Chapter 7 #2
Lord Damien didn’t even blink as he said, “There was a great war between the Vampyrs and the Mages. Humans seem to have forgotten about it, for it was before even you were called out of the magic.” Thalia refused to dwell on that information.
“Eventually, peace was forged. The Houses rose to ensure protection for Vaccarium and protection for the Vampyrs against the Mages.”
“Where are the Mages now?”
Lord Damien flashed a guarded look. “The Mages are of no concern to you.” His robe billowed as they moved deeper into the castle.
“What about the prince?” Thalia said when they stopped before closed oak doors.
Lord Damien slid his ruby eyes to her. “What of him?”
“What is my new husband like?”
“You didn’t seem inclined to find out much about him once your mother sealed your fate.”
Thalia picked at the nails around her thumbs. “I was … resigning myself to that fact. But political alliances are as old as this world. I have accepted the fact that this treaty is something that will help both our peoples.”
“Indeed.” Lord Damien paused. “The prince is often away from court.”
Interesting. Her mother never left court. What sort of troubles could plague the Vampyr world that would cause even their prince to disappear?
Thalia kept picking at her nails, the skin pulling, pulling, pulling—
She hissed as she picked too deep, a ruby droplet welling.
Thalia froze, slowly lifting her gaze to Lord Damien, his attention straight on the blood on her finger.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He glanced at her, his face carefully blank—unresponsive. She waited for him to transform, to lunge at her, but he did nothing. “If you think a small droplet of blood is enough to tempt me into ripping out your throat, then you know very little about the self-control we have to master.”
Thalia swallowed as the Vampyr inclined his head. “Your bedchambers. You shall remain here until someone summons you in the morning. The courts are eager to meet their new princess.”
Thalia glanced at the closed doors, then back at the Vampyr. “Are there to be guards?” None had been lining the halls, something that immediately put her on edge. In Agripa she couldn’t go two feet without a patrol walking by, ensuring all was well.
Lord Damien cocked his head. “You shall have Cassius.”
Thalia stiffened as Cassius seemed to step out of the shadows, his face hard.
Where he’d appeared from, she had no idea, but his preternatural silence was unnerving.
“He’s fulfilled his duty, hasn’t he? I am here, am I not? Delivered unscathed? Surely I don’t need a proxy anymore.”
“Until you’re presented before His Highness and a true ceremony takes place, you’re still bound as law. Cassius will remain with you and ensure no harm befalls you in the meantime.”
“What sort of harm?”
Lord Damien didn’t answer. “Rest well, Princess.”
Then he seemed to glide down the hall, not glancing back.
Thalia looked to the closed doors again, then to Cassius, who stood in the dark hallway, arms crossed over his chest. “Well?” he said, nodding to the door.
Thalia gritted her teeth, the dagger and stake strapped to her thigh her only comfort. But the sooner she went to bed, the sooner she could wake up and meet the prince, which meant the sooner she could be unbound to the traitor constantly at her back.
And the sooner she could kill him—kill all of them. Time was not her ally, and that thought alone had her shoving open the door, only to stop short as she took in the bedroom.
The damask-covered walls were black, although a touch lighter to reveal the designs in the paper.
In fact, everything was decorated in shades of either black or crimson.
The room opened to a sitting area with settees and a table set before a roaring fire.
To her right was a large bed with crimson drapes swept aside to reveal silk sheets.
On her left was an open door that Thalia assumed was the bathing chamber, based on the short glimpse she’d caught of a luxurious tub.
The only problem? Cassius was still in the room with her.
“Get out.” She whirled to him as he closed the door.
“Can’t do that, Princess. We’re bound until His Highness appears.”
“Then sleep outside.”
“And what if something goes bump in the night?” He turned to her, a smirk riding his sensual lips.
“The only bump will be your head when I sever it from your body. Get. Out.”
Cassius ignored her, aiming for the bathing chamber. “It’s not as though we’ve never shared a room before.”
Thalia’s teeth ground together. “That was different.”
“Right, as you like to keep reminding me.”
“What is your game?” she hissed, trailing after him.
The bathing chamber was bedecked in the same colors as the rest of the room. A large black tub took up most of the back wall, big enough to fit at least four.
Then she watched in horror as Cassius slung his tunic over his head.
What the fuck—
He ignored her as he let his dirty clothes fall to the cold marble floor. A surge of satisfaction went through Thalia at the sight of the jagged scar right between his shoulder blades—from where her knife had stabbed him in the back.
“You’re staring,” he drawled, and Thalia jerked her gaze to his.
“Does it hurt?” she crooned.
Cassius met her smug stare in the mirror. “Hardly.”
“Shame. I should have severed your spine.”
“A hairsbreadth to the left and you would have.”
“A true shame, then.”
“Indeed.”
They stared at each other, and Thalia refused to study him closer. To see what other scars marked his torso, new or old.
“I’m going to bed,” she finally got out.
“Fine.”
“If you so much as come near me, I’ll put my dagger through your skull.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, then.” Cassius started unbuckling his pants.
Thalia stormed back into the bedroom before his trousers hit the floor.
She didn’t bother to change as she pulled the curtains of the bed closed and tried to shut out the world.