19. Vesper
“Don’t let her leave,” Cedar said, the first words she spoke to me all day.
I jumped at them, but my eyes were already on the runaway princess as she pushed through the crowd.
I had been watching her the whole time. Watching as the vampire who had sunk his teeth into her neck paraded her around the room.
It caused a nasty feeling to swirl in my stomach. Especially when I caught her multiple times looking like she might just kill him right then and there.
It shouldn’t have. Just like I should have never felt enough pity for her to intervene when they were in his room.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I couldn’t wrap my brain around how I had gone from the good little contractor my family created to some sort of caring, lust-filled teenager that couldn’t keep her hands off the royal vampire.
I hated it. Hated her. Hated how she made me feel. Hated how she was making me rethink things that had been taught to me for over a decade.
…but if that were the case, would you even have covered your tattoo when you got here? The small voice that whispered the damning statement had been far too loud after the night of my failed assassination attempt.
Nothing in my training demanded it. Nor was it deemed appropriate by the secret organization’s standards.
It was supposed to be visible at all times. But even if they assumed the general population wouldn’t connect the dots between my tattoo and my job here, it was too risky.
And I valued my life too much for that. Hers too, apparently.
Enough to not kill her. Enough to not be able to take my eyes off her.
But in a situation like the gala, it wasn’t strange. Others were watching too. The room was filled with vampires, highly important vampire councilmen, politicians, billionaires, some of whom I had only heard rumors about. All of them gathered to watch the new couple.
Those on the lowest rung tried to smoke them. Tried to hold their attention as long as possible before they were forced to be handed to another.
But she handled it. Maybe poorly at times, but it was likely no one else noticed and instead just saw the perfectly dolled-up, well-behaved vampire princess Aurelia wanted everyone to see.
“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” I grumbled to Cedar. We had strict orders to watch the perimeter, regardless of what our previous stations had been.
That’s how Cedar and I got stuck together. But still, I hadn’t been able to stop watching the princess.
Curiosity burned at me from the inside. I wanted to know what the bastard said to make her flee like that. It even angered me a bit, knowing what he had done not long before.
But I couldn’t control the princess. If anything, her fleeing would help me. And no matter the confusing feelings and thoughts happening on the inside, I couldn’t let myself continue to fuck up the job.
There were so many things at stake.
For me. For Tate. For my entire family.
“I said stop her,” Cedar growled, her side brushing across mine. I didn’t realize what she was doing until heat spread across my side, where her body met mine. Painful spots burst across my skin as a warning.
Panic ran through me, and I froze against her. Could vampires smell magic?
The place was packed, but there were so many in here at once, it was possible that the scents mingled together in a way that would hide it.
But it wasn’t guaranteed.
“If you let her leave, you’ll need to find yourself another contract,” she said, her voice low. Finally, I met her gaze. Her face was cold and her eyes clear.
What the fuck? Was she saying what I th?—
“What do you know?” I said in a harsh whisper, my hand shooting out to grip the side of her uniform. Now was not the time for this cryptic bullshit.
“Remember what I said in our room,” she said in a low voice, her eyes traveling over my face.
If someone like yourself made it in here, what makes you think there aren’t more?
Impossible. I had been here far too long not to catch anyone else, unless…she isn’t one, is she?
It was all the push I needed. She had made the decision for me. I needed to be the one to kill the princess. And my chance was about to slip through my fingers.
I jerked away from her and rushed after the princess. She was nearing the exit far faster than I was, but she was constantly slowed by the vampires around her, all trying to chat as she passed.
Luckily, one grabbed her attention for a bit too long, and I was able to slip my arm around her waist. She shot me a look and tried to push me off, but I ignored her.
“Excuse us,” I said, sending a smile to the vampire she was talking to. “But isn’t it a crime that the princess hasn’t danced to a single song yet?”
He merely laughed and waved us off, but as I tried to drag her to the dance floor, the princess pulled us to a standstill.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed. “I’m trying to leave this godforsaken party.”
“Because of the prince?” I asked her. “Did he say anything? Is he the one pushing you to leave?”
All the impatience seemed to leave her body at my questions, and she looked up at me with a raised brow. There was a tenseness to her I’d never seen before.
Almost like she’d seen a ghost.
“What’s happening?” she asked. Slowly, her eyes started to move around the crowd until they fell on the vampire in question. My eyes followed hers. He was staring at us, and next to him were Aurelia’s handmaiden and her stepsister.
That doesn’t look right.
I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Something feels off. Stay with me for a bit. Somewhere visible.”
I looked back to where Cedar had been standing guard, but she was gone, and a new person was in her place.
Alarm bells went off in my head. It couldn’t be her, could it? If so, why would she give me a heads-up?
There was no time to waste. Aurelia was getting more and more impatient by the second, and the more I looked around us, the more it felt like everyone was staring. And there was no way that I could make out which stares were the ones of a true enemy or of just another curious onlooker.
You should leave her, a voice in my head said as Aurelia tugged at my hand in a poor excuse to get free. She could have distanced herself from me with minimal effort, but there was something about the situation that rang differently to her as well.
If I left her and something bad happened, I would be absolved of my duty. I could leave and never look back, see my little brother, and then…what?
Father would no doubt hear about how she was murdered and sooner or later would find out what I knew. He wouldn’t be happy if I showed up at the house after that. Better a runaway than a child who failed her mission.
But he wouldn’t be the only one looking for me.
The secret society that ran our lives wouldn’t like the information I had. Wouldn’t like how easily I could topple their organization. It didn’t matter if they kept their head people a secret. I knew too much and gave them too little.
But more importantly…there was something deep inside me that caused me to pause. Something I had never felt before. Something I didn’t want to give a name to for fear it might actually become real.
Enough.
She had no time to protest, and I pulled us both to the dance floor. People cleared the way, my action gaining us attention.
The head guard would no doubt give me shit about my actions later. A guard dancing with a princess right before she is about to give herself to the prince?
But looking at the stares from others around us, they didn’t seem all that offended. If anything, my actions amused them.
Good. Think that way. It didn’t matter that they looked down on the human guard attempting to get her last few minutes with the princess. In their minds, this was probably the most exciting part of the night.
I faced her and pulled her to me, trying my best to replicate what I had seen the others do, taking her hand in one of mine and placing my other hand on her waist.
I hadn’t touched her like this since the time in the closet, and the dancing wasn’t even sexual…So why did it make my heart race?
The skin of her hand was soft—softer than even the velvet accents on her dress. When I pulled her to me, I didn’t realize just how close we would need to be to dance. Her face was on my chest, but when she looked up at me, she felt close enough to kiss.
It took my breath away to see her so close in the bright light.
“Did I forget to mention I can’t dance?” I said after she raised a brow at my attempt to position us.
She held my gaze for a moment before she forced a smile across her face. It was a little strained—no doubt she still wanted to escape whatever unique torture this gala was.
But it was enough to cause the tension in my shoulders to ease just a bit.
“I’ll guess I’ll just have to lead then, won’t I?” she teased, repositioning our hands. “Try to not embarrass yourself too much.”
I didn’t want to admit how her sass caused my heart to jump, but her knowing glance told me she had heard it herself, giving me no choice but to come to terms with the fact that the spoiled princess actually caused me to react in those ways.
Her hand slid across my back and pulled me closer to her, while the other held our intertwined hands up for all to see.
She then pulled us into the crowd, her strength overpowering mine. I had no choice but to follow her steps as she swayed to the music.
I had no idea what I was doing. My foot collided with hers more than once, but each time she was able to expertly redirect us and make the dancing look smooth.
After a while, it was easy to lean into her. Easier to hold her gaze. Rewarding when a smirk spread across her lips.
She is enjoying herself.
In a bizarre twist of events, the princess seemed to actually be pleased with my company.
“Does this mean you’re on my side?” she asked as she spun me around. A move normally reserved for the more femme partner. A move that caused heat to spread across my cheeks.
I didn’t chance looking at the others to see their reactions, trying my best to keep whatever bubble we were in for ourselves.
“There are no sides here, princess,” I muttered when she pulled me back to her. “If you attempt to dip me, I will leave.”
She threw her head back and let out a twinkling laugh. Is this a show? Or is she truly enjoying herself?
A light feeling swirled in my chest and chased all the other anxiety-inducing thoughts away.
My job was to keep us here for the time being. Keep us visible. That was the only way we would be safe.
But, after a while, it felt less like I was trying to protect her and more like I was the overly confident guard who just wanted her chance to dance with the princess.
“And leave me all by myself?” she asked with an exaggerated pout. “Maybe you don’t take your job very seriously.”
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be dancing with you,” I reminded her with a fake smile.
She let out a tsk of annoyance, but it was more teasing in nature than actual dissatisfaction.
“Very terribly at that,” she said, and twirled us both. “Do humans not do this or something?”
The song was bleeding into the next, the band no doubt seeing how much the princess was enjoying herself and wanting to keep the light mood going. Or maybe they also enjoyed the little bit of scandal they were witnessing firsthand.
“Rich humans do,” I replied, looking down at her with a smile. “Unfortunately, my humble upbringing didn’t get me invited to these things.”
“No,” she said before leaning in, dropping her voice low. “But they sure taught you how to handle a sword, didn’t they?”
“Among other things,” I murmured, finally letting my eyes wander the ballroom.
That was until, on our third circle of the ballroom, I met her fiancé’s eyes. He was standing next to a vampire who was talking his ear off, but his attention was on us. Though, if I were being honest, I wasn’t sure it ever left. His gaze was narrowed, his jaw tight. If he held his glass any tighter, it would be on the floor, shattered.
Only second to his was her father’s gaze. But his wasn’t one of anger. He was too poised for that. His anger lay hidden there, behind his reddening eyes.
We are embarrassing him.
Maybe one song would have been fine, but I was hogging her, and people were noticing.
Cedar was the next person I saw. She was back in our original position, and when our gazes met, she gave me a quick nod.
Is that some kind of signal? Are we safe?
But seeing how the other high-ranking vampires looked at me, it only felt like I had put us in more danger.
“Was it worth it?” she asked in a whisper. “The disdain of both my fiancé and my father?”
I swallowed thickly before looking down at her with the sweetest smile I could maintain.
“To keep you safe?” I asked. “I would give my life for yours, princess. Shouldn’t you know that by now?”
If the princess could blush, her cheeks would have been burning. I take it as another win.