Chapter 10 #2
Better to present myself as forgettable for now. A mangy stray that no one would put a copper on. Let the big names fight one another so I could come up behind the wounded victor with a poisoned knife.
I choked down another ration bar before putting the finishing touches on my outfit.
I tucked two blades in the pockets I’d sewn into this dress, then graced my fingers, ears, and neck with Ilyana’s gold.
The fang bracelet stood out amongst the borrowed finery, but I’d discovered earlier that the braided grass band could be adjusted.
I widened it and slipped it further up my arm, under one of the puffy sleeves.
I checked the stranger in the mirror one last time, then finished the look by staining my lips the darkest of reds. My satisfied smile included the sharp edges of fangs. There was no hint of tired, heartsick Sidney under this predatory mask.
I left my room and glided down the mostly empty hallway, following the sounds of murmuring women and swishing cloth somewhere below me.
At the stairwell stood the doll-faced vampiress, whose eyes narrowed as she spotted my approach.
She curtsied shallowly. “Lady Ilyana, per the regent, all contestants are required to line up before the ballroom’s second-floor entrance. ”
She pointed down the stairs, in the direction of the estate’s main ballroom. I nodded and descended, making my way to the correct location. The line back from the designated entrance was already over a dozen vampiresses deep, most of whom were clustered like twittering, brightly colored birds.
Their gazes turned my way, ventured up and down my form, then flicked back to their companions.
There wasn’t a male vampire to be seen. It seemed the Devotions of all these bloodsuckers weren’t here.
If I had to guess, we were to be announced, and the devotees would be amongst the crowd cheering on their Beloveds.
I scanned the room for a friendly face, but it looked like Felicity hadn’t arrived yet.
One of the vampiresses didn’t look away from me. She smirked in a self-satisfied manner, and said in a deceptively soft voice, “Good of you to finally join us, Krudelbach. Not going to hide in your room tonight, hmm?”
I recalled her from the Flask ceremony and the way she stood to relieve some weight off her right leg. Despite her immortal beauty and generous figure, she still had a small tremble in her left hand. She was one of the few contestants I was sure I could defeat in a fair fight.
I didn’t bother pretending to know who she was, instead curling my fingers to inspect my nails.
“You joined this competition to prove you’re not a weakling, and yet you can’t even look me in the eye,” she taunted.
I glanced over my shoulder at the next contestant to arrive, a beauty with her tightly curled hair pinned up in an elaborate style, save for wisps on either side of her face. She wore an emerald green gown. The color complimented her tawny complexion well.
“Did you hear something?” I asked her dryly.
The newcomer blinked her golden eyes in surprise before a hint of intrigue graced her lips. “Must’ve been the wind,” she answered.
“Just you wait, Krudelbach. I’ll show the whole House how weak you are within a couple short nights,” said the off-balance vampiress.
I gave her my back. “Leave it, Fiorella,” one of her companions murmured behind me. “She’ll be dead the moment the first trial starts.”
Tahlia had mentioned this vampiress. She was the bloodsucker who’d taunted Ilyana into entering this competition in the first place.
The newcomer offered me her hand. “Emmeline Rodgerson. Of no importance, save for the Flask of Dominion’s approval.”
Rodgerson? Shit. That was the family name of Nemea’s inquisitor. If Emmeline had inherited even a fraction of that bloodline's gift for extracting truth, I would need to mind my tongue around her carefully.
“That just means you’re alive,” I remarked. “Ilyana Krudelbach.” I purposefully avoided saying that I was Ilyana, sidestepping a direct lie.
“I know. You’re already making waves, coming here without any devotees.” Her painted lips tilted further into a sly angle. “Some might be curious as to the real reason why. Was it truly…” She lifted her chin toward Fiorella, earning a scoff from me.
The gold of her eyes seemed to sparkle, and weight pressed down on my forehead. Only for a moment, but long enough for me to recognize her using some kind of magic on me.
“Stop,” I said under my breath, though my rebuke was steely.
After another blink, her eyes returned to normal. The magic receded along with it. “I was just curious about whether you were telling the truth.” She lifted her shoulder, unapologetic.
I swallowed, my mouth turned bone dry. Aetherius’s light. “Keep your magic to yourself,” I said flatly.
She tilted her head. “And we were getting along so well. I’m used to untruths. Everyone lies, Ilyana. Especially the vampires at court. No one asks for permission to use their magic, either.”
Emmeline may have said more, but Felicity arrived in a bustle of rose-colored fabric. Her face lit up as she spotted us. “So glad you two met. I thought you’d just be two peas in a pod,” she said cheerily. “Isn’t Ilya just the most brutally honest ray of sunshine?”
“I suppose. It’s a shame we met after we entered this drawn-out fight to the death.” Emmeline bared her fangs in a serpent’s smile.
I raised a less-than-impressed brow. Felicity thought I’d befriend the inquisitor’s daughter? That was an interesting conclusion, based only on the evidence of a couple conversations. Especially when I was the least honest “ray of sunshine” to attempt to grace these halls.
Felicity’s expression shifted, growing more serious as she cast a glance around us.
“There’s no need for us to fight yet,” she said in an undertone.
“Do you think these older vampiresses will rip each others’ throats out at the opening bell?
No. They will go for ours first. They see us as young and untested. ”
“Categorically true,” Emmeline remarked.
“I already have one ally, and you two should join us,” Felicity continued. “When we reach the final trial, I want one of us four to ascend the throne.”
My gaze narrowed and flicked to Emmeline. The truth-seeking vampiress was nodding slowly.
This was simply too good to be true. “You want the Devotion-less candidate for your little group?” I murmured.
“No time like the present to recruit. Look at you. You’re beautiful.” Felicity smiled my way. “It’s not difficult to bed a man, if you’re worried about—”
“No,” I blurted, to the immediate burning in my cheeks. “I am not worried about that.”
“Who is your other ally?” Emmeline asked.
Felicity waved over one of the latecomers, and my palms dampened when I saw who it was. “Ladies, meet Razira.”
The white-haired vampiress had her locks up in an effortless chignon, leaving the pale curves of her neck bare.
Her red eyes were the only spots of color on her, with her evening dress shaded in layered skirts of white and gray.
The embroidery was silver. Still a dove in gray, though I couldn’t describe her attire as plain and forgetful.
I hid the tremble in my voice as we made introductions. I held my hands together tightly, lest the shaking in them betray me instead. It was her. The only vampiress in this whole competition I would hesitate to kill.
We had to make this alliance work so I wouldn’t have to kill the woman who’d once meant so much to me. Not yet.
“I’m surprised the Flask of Dominion considered you a Sanguine vampire,” Emmeline remarked.
“My dear, I’ve been part of the House of the Sanguine since before you were born.
I’ve chosen it as my coven, and that’s the truth it sensed when I put on that necklace.
I am the one destined to elevate us to new heights.
” Razira had a silken voice, all of the roughened edges of humanity sanded away.
She glanced at me, her icy pink lips dragging into a frown.
“I may not have the name of a great house, but I have a dedicated Devotion and a plan to reform this sorry House.”
She must’ve seen at least a hint of pity I’d failed to hide.
No matter what, she was a monster like all the rest of the bloodsuckers around us.
I was face-to-face with the proof. This alliance was only a stay of execution, a cause that fed the whimpering, cowardly hope in my chest that perhaps the trials ahead would be her end instead.
I schooled my expression. “I’d be happy to hear of your plan,” I said, more earnest about the offer than about anything else I’d said since arriving here.
I could pretend, at least for a little while, that the trials ahead could end with some civility.
“I’d be a fool to say no to your offer, Felicity. ”
“Truth,” Emmeline remarked.
Felicity nodded decisively, then clapped her hands. “Oh, marvelous! Now it’s official.”
The sound of an orchestra tuning up filled the air with the screech of string instruments turning into a harmony of muffled notes. The melody was louder for a few moments as Mathias stepped into the hall with us from the double doorway leading into the ballroom.
He strode to the middle of the hall, where we could all see him. His dark coat reminded me of military attire—gold thread at the shoulders and seams and gilded buttons down his strong chest.
“Good evening, candidates.” He cut through the hum of conversation around us.
I shifted in my heels, trying to ignore the way my skin tingled in awareness from the authority in his voice. I’d never had such a reaction to a bloodsucker before.
When I glanced up at him, it was to find his maroon gaze on me. Again. It seemed the regent was talented at picking me out of any crowd.