Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Camilla led her down the shining staircase and toward the right wing of the palace, which was void of Vampyrs.
Thalia’s footsteps echoed, and the back of her neck prickled, urging her to turn around, although she knew no one followed her. Camilla, her curls bouncing with each step, occasionally glanced back to hiss at Thalia to keep up.
And like the good princess she’d decided to be, Thalia did as she was told.
Because Thalia wouldn’t be able to take them all down if she continued to act a fool. She’d been born a princess, been raised as such, despite some of the more dangerous escapades her mother had let her indulge in of late. If the Vampyr courts insisted on appearance, so be it.
Thalia kept her back straight as they came to a set of double doors, the black wood smooth like glass. At least here there were two guards posted.
Camilla didn’t give a warning as she pushed past them and into an expansive throne room.
Sweat gathered along Thalia’s palms as the entire room turned its attention on her.
The throne room was surprisingly well decorated.
A long red carpet ran the length of the room, ending on an empty throne made entirely of obsidian.
A floral applique of silver and black covered the walls, and a huge shimmering chandelier hung in the middle of the room, its crystals winking in and out like dying stars.
Spread around the room were representatives of the five Vampyr Houses, made known by their standard bearer holding their House emblem. Thalia met the Vampyrs’ stares, their eyes varying from red to gold to green and the occasional brown. Then blue eyes caught her attention near the empty throne.
Cassius looked her over.
Even from afar, she felt the weight of his stare.
He’d cleaned up, perhaps to also make an appearance.
He wore a cutting doublet of black and silver that molded to his body.
He’d even managed to tame his hair, which was brushed and half pulled away from his face, accentuating the sharpness of his jawline.
He stood under a banner, no doubt House Lorenzia’s, which bore the symbol of a raven with three eyes; the same image was embroidered in identical silver thread on Cassius’s tunic. Next to him were Lord Damien and Keegan.
The raven on the banner seemed to watch her as she stepped farther into the room.
“Well, aren’t you all looking good enough to bite,” Camilla drawled as she made her way to the front of the throne room, toward the seat of House Lorenzia. “You may all bow to your new princess.” She gestured behind her to where Thalia still hadn’t moved from her spot not far from the threshold.
The Vampyrs studied her like she was a field mouse set before a barn cat. If she bolted, they’d all pounce, shredding her into bloody ribbons. Where the hell is the prince?
Thalia forced a trained smile, inclining her own head. “So you’re the courts I’ve heard so much about.” Cassius smirked as she moved toward the front of the room, feeling the weighted stares of the Vampyrs between her shoulder blades. “And where is His Royal Highness?”
Cassius stepped forward, and she automatically stiffened. “His Highness was called away late this afternoon and unfortunately will not return for a fortnight.”
A few murmurings ensued from the courts, but Thalia faltered, her eyes whipping to Cassius’s. A fortnight? That meant she’d be bound to him for another two weeks—
She glanced down at the ring on her finger. The ruby seemed to darken, almost like it was drawing in the shadows of the room.
“Princess, it seems that our realm is already suiting you.” Thalia resisted the urge to shudder as Lord Damien stepped forward. He bowed low. Far lower than she’d anticipated. “On behalf of House Lorenzia, we welcome you to Irenbis.”
Thalia inclined her head as Lord Damien stepped back.
She’d caught sight of a few other pale-blond Vampyrs with red eyes standing under a black banner, onto which a ram’s head with four twisting horns had been stitched in red.
Most likely House Avanerius, his old House.
She wondered if any of them knew she’d killed their lord.
She pushed aside the sudden fear rising in her gut.
Camilla found her a chair, setting it to the left of the throne. Thalia sank into it, graceful as any of them.
“The Queen of Agripa would like to extend her appreciation of the ore that is being provided to our world,” Thalia began, careful of her words. “In turn, I hope that this union between our two peoples will strengthen your realm as well.”
The Vampyrs all studied her a beat longer before one of them stepped forward.
His dark skin and golden eyes matched Keegan’s, although he stood below a banner bearing the royal-blue image of an ampithere.
“Princess, Lord Amadeus of House Santorien. Forgive my boldness, but without our prince present, how do we know that you humans have held up your end of the treaty?”
She straightened even further, looking him in the eyes. “My mother’s word is her bond. Before we left, the water from our rivers had already been diverted to feed your forest. The prince’s … hand”—she nearly choked over the word, and Cassius stiffened—“can attest to that information himself.”
“That’s it?” the Vampyr scoffed. “What of the issue in our forest?”
Thalia’s interest rose at that. “What issue?”
Cassius seemed to be resisting the urge to fly down the steps to silence the golden-eyed Vampyr, but he remained at her side.
“Perhaps this conversation should wait until the House meeting.” Lord Damien swept in.
Lord Amadeus’s face twisted. “This issue grows more pressing by the day. Waiting while this madness grows would be unwise.”
Thalia’s mind whirled. What other issue could there be?
Agripa had already unblocked the rivers; the waters surely would have reached the Vampyrs’ sacred springs by now.
She racked her mind, trying to remember anything she might have heard back in Corithian.
Were they facing famine? That didn’t make sense; their lands had appeared fertile as she passed through them. Perhaps something with trade—
“I agree with Lord Amadeus.” Another Vampyr stepped forward.
His black hair fell nearly to his waist, and his eyes matched the banner he stood before, this one embroidered in forest green with the symbol of an eight-legged stag.
“This issue is near reaching a breaking point. If the prince were to see for himself—”
“The prince is not here, though, Lord Adrian.” Cassius suddenly spoke from Thalia’s side, his nearness so acute she almost jumped in her seat. “He is attending to matters up north, which is why I’ve been seeing to that issue.”
Lord Adrian sneered, and Thalia caught the eye of another Vampyr standing under the same banner, one with green eyes similar to those of the apparent lord. In fact, she recognized him from traveling in their entourage.
“It seems rather convenient that the prince was called away, and to the north, of all places. Just as his bride was to be presented to him,” Lord Adrian said, sharp fangs poking out behind thin lips. “Perhaps he’s trying to find a different solution. One that doesn’t require … humans.”
The lord’s stare landed right on hers.
Sweat slid down the back of her spine, working its way under her too-tight corset. She clenched her fingers in her lap, only so she wouldn’t pick at her skin, drawing blood.
Cassius stepped in front of her. “Bold of you to threaten the princess in her own home, Lord Adrian.”
Lord Adrian’s lip curled. “This is not her home.”
A dissonance of murmurs echoed. If she were in her mother’s court, he would have been hauled away for treason. But this wasn’t her mother’s court, and she was far from the castle she had once called home.
Tension stretched around the room, each strand a web waiting to spring.
Lord Adrian stared at her. Some sort of humming filled the back of her mind as though a mosquito buzzed in her ear. The Vampyr’s face began to ripple, his flesh starting to sink into his skull—
“You’re right,” Thalia blurted out. Collective surprise swept through the crowd as she stood. “This isn’t my home.”
Cassius turned to her, his own surprise quickly replaced by annoyance. He flashed her a warning look, but she ignored him. Thalia took a step away from the throne.
“But this treaty was made in the hope that both our homes could thrive,” she said. Thalia’s ring caught the light, and Lord Adrian’s eyes narrowed on the ruby, his lips pulling into a sneer. “It was made to stop this ceaseless bloodshed between our two realms.”
“And what do you know of bloodshed?” Lord Adrian said lowly.
Thalia resisted the urge to look at House Avanerius, to the banner that had no lord. The image of a staked Vampyr flashed before her eyes. “I know enough.”
“She used to kill us.” The Vampyr whose eyes matched Lord Adrian’s stepped forward, his face hardened in contempt. “I heard it from Lord Damien himself.”
Thalia glanced over her shoulder at the red-eyed Vampyr. But he remained motionless, unwavering.
“Is this true?” a Vampyr asked from beneath a banner featuring a grinning orange fox with multiple teeth.
“I—” Thalia faltered. Every Vampyr seemed to still. A sort of preternatural quiet descended that had everything in her screaming to run.
“Does it appear that she could do any harm?” Cassius stepped in front of her, and despite the apparent danger in the room, Thalia bristled. “She’s a human.”
“Indeed,” Lord Damien said from behind her, and Thalia’s fingers clenched. “The likelihood of this woman taking down any of our brethren is abysmal at best.”
Thalia whirled on her heel, heart pounding. Lord Damien stared at her, and if she hadn’t been so locked in on him, she would have missed the barely noticeable dip of his chin. For whatever reason, he was protecting her.
Both Lord Damien and Cassius were.