I assure you, he’ll do the same to everyone you ever dreamed of caring about. Will you stop him? Or will you stand aside and let him build an empire on bones and innocent blood?”
Anger pumped hot in my veins. “I never said I’d stand aside.”
“I’m glad to hear it. But you might have to get your hands dirty if you plan to become a queen.”
The title threatened to rock me onto my heels. I tried to cover my disquiet by planting my hands on my hips. “And what is the plan, Your Highness?”
Lorcan stepped closer, and his eyes glinted like Vander’s a moment before as he matched my tone. “Simple, Princess. You listen and learn.”
The previous night’s tension roared back. My feet carried me forward. Now only inches separated us, and irritation spiked when I had to tip my chin back to meet his dark stare. “And you’re the teacher?”
“That’s right.”
“We should return,” Vander said, his voice cutting through the charge in the air. When Lorcan and I looked at him, he gestured to the sunlight slanting over the ruins. “It grows late. Rasimir will expect a report before the ball tonight.”
Alarm bells clanged in my head. “Ball?”
Lorcan’s mouth tightened. “To celebrate our betrothal. If you can’t stomach the thought of killing, perhaps you’ll find solace in music and dancing.” He turned and strode toward the statue.
Anger burned away my sorrow as I watched him go. What was his problem? He was seemingly furious because I had reservations about slaughtering people and stealing their magic? Or, as he called it, getting my hands dirty?
“Come on,” Vander said quietly. “The last thing we want is Rasimir sending knights to fetch us.”
“Can they find this place?” I asked, darting a look around.
“They can’t enter,” Vander said. “The Everless is only accessible to the elves and those they’ve allowed into their realm.
But this is a doorway. Someone can wait on the other side.
Zid vedara is the ‘don’t notice me’ ward.
It blunts sound and makes people forget what they’ve seen and heard.
I placed it before we entered. If someone draws near, they’ll feel a sense of dread and move on.
But even if the ward fails, I’ll sense any outsiders. ”
“How?”
“I have a foot in both worlds.” He looked toward the statue, his silver eyes distant. “I lived in Veradorn for a long time. Part of me always will.” He turned back to me, and he offered a small smile. “But most of me is in Nocta now. I’ll know if someone gets too close.”
He led me to the statue, where Lorcan waited in stony silence.
I observed him for a moment, not caring if he thought me rude for staring. “How’s your shoulder?” I asked finally.
His jaw tensed. If I’d had to guess, he ground his molars together. “Perfect.”
He left it at that, no thank-you to be heard.
“Can you always speak in people’s heads?” I asked. He’d spoken every word aloud the previous night. And he hadn’t used telepathy at all in the forest.
“No. But it’s a useful gift.” At last, he looked at me. “I steal it whenever I get the chance.”
I pressed my lips together.
Vander touched my arm. “Remember, Corinthe. You’re playing a role now. We all are. If Rasimir believes we’re working together, he’ll kill all three of us. If you want to live, you have to pretend.”
My throat tightened. It wasn’t just my life on the line anymore. Then again, it never had been. All of Nocta serves the king. Now part of Nocta depended on me to defeat him. The other part wanted me to share his demise.
Vander watched me, waiting for a response.
I swallowed. “All right.”
He motioned me forward, and we moved past the pool at the statue’s base. Lorcan started around the other side. “ Rix ,” Vander said between strides. The ruined garden winked out of existence, the sudden shift bringing me to a halt. The scent of pine rushed into my lungs as trees soared around me.
Lorcan stopped and gave me a cold look over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Princess. Our guests await.”