Chapter 11
NATE
Istand outside Valeria’s quarters, still covered in blood.
It has dried in splattered patches over my coat and my hands are stained up to the wrists from where I plunged them into ribcages and extracted hearts.
I did not clean up at the inn because I didn’t want to erase the remnants of my crimes before Valeria could see them. I need her to be reminded of the soldier she believes she has in her service and know that I will do whatever I have to when the moment is called for.
In truth, she does not know the depths of depravity I am capable of.
And neither does Sera.
In the early hours of this morning, the barrier I had built against the world crumbled. I took Sera in my arms and sought oblivion between her thighs and in her veins. I let her see the pain that haunts me and allowed myself to think that lying together might heal a part of it.
It did not.
Nothing will heal the pain I feel at what I did to my family. But destroying the Court will come close.
All that our night together has done is create a tenderness between us that there is no place for. It has made the bond between us intensify beyond all recognition, throbbing so relentlessly that the pain at leaving her in the house to go to the Crescent is almost blinding.
Valeria may know of the bond, but I cannot let her see just how much Sera affects me. Especially now that I am more tied to her than ever.
Her quarters are the opposite of the ones she keeps at Nighthaven. There is none of her old-fashioned style, but the smart, modern house on the Royal Crescent is lined with every whimsy, relic, artefact and antiquity that looks to have been collected from across the globe. They won’t be hers. She is a classic magpie and some human lord or lady will have been eliminated for her to make her nest with their bones.
I hate that I have to come here, but regardless of the attack, she will be waiting to see me — to welcome me to Bath and tell me what she expects of me for the duration of our visit.
I push the door open and step inside her study, my boots leaving a trail of muddy prints along the pristine floor.
She knew I was coming — sitting in one of her throne-like chairs by the blackened window.
She takes in my disheveled appearance and smirks. “My soldier fought through the night and survived. Bravo.”
I clench my jaw, saying nothing. She loves this — the power, the control. The mind games.
“Sit,” she commands, gesturing to a chair opposite her.
I comply, my movements stiff. Every muscle in my body aches from the tension I held in them during the journey, but I keep my face impassive. Valeria watches me closely, enjoying the glimmers of my discomfort.
“You do look terrible,” she says, almost affectionately. “The road to Bath is not ordinarily so treacherous. Will you tell me what happened?”
“A group of hunters ambushed the carriage,” I reply, my voice flat. “They knew our route. They were prepared. Aulus aided them.”
Her smile fades. “You did well to survive them if they had a vampire on their side. I trust you dealt with him?”
“Aulus fled before I could make him pay for his betrayal.”
“Oh, how disappointing.” Valeria leans back in her chair, tapping a finger on the armrest. “I’ll ensure he doesn’t see another sunset. You have my word.”
I respond with a curt nod.
Valeria doesn’t take her eyes off me. “You are tense, Nathaniel. Tell me you don’t think I had something to do with the threat you faced?”
“I think you might know who did,” I counter, holding her gaze. “It was well-coordinated. Someone knew our exact route and timing.”
“If I knew of such a plot, I would have put a stop to it. You are my family.”
“And your soldier.”
“Well, quite.” She smiles and strums her fingers once more. “I will have the matter investigated. It does not reflect well on the family that someone has already tried to kill you when the Season has barely begun.”
I stare at her, my jaw clenching. I will not thank her for it when she makes promises she has no intention of keeping. She is always the politician, even with family whose loyalty she depends on.
“The other noble families will all arrive within the next few days. There are some that will be looking to cause trouble — to use the events at Nighthaven as a sign we are weak and can be overthrown. That cannot happen.”
“What would you have me do?”
She smiles and I feel the change of her expression like needles under my skin. “I need you to get to know your future bride.”
“Future bride?” My brow creases. “You said at Nighthaven that I would not marry Miss Vossler — that the Tournament would ensure a different match.”
“Exactly. But the Vosslers don’t know that. As far as they are concerned, the match will stick no matter the outcome of the Tournament. And you are going to use that to our advantage.”
“How?”
“Make her fall for you. Miss Vossler needs to be doe-eyed. Besotted. So enamoured that she is willing to spill all her nasty little family’s darkest secrets.” Valeria’s smile broadens. “And then you will report every one of them to me.”
I lean back in the chair. The idea of deceiving Caroline Vossler turns my stomach. Not because I am above such things, but because I am terrible at it. And Sera will know exactly what I am doing.
“I am not known for my charm. Rafe would be the better candidate.”
“Raphael did not kill his own cousin and need my help to avoid execution. And besides, from what I know of Miss Vossler, she is more likely to find your sour expressions and surly demeanour appealing over your brother’s bravado.” Valeria tosses her head back like one of the horses that pulled the carriage, shaking their mane in the rain. “You will meet Miss Vossler at the opening ball for the Tournament and you will make a good impression.”
I nod gravely. “I will do my best to not send her running for the hills.”
“You will succeed, Nathaniel. Your very future depends on it. And that of Miss Sterling.”
A knot coils tighter in my stomach at the mention of Sera. I can hardly bear to see her breathe the same air as Wentworth for the feelings he harbours for her. If Miss Vossler grows fond of me, how will Sera react watching me pursue her? Even though she will know it is nothing more than a ploy, the bond will make things difficult. Will it even allow me to be remotely convincing?
“Understood.”
Valeria’s smile is slow and satisfied. “Good. Now leave before the sun rises. I would hate you to burn to a crisp before the Tournament has even begun.”
The tether pulls at my brain the moment I leave Valeria, compelling me to return to Sera — to end the discomfort and seek oblivion in her veins. But I know I have to speak to Rafe and Juliette — to decipher what happened on the road and understand how Sera and I came so close to not surviving it. Valeria might say she will take action, but I do not trust it. Particularly if Charlotte had any part in it.
I cross from the Royal Crescent and head towards the centre of the city, following the connection between Rafe, Juliette, and me that gives a clue as to their location.
I follow the connection like a dog tracking a scent until it leads me to the Pump Room. Juliette has always been a private vampire and somewhere as popular as this establishment — one where vampires and the ton gather for gossip — is not her typical scene. But perhaps she needs the rejuvenation from the waters as much as I do.
“Brother!” Rafe spots me immediately, calling me over. He and Juliette stand next to the fountain in the centre of the room, its waters cascading from ornate spouts into a broad basin.
It is unusual to be somewhere vampire owned and for the stench of blood to not hang thickly in the air. But on account of the humans that flock here in the winter, this is a no-spill territory. It would get too messy. Instead, the air is heavy with the mineral scent of the springs and the sweet smoke of the candles that flicker in the alcoves.
“Here.” Rafe selects a glass and holds it under one of the spouts. “Ordinarily, I would recommend something stronger for the evening you’ve had, but our sister insisted.”
Juliette offers me a curt nod, watching as I drain the water.
For humans, the spring water that runs under the city does nothing, but for vampires, the effects are strong. During our Season, the Pump Room is often filled with vampires who have been caught in pockets of daylight and feel the burn in their bones. In the Tournament’s aftermath, it will be heaving.
Thanks to Sera’s blood and the bond between us, I have not fared so badly from the hunter’s attempt on my life, but I take the glass and drain it all the same whilst my siblings watch.
“It is good to see you in one piece,” Juliette says. “You had no further trouble on the road, nor at your stop to wait out the daylight?”
“No. None.”
Rafe watches me closely. “I cannot wrap my head around the poison. Just when we thought we understood their methods with their flying stakes, they turn to something like this.”
“Oh, there were stakes too.” My fangs itch at the memory of them raining down on me alongside the storm itself. “But they were useless. I suppose that is what they have realised. It is hard to stake a vampire in such an attack.”
“They have had twenty years to learn the way of poison masters,” Juliette says. “It was clever of them to ingest it. If they found a blend that only affects vampires — that is lethal in small quantities whilst they might survive long enough to ensure you drink it — then the landscape has shifted.” She pauses and in the soft glow of the sconces and torches, I see a weariness wash over her expression. “I imagine they would not have expected you to survive it. By rights, you shouldn’t. Yet, somehow, you killed them all and left with their secrets in your pocket.”
“How did you survive it, Nate? With your senses weakened, you should not have made it out alive,” Rafe says.
“I was able to feed from Sera. Her blood was strong enough to counter the effects.”
Juliette and Rafe exchange looks.
“Jesus Christ.” Rafe slams his glass down. “Juliette was right. No wonder you’ve never wanted to share her, brother.”
Juliette looks at me and nods. She knows. They both do. But she will not say it aloud, not here.
“Does Grandmother know? We suspected as much, but?—”
“Not here, brother,” Juliette hisses.
“She knows,” I mutter.
Rafe scrubs a hand over his face, shaking his head. “I did not want to believe it. That you wouldn’t tell us?—”
“Rafe.” Juliette’s tone is stern. “It is possible that any human blood would have done the trick. We don’t know what experimentations the hunters have done to prepare for such an attack.” She pauses, chewing her lip.
“What is it?” Rafe prompts.
“There is a chance they have a vampire they are testing on. They were successful with Gregor, after all.” Juliette frowns. “He ingested it from a chalice, not through blood. But perhaps they were confident it would work.”
“You believe the same hunters that killed Vossler are behind it?” Rafe asks.
“The method is too similar for it to be different enclaves of hunters. There aren’t so many of them, either. Or so we thought. They have a predilection for suicide missions, so they rarely live long enough to breed masses of children.” Juliette turns and refills her own glass. “No matter who they are, our exile this past twenty years has given all hunters the opportunity to regroup and come up with new methods to exterminate us.”
“You think they’ve been watching?” Rafe asks. “Biding their time?”
“Yes. It’s quite clear, isn’t it? The moment we reappear, they strike.” Juliette sips her water, then looks at me over the rim of her glass. “What did Grandmother say when you told her?”
“She was more concerned with Aulus’s involvement than anything else. She vowed to track him down and get answers from him.”
“And you got no answers from the hunters? Nothing to go on?” Juliette asks.
“My suspicions have fallen on our cousin,” I say.
“I confronted Charlotte when we arrived at the house and we learnt what happened,” Rafe says. “She denied it, of course. But the accusation was enough to see her decamp to our grandmother’s lodgings. She is distancing herself from us now that Benjamin and Ambrose are gone.”
“What is your take, Juliette?” I ask. “You know the landscape of politics at court better than us. What has Grandmother told you? Has any progress been made with finding those that killed Gregor?”
She frowns. Ordinarily, we don’t talk so candidly as we have tonight. Juliette walks a fine line between being loyal to us as her siblings, but weighed down with her responsibilities and secrets from the Court and Valeria.
But since Sera and I were called to my grandmother’s quarters at Nighthaven, there has been a shift. Juliette was next in Valeria’s chambers that night and when she emerged on the driveway, ready to make the journey to Bath, there was something different about her. A defence has crumbled and others have been built in their wake. And I can’t shake the feeling that she is… sad about something. Usually, she is cool and in control; stoic and reliable to the last. But her aura has changed. Whatever is on her mind is troubling her deeply. That much is plain.
And the fact she has shared some of her burden with Rafe is unheard of.
Perhaps the cross she carries is finally getting too much to bear.
“There has been nothing to report,” she mumbles.
“But surely now Nate has been attacked they will investigate properly,” Rafe blusters, his cheeks colouring. “They might not care about the Vosslers, but our House has been directly attacked. The Court won’t let that stand.”
“It puts our House’s position as a serving family of the Court at threat,” Juliette says. “Valeria will be more adamant than ever that we succeed in the Tournament. By any means necessary.”
“Why would the attack be to our detriment? Nate killed them all. He survived ingesting poison where Gregor died slowly and painfully. That has got to stand us in good stead for the trials ahead — to have someone as strong as Nate in our House.”
Juliette shakes her head. “It is a little more complicated than that.”
“What then?” Rafe frowns.
“You’re concerned someone is behind it all,” I say, reading Juliette’s face. “Someone who didn’t want me to reach Bath and who wanted the pledging at Nighthaven to be a failure.”
She chews her lip, but says nothing.
“It makes little sense for that to be Charlotte,” Rafe says. “Juliette’s right. She might hate you for killing Ambrose, but she didn’t want our entire House to fall into disrepute.”
“She isn’t from our House,” I remind him. “We might share a matriarch, but the Beaumont line is different to the Blackwood.”
“Charlotte is the last Beaumont this side of the Channel,” Rafe says. “And we share a bloodline. She either joins us or goes to find some distant relatives on the continent. And our cousin is as irritating as they come, but she’s also lazy and impatient.”
“Exactly,” Juliette mutters. “The idea of delayed gratification is not in Charlotte’s vocabulary.” She looks at me. “If Charlotte wanted you gone, she would have staked you at Nighthaven.”
“Then what?” The frustration boils over in my chest. “There are gutterfangs being slaughtered in London and now they are coming for us, too. If the Court won’t act, then we are all as good as dead.”
“Jules, you’ve got to find out what’s going on.” Rafe throws her a half-irritated look. “I know you’re next in line and that makes things complicated, but if the Court are harbouring secrets that threaten our family, then we need to know about them. We have to act.”
Juliette’s shoulders slump just a fraction before she straightens up to her full height. “There is a chance we have a target on our backs. We were the only House to take pledges whilst the other noble families suffered.” She pauses.
“But?”
“If it is true, then we can trust no one.”
Rafe grunts. “That just sounds like an ordinary Season at Court, Jules.”
She shakes her head. “Not this time.”