Chapter 7
Scrubbing the bloodhouse floors was not what I had on my to-do list today, but respite days mean no feedings, not no work.
There is always work for humans. I think the vamps believe that if we’re always busy, then we can’t plan another war.
Thankfully, it was someone else’s job to stack the tables and chairs to the side of the room to make it easier to clean.
If I had to do that too, then I’d be on my back by now.
You missed a spot, Athriel says in an annoyingly relaxed voice.
I wish you had a body just so I could kill you.
His laughter fills my head as the incessant squeaking sound of the cloth against the marble floor plays an annoying tune in the silent room.
It’s not my fault you decided to fight a den of vampires last night.
I didn’t exactly have a choice.
Oh, but you did. I have told you many times that you are far too impulsive, young one. You need to work on your patience.
Says the one who decides within seconds whether or not someone deserves to die.
That is called being proactive.
I roll my eyes and sit back on my heels, letting the cloth slip from my hand.
One glance at the room has my stomach sinking; I’ve barely touched the surface.
An audible groan escapes me. Amabel is being so pedantic about us keeping this place spotless lately.
I don’t know what the hell her problem is.
Why do you think Julian could hear you?
I was wondering when you would ask. I heard you thinking about it all night.
Do we need to have another talk about boundaries?
He simply laughs.
To answer your question, I’m not entirely sure. I could sense magic within him. Something ancient. It felt oddly familiar, like I had been around it before, yet it was different. Unusual. Either way, we need to know how he can hear me.
Agreed.
I stretch my arm across my chest, trying to ease out the tension.
My entire body aches from last night, but I can hardly show it.
If Amabel even got a whiff that I was there last night, I would be severely punished.
Tori has already spent half the morning in her office answering questions as to why she is the only survivor of a massacre.
I just hope she gets her story straight.
We went over it enough times when we got back last night.
As long as Amabel believes that she got scared at the last minute and came back into her room and spent the night there, then that’s all that matters.
There’s no proof she was ever there, since we ensured the guards saw her before curfew.
It should be fine—after all, there weren’t any witnesses left behind.
And besides, Willow got the venom she needed—after another impromptu trip to Finn—so it was worth it.
The web of veins has disappeared for now, but I fear that it won’t be long before they return.
The sudden bang against the double doors of the hall cuts my thoughts short. I find Tori bent over, gasping for air. I move over to her quickly, placing a hand on her back to calm her.
“What’s the matter?”
She looks up at me, her eyes filled with worry. She clearly ran all the way here.
“It’s the guy from last night…Julian, he’s the head of the Vancova Bloodhouse.”
Her words are like a blow to my gut, twisting my stomach in knots.
“That makes no sense.”
Humans chosen to run a bloodhouse are usually the head’s favorites—why would he risk all that just to kill a few vampires? And why in the seven courts would he want me to kill the crown prince?
“He was just in a meeting with Amabel,” she says, finally standing up straight. “She made me stay for the entire thing; otherwise, I would have come sooner. I would have warned you so that you could…”
Her words trail off, and I don’t know why, but fear grips my stomach like a fist. Something is off about this whole thing.
“Tori, what?”
Her eyes turn glassy as she looks at me.
“He just bought Willow. He’s taking her to the Vancova Bloodhouse.”
“Where is she?”
After Tori told me that Julian had bought Willow, everything was just a blur. I’m not even sure how I ended up in Amabel’s office. Amabel is conveniently nowhere to be found, and Julian is sitting in her office chair with his feet on the table like he owns the fucking place.
I hear Tori scramble in behind me just as I round the desk and slap his feet off it. He laughs as if I’m just some insect that barely even affects him.
“You might want to close the door,” he tells Tori. She does.
I grit my teeth at the smile on his face, and before I can even think about what I’m doing—or the fact that he’s a high-ranking human that could have me executed with one word—my dagger is pressed against his throat.
“And you wonder why I chose you for the job. You’re fearless.” He says the words with a twisted admiration that makes me want to rip out his tongue.
I press the blade deeper into his flesh, but he doesn’t even flinch, not even when a trickle of blood falls onto the crisp white collar of his shirt.
Stop wasting time and kill him.
Julian’s smile widens as he wags a finger at me.
“I wouldn’t listen to him if I were like you.”
“Stay the hell out of my head,” I hiss in his face.
“But it’s so beautifully wide open. If you want me to stay out, then you may need to rethink your accomplice.”
I don’t like him, Athriel spits.
“That is because you and I are just alike, my dear friend.”
Athriel growls, which only adds to Julian’s amusement.
“I don’t care about any of this. I want to know where Willow is?”
“Your sister is safe, and she will remain so unless you do something foolish, of course.”
There’s a challenge in his eyes, yet something in me knows he’s telling the truth. And I saw what he did last night. It takes a couple of seconds before I step back.
“Smart move. Now, sit. Let’s discuss this like adults. Perhaps you will rethink your answer this time.”
He gestures to the seat across from him, but I remain standing.
“The sooner you start to see me as a friend and not a foe, the better it’ll be for both of us.”
I scoff.
“You’re not my friend.”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “An ally then. Either way, I have something you want, and I need you to do a job.”
“You’re crazy if you think I can kill the crown prince.”
He sits back in the chair as if we are simply discussing the weather.
“And why’s that? You’re familiar with how to kill a vampire, are you not? What makes this any different?”
He can’t seriously be this stupid.
“What makes it different is that he is the crown prince. He isn’t just some sired vampire with no magic. I have never even tried to kill a noble vampire before. And I’m certainly not going to attempt to kill one with the kind of violent past he has.”
“All the more reason to put him down, do you not think? No one likes a tyrant sitting on the throne.”
“I’m not killing the prince,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Fine.” He stands, and his eyes darken. “Then I hope you remember the last words you spoke to your sister because you will never see her again.”
Anger courses through me, and I launch my dagger through the air right at his heart. He holds up a hand, and the dagger stops midair, hovering before him. I hear Tori gasp behind me, and I know I’m feeling the same thing she is. This can’t be real. Magic like this doesn’t exist anymore.
When the gods disappeared, the only magic they left behind was that gifted to the seven vampire courts residing in the realm of Soliys.
The old magic that people say some humans used to have disappeared with them.
That’s why so many of my kind hate the gods, thinking they chose the side of the vampires with that one act.
Others continue to worship them, believing the vampires stole their magic and that one day they will return to reclaim it.
Either way, what Julian just did should be impossible.
And yet you know that is not entirely true, given what you can do, Athriel reminds me.
True, but there’s never been anyone else.
Or perhaps they have remained hidden like you.
Julian flicks his wrist, and my focus snaps away from Athriel as the dagger drifts toward him slowly.
When it finally reaches him, it lands gently in the palm of his hand before he wraps his long fingers around it.
He admires the blade and the red stone on the hilt, and I hate that he has in his possession the only thing I have left of my mother.
A forbidden relic Cora gave me in order to keep her promise to an old friend.
Her fierce loyalty to my mother, even now, helps me to imagine the remarkable woman she must have been.
Julian strolls around the table toward me, his eyes never leaving mine. He only stops when he is right in front of me. To my surprise, he hands me the dagger.
“I told you, I am not your enemy.”
“But the prince is?”
He presses his lips into a straight line as though he’s deep in thought.
“Vampires are the enemy, but I do not need to tell you that now, do I?” He raises a brow, but I remain silent. I hate that for the first time, we are in agreement. “Your sister will be safe in my care, and once you have done as I have asked, she will be returned to you.”
“No.”
He laughs at this.
“Your stubbornness is endearing, Adina, but it will only get the people you love killed.” He lowers his lips to my ear and whispers so quietly that only I can hear. “I will keep her affliction a secret and ensure she continues to receive the treatment she requires. You have my word.”
He steps back, his eyes alight with amusement as he takes in my expression.
“You have seven days to get the job done.”
“That’s impossible, there’s no way I can get into the palace in seven days and kill the prince.”
“You will not need to because he is coming here.”
“What was that all about? What did he say to you?” Tori has thrown question after question at me since Julian left, and we arrived at my room. “You can’t seriously be considering what he said?”