28. Aurelia
How dare she try to get away from me that easily?
I don’t know what annoyed me more.
The fact that she was the one to tell Father that Prince Icas had tried to steal family members, or that she negotiated her own release as a reward.
How did she find the courage to do it while I was sitting in my room like a coward?
The murder of Prince Icas opened so many doors for me. Unfortunately, the families would be going to war, but I would take that over having to be a fuck toy for him and his father. And it gave me the opportunity to rebuild what had been lost with Mother’s death.
There were just a few things I needed to accomplish first before I decided to enact my plans.
“You always did have a thing for keeping pets,” Father said as he looked over my proposed contract. “Clipping their wings so they would never leave you.”
I gave him a sickly-sweet smile.
His office was as spotless as usual, but the stack of papers by his right hand and the slightly disheveled look of his robe told me that waging war had consequences.
Maybe even some that he hadn’t fully thought through.
“Well, now that the prince is gone, I have to find my entertainment somewhere, don’t I?”
His eyes looked over me before he let out a light laugh.
“I’m sure you do,” he said. “Well, I don’t much care what you plan to do with her. I kept my end of the deal, so there’s no stopping you.”
He handed me back the contract. Surprise tickled my senses. I expected him to be annoyed. Maybe even a bit suspicious. It’s the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him.
“So you agree?”
“Sure,” he answered with another laugh. “If you can find her, that is.”
“Find her?” I echoed, panic sinking in. After all that happened, was there still a chance I wouldn’t be able to find her?
Does Father know something I don’t?
“We couldn’t get an address from her,” he answered with a shrug. “No one in the prince’s ranks seemed to know much about her. And when we dropped her off, it was in a random city down south. She can be anywhere by now.”
Anywhere? That wouldn’t do.
“Which guards stayed behind?” I asked, leaning against his desk.
“Most of them. Go see for yourself in the basement, I’m sure they’d be thrilled to have a visit.”
I tried not to show my distaste on my face, but Father saw through it.
“The chase should provide some entertainment, should it not?” he said, his tone almost…humorous.
“You seem very chipper for someone who had my husband stabbed in the chest and a war waged with a prominent vampire family,” I volleyed back, unable to keep the words in any longer.
His smile only spread wider.
“War is what we vampires were made for,” he replied, shifting in his seat to look out the window. It was a beautifully sunny day, much like the day of my wedding. “And this way, I get to keep what’s mine. He’ll lose anyway. He should surrender if he knows what’s good for him.”
I had to bite back the growl. I’m not yours, I wanted to hiss.
Atlas was right. Father never saw me as a daughter but as his property to use and sell as he pleased.
“Why did he want Mother so badly?” I asked.
Shadows flitted across his features before he managed to hide them.
“The same reason everyone wanted her,” he said, his gaze coming back to meet mine. “The ancestral bloodline. It alone causes vampires to flock from all over to join our families.”
“But Mother wasn’t from a powerful family,” I reasoned, tilting my head to the side. “If I recall correctly, she told me that her father didn’t even have a large family. He was part of a clan.”
He gave me a condescending smile.
“Don’t worry about it. Shouldn’t you be celebrating your newfound freedom? Maybe go find that guard of yours?”
I pursed my lips, not liking how easily he was dismissing me.
“Why did you let her live, Father?” I asked hesitantly.
“Would you rather I had killed her with that handmaiden of yours?”
I straightened at the tone of his voice.
“No, I was just?—”
“Or maybe I should ask how your guard and your handmaiden knew about Prince Icas’s plans yet somehow you didn’t? Or if you did, why you chose not to tell your own father as soon as you found out?”
A chill ran up my spine. Of course Father wouldn’t overlook it.
“I think that’s enough questions for today,” I said as I pushed myself off the desk. “Thank you for the approval, Father. I’ll see you when I get back.”
All humor was gone from his expression, and I barely made it out of the room with my head still on. But just as I was about to walk down the hallway to enact the first part of my plan, the stepspawn decided to show herself. She even had the audacity to pause and look nervous.
Fucking perfect. I couldn’t hold back the laugh as I launched myself at her.
The spawn shuttered as I dragged the magic-coated knife across the bare skin of her neck. The magical drug that I coated the metal with dripped onto her neck, glittery pink blending in so perfectly with her skin.
I waited so long for this. So long to make her squirm. It wasn’t hard to get the knife, but it had been much harder to keep it hidden while I ran around the palace, just waiting for my chance to enact my plan.
I had been hesitant before, maybe even a bit afraid. But not anymore. Not after I saw what awaited me.
Compared to the prince, she was nothing but an annoying gnat that I needed to squash, and my actions would serve as a reminder to her that she couldn’t fuck with me anymore.
“I wanted to take my time with you,” I murmured, looking her over as she tried to shy away from my touch. “But unfortunately, I have a little pet waiting for me.”
I hadn’t thought it through, but as soon as I saw the bitch alone, I knew I needed to get her secluded.
A random, unused bedroom would do. Although it was probably way too close to Father’s office, with all the other things he was worried about, I doubt he would even care about what I did.
As long as she kept her screams down.
I used some spare fabric from my dress to tie her to the headboard of the bed while I sat on the plush mattress right beside her. I kept the room dark, but the light from the window was enough to see her squirm.
“What else does she have planned?” I asked as I dug the sharp end of the knife into her skin, just enough to break the surface. It should give her the faintest hint of the drug. I watched her eyes closely for a sign that it was working as intended.
“You’re fucking crazy,” she spat.
I gave her a pitying smile. She hadn’t seen anything yet. I was showing restraint. The darkness that hid in the back of my mind wanted me to do so much more. I had years and years of built-up anger that I needed to get out.
The only issue was my poor little mouse. The one who thought she’d get away from me. But I couldn’t let her go. Not just yet.
“I am,” I agreed with a mock frown. “But saying that doesn’t get us anywhere, does it?”
“Don’t infect me with that shit?—”
“This?” I asked and pushed the knife further into her skin. “Too much of this stuff is dangerous, you know. Especially for good little girls like you who have never dabbled in it. Want to guess how much it takes until it starts to hurt?”
“Once Mother finds out—” she cut off with a hiss as I pushed the knife in further. Dark blood flowed down her neck and stained the pretty blue of her dress.
“Or maybe you want to wear the black veins on your forehead permanently?” They were already forming. Slowly, faintly, but they were there.
If she knew anything about this drug, she would know that it would take a lot more and longer for that to happen, but what she didn’t know only worked in my favor. I almost wished it was fully saturated with the drug so she could truly feel the pain she inflicted on me over the years.
Maybe I’ll add it to the docket for the next time I want to play with her.
“She has nothing planned,” she forced out through gritted teeth. “She has already done all she needs. You think you are off the hook just because Icas was killed?Father doesn’t trust you. More than that, he sees just how many people are willing to leave for you. If you think you’re safe—you’re wrong.”
She let out a sinister laugh that only annoyed me more.
I dragged the knife down her neck. Her pained groans were like music to my ears.
“You’re lucky he doesn’t know about your involvement yet,” I murmured. “How long do you think you can hide behind mommy’s shadow? Or maybe I should let him know about your affair with Dalia’s husband? I heard you and him had some alone time before my wedding.”
Her face paled.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Something to level the playing field? Father would be furious if he heard you’re spreading your legs and ruining vampire families.”
“Dalia fucks his dad,” she spat. “There is nothing keeping that family together. It’s a joke.”
I let out a laugh. “And you think your status is on par with Dalia’s? Better yet, why would he choose you over her if this rumor spread?”
For the first time, it looked like I finally had the bitch where I wanted her. I had been sitting on that juicy piece of gossip for some time—it was just never the right time to use it. Nor did it hold as much weight as I was implying.
Playtime is over. As fun as messing with her was, I had someone much more important waiting for me.
“Try that shit again, and I’ll skin you, understand?” I asked in a whisper and pushed the knife into the hard part of her chest. “This is a warning.”
Before she had a chance to say anything else, I threw the knife across the room and pushed myself off the bed.
“Don’t think you’re getting off easy!” I told her as I left the room with a wicked laugh. The frustrated scream she let out only amused me more.
I’m coming for you, little mouse.