Chapter 31
Sidney
Later that day, I slipped into my old room to retrieve the few supplies I had left: a handful of ration bars, the consecrated water, flasks of rupture, and one final vial of my healing serum.
I dropped to my knees and reached under the wardrobe, fingers sweeping through dust until they brushed the wood of my blessed stakes. One. Then nothing.
My breath caught. I shoved my arm deeper and scraped my knuckles. Still no second stake.
A cold jolt shot through my gut. With shaking hands, I thrust everything else into my satchel. The bag’s strap barely hit my shoulder before I bolted from the room, heart pounding as if guards closed in behind me.
Back in my new quarters, I locked the door. Crimson myrrh thickened the air inside, curling into my lungs like a warning. A sweetness like heated sap mingled with a hint of citrus and a richness that settled low and heavy.
Zane and Finn were waiting for me in the receiving room. Zane shot to his feet. “Did it go well?” His gaze swept over me, a frown tugging at his lips. “What’s wrong?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “A stake is missing. Someone must’ve taken it.”
Finn’s expression sharpened. I will send scouts to find who has it.
I nodded, though unease clung to me. “It’ll probably be okay.” Movement from Noir’s room caught my attention. “I’d better check on our guest before bedtime.”
Through the open door, I could see him tied in a chair by the bed, head swaying as if he were listening to music no one else could hear. I crossed to the doorway. He looked up, and that manic grin spread across his face.
“Hello, flower.” Nostrils flaring, he leaned forward. “You smell like fear tonight. Something interesting happen?”
I ignored his comment and eyed his restraints. “I can loosen these straps enough for you to sleep in the bed.”
He settled back into the chair. “This is more comfortable. I can see the door from here.” His eyes glinted in the low light. “Besides, I haven’t slept properly in decades. Too many dead people wanting to chat.”
He didn’t blink, didn’t shift, just watched me with a distant stare.
I recoiled from him. “Right. Well. Good day.”
“Is it?” His head tilted. “I can never tell anymore.”
Closing the door, I returned to my bedroom. Zane was already under the covers, one arm extended in invitation. Finn sat on the edge, unlacing his boots. The sight of them eased my tension a bit. I wanted to lose myself in them, to feel their touch and drown out everything pressing in on me.
I climbed into bed between them. I pressed a fingertip to my lips before easing the sheets down, exposing Zane’s bronzed chest inch by inch. His gaze flashed amber. When he went to sit up, I pushed him back down, licking my lips.
Don’t make a sound, I signed.
I’m good at that, Finn responded. After flashing a thumbs-up, he reached for me.
We shared in one another’s bodies, mostly silent past a few muffled sounds. Sated, I fell asleep between them, Zane’s arm draped over my waist and Finn's warmth pressed against my side.
Their presence didn’t ward off the nightmares. Shadows dragged me under. Hands closed around my throat. Voices scraped against the inside of my skull from depths I couldn't reach.
The ghosts of the vampires I’d slain crowded the dark, their breathless murmurs coiling like smoke.
“You won’t rise.”
“You’ll fall beside us.”
Gentle hands coaxed me up from the dark. I woke tangled in the sheets, breath ragged, skin cold. But at least I had my mates.
By the time night rolled in, I was still shaken. I’d barely finished my breakfast when a knock rattled the door. My body went rigid, bracing for whatever waited on the other side.
Zane and Finn took positions on either side of the door. I cracked it open.
A dark-haired vampiress swept inside the moment the gap allowed it, arms full of parcels and her expression severe.
Her high cheekbones and small upturned nose made her so similar to Ilyana that the likeness was impossible to miss.
“Four days. Four entire days I’ve been stuck outside those gates, and you couldn’t deliver me a single message? ”
I glanced over her shoulder. Zane’s eyebrow rose as he mouthed, “Tahlia?”
The female dumped her packages onto the nearest table with enough force to send a book sliding. I gave a shrug and mouthed back, “Seems so.”
Finn caught my look and signed, I will get tea and snacks.
With silent precision, Zane slipped into the bedroom and disappeared behind the door to Noir’s room. Finn glided out of the suite soundlessly.
“Tahlia.” Guilt and panic warred in my chest. “I’m sorry. I’ve been—”
“Busy trying not to die in these murder trials, yes. I gathered as much.” She took a shuddering breath. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? When they wouldn't let me through the gates, when the servants wouldn’t give me any information—”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
She whirled to face me, the sharpness in her eyes cracking just enough for the fear underneath to bleed through. “I don’t want to lose you.”
The sentiment carved straight through me. She was clinging to an imposter while she should’ve been grieving a ghost. I could tell her the truth. I should. Instead, I stepped forward and drew her into a hug.
With a sniff, she melted, her arms tightening around me. “I thought the competition had killed you. Or that you’d been murdered like Lady Genevieve. Or—”
“I’m fine. I’m here.”
“For how long?” She pulled back, studying my face. “There are more trials. More ways for you to die.”
“Have a little faith in me. I’ve survived this long. I'm going to win.” I sank onto the chaise and patted the cushion beside me.
Sighing slowly, she dropped next to me. Her shoulders slumped. “You can’t know that.”
“I captured a legendary assassin from the House of Whispers for the second trial.” I gestured toward the adjoining room. “If that doesn’t prove my strength—”
Her hands gripped my arms. “It proves you’re reckless. And lucky. But luck runs out, especially in the Trials of Succession.”
“Then what would you have me do? Let the Flask consume me because I forfeited?”
“No. I just…” Her expression crumpled. “I want to spend time with you. However much time we have left. Even if you die in the next trial, I want these moments.”
The honesty slid past all my walls. She just wanted her sister. My stomach knotted at the grief softening her face. I had no claim to the grief in her voice or the love in her gaze, yet both settled on me anyway. I felt unworthy of all of it, but I couldn’t step away now.
“Stay nearby,” I heard myself say. “Find a room in the borough until the trials are over.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’d…”
I’d what? Like the company?
Appreciate the distraction?
Enjoy lying to her face for another week?
What would Ilyana say right here that would ease Tahlia’s worry, instead of feeding it?
“I’d like that,” I managed.
Her smile lit the room. “Thank you. Oh, I brought you some things.” Turning to her parcels, she unwrapped clothes, cosmetics, and books. “I wasn’t sure what you’d need, but I thought—”
A throat cleared behind us. Tahlia froze midsentence.
I glanced back. Zane leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, darkness eddying around his legs. Beside him, Finn stood with Nibs perched on his shoulder. The mouse sniffed curiously at the steam rising from a teapot.
Finn lifted the tray in a flourish that made the porcelain rattle. The tea service chimed softly as he steadied it. When I looked his way, he gave me a small, crooked wink.
Tahlia blinked. Once. Twice.
“Oh,” she breathed. “You didn’t tell me your Devotion is…hot.”
Finn offered a tiny, smug nod, the kind that said Tahlia had merely spoken the truth aloud. Zane gave a sideways smile, all sharp lines and quiet danger.
Heat crawled up my neck. “Tahlia, this is Zane and Finn. My Devotion.”
Finn’s expression softened, easygoing and welcoming. Zane extended an acknowledging tilt of his chin.
Tahlia’s eyes widened in delighted disbelief. “They’ve been here the whole time? You’ve been hiding them from me.”
“I have not—”
A voice erupted from the next room. “Oh, flower! Don’t I get to meet her too?”
Tahlia jumped. “Who was that?”
I closed my eyes. Not now.
Another shout followed. “I brushed my teeth for this!”
“You did not,” I called back.
“Well, I could’ve if you’d told me she was coming.”
Sighing, I stood and stepped aside so she could see into the adjoining room.
Noir beamed at her with manic delight. “Introduce us! I promise not to stab anyone unless it’s funny.”
Tahlia turned a wide-eyed look my way. “My sister has been living with that?”
“We’re courting,” Noir said with a dreamy sigh.
A blur of black and white fur shot across the floor. Boris barreled after a panicked rat, claws skittering on the floor as the rodent darted under a chair.
A black cat launched itself from the windowsill in pursuit. A burst of frantic thought slammed into my mind.
“Mine mine mine mine. My snack!”
The cat’s paws thudded against the floor as it dove after the rat.
“I saw you first! I CLAIM YOU!”
Butters followed her. “No, mine!”
Noir cackled, delighted.
Boris snarled and lunged after both of them. Nibs squeaked and dove into his pocket. Zane swore at the whirl of chaos.
Tahlia pressed a hand to her chest as the rat, the honey badger, and the felines tore past her feet in a blur of fur.
Finn stepped forward, eyes narrowed. Boris skidded to a halt, the cat froze mid pounce, and the rat darted between Finn’s legs.
I planted my hands on my hips. “Where did the black cat come from?”
“She’s mine,” Noir announced proudly. “She followed me.”
I stared at him. How’d he get a cat in here? He’d never left that chair.
He grinned. “What? I’m a cat dad.”
Sure I’d never get a clear answer from him, I turned away. “Let’s have tea.”
Finn had set the tray on the low table. After pouring the tea, the conversation drifted, with us nibbling at the fruit and cheese amongst stories. Nibs perked up the moment Finn tore off a tiny piece of cheese for him, and accepted it with both paws.
“Good. Good. Good.” The words pulsed faintly in my mind.
“Tell me they have some bananas for me,” Noir called.
Did you get Noir some bananas? I asked Finn.
Yes, but I’m not feeding them to him, he signed back.
Just peel them and put them on a plate. He can eat them like that. He likes to act like a dog anyway.
Finn disappeared and returned a second later. An enthusiastic “Yum, yum,” echoed from the room behind him as Noir enjoyed his bananas.
By the time the last of the tea had cooled, a sharp knock at the door cut through the quiet. I stiffened and stood, but Zane was already moving to answer it.
A servant remained in the entryway. “All candidates must report to the great hall for the Trial of the Nemesis.” Zane closed the door after the messenger bowed and left.
Tahlia rose to leave. “I guess I have to go.” Her shoulders looked lighter, but the tight, lingering hug she gave me told a different story. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“You can come with us if you’d like,” Zane suggested.
“I couldn’t bear it if…” She shook her head, not finishing her sentence.
Before she left, she caught me for one last hug. She held me with desperate strength, as if I would disappear the moment she let me go. Her fingers brushed mine as she stepped back. “Good luck,” she murmured.
She paused in the doorway, studying my face as if committing it to memory, then gave a small, resolute nod and slipped out.
I found myself unexpectedly looking forward to her next visit. I’d never had a sister, and the warmth she offered felt dangerously easy to accept.
The door closed with a soft thud, and my chest tightened.
I rubbed at my sternum, trying to ease the deep ache of guilt.
The truth would be revealed in a week. She’d know I was a slayer wearing a dead girl’s skin, not someone she could reach for.
I should’ve been calculating the quickest way to stake her before my deceit was revealed.
I had other problems to deal with first. My stomach turned as my thoughts shifted to the missing stake and the trial ahead. What if I’m caught?
The questions pulsed behind my eyes, rhythmic and relentless. What if Noir was a poor choice?
My breath grew shallow, the walls of the room seemingly inching closer.
Noir’s voice floated over, singsong and delighted. “Aww. Family drama. My favorite.”
Zane shot a glare at him. “Shut up.”
Finn moved closer, his presence warm and steady, and bumped his shoulder lightly against mine, offering comfort without a word.
“I know what I’m doing.” My throat felt tight, and I swallowed it down before anyone noticed. “We’re doing the right thing.”
“Of course you are. Killing solves everything,” said Noir.
Zane’s fist slammed into the table. “Stop talking, Noir. Before I make you.” His voice deepened as shadows unfurled around him.
Finn nudged the fruit plate toward me, gentle and grounding.
I shook my head. “Time to get ready.” And face the Flask of Dominion’s judgment for the third time.