Chapter 15
The weight of the prince’s stare almost makes me squirm in my chair. He watches me like a predator ready to attack at any moment. I avert my gaze, keeping my attention out the window as I try to block out the images of the purebloods he murdered. Beautiful as he is, he’s still a monster.
A gasp falls from my lips as my eyes take in the glittering lights that come into focus.
Instinctively, I shift forward, my gaze fixed on the silhouette as we draw closer.
From my place in the carriage, I can just about make out the outline of the palace.
There must be at least a hundred lights covering it, making it stand out against the dark backdrop of the night.
The high stone walls tower above us, reducing us to tiny, insignificant dots, while the slopes and peaks of its roof fade into the starlit sky. I hate to admit it, but it’s beautiful.
“It existed long before the war.”
The prince’s voice makes me jump, the rough sound of it filling the tiny space between us. I hate that I want to know more.
“Who built it?”
I can’t take my eyes off it. I thought the bloodhouse was big, but this is something else. Something magical. I cannot imagine what lies within its walls.
“You wouldn’t believe me,” he says.
I turn to face him and find his dark gaze on me. He’s goading me, but I’m not about to take the bait. I shrug.
“Probably not.”
I spend the rest of the journey shamelessly gawking out the window as he watches me. His gaze is a constant presence, sending prickles up my neck. As we draw closer to the palace, its details become clearer, the starlight casting a gentle, icy glow over its walls.
The prince makes haste to exit the carriage and leaves the door open for me to follow. I climb out cautiously and am surprised when there is no one there to greet us. As soon as we are on the grounds, the female and the carriage disappear back into the night.
I tilt my head back, my eyes sweeping up the length of the building. It’s tall. Too tall. If I kill the prince tonight, as I plan to, then I need to be able to get out. I only hope I won’t be too high up when that occurs.
“No servants to greet you?”
He ignores my quip and moves in silence toward the alcove entrance of the palace, and reluctantly, I follow behind him. It’s so quiet that I find myself peering into every shadow, wondering if something might jump out and attack me. I move faster until I’m at the prince’s side.
When we reach the large, curved doors, I notice two figures pulling them open. Their shadowy silhouettes are the same as those that killed the purebloods at the bloodhouse, and instinctively, I freeze.
“They only kill on my command.”
My eyes lift to the prince’s.
“Oh, really? I feel so much safer now.”
He shrugs.
“Don’t do anything foolish and you’ll be fine.”
He takes long strides up the stairs, passing through the threshold into a large foyer with ceilings that stretch so high I have to lean back just to see them. It’s every bit the dark castle that I imagined it to be, with shadowy passages that lead to only the gods’ knows where.
“How many of them are there?” I ask casually while I examine the gray stone walls that line the foyer, along with the intricate patterning that seems to weave itself throughout the entire space.
I hate to admit it, but it’s breathtaking.
I’ve never seen a design as grand as this.
The bloodhouse was pretty to look at, but this is out of this realm.
“Many,” he says, clearly reluctant to divulge any further information.
The presence of a female catches my attention as she weaves her way down the entwined staircase all the way to where we’re standing.
Like all born vampires, she’s beautiful to look at.
Her wavy brown hair falls just past her ears, bouncing lightly as she moves toward us.
I’m surprised to find her dark eyes bright with wonder as her mouth curves up into a smile.
“Karius! You’re back!” She beams, running up to him and jumping into his arms. He rolls his eyes, but it doesn’t stop his arms from curling round her. I’m not sure why, but the exchange makes me slightly uncomfortable. I watch in silence, feeling like I’m intruding on a moment I shouldn’t be.
Suddenly remembering my presence, she pushes away from him and turns to face me, her smile bright.
“And you brought back a friend.”
Both of us scoff.
“She’s a human,” he says as if that is answer enough for why we could never be friends. For once, I agree. A vampire will never be more than a monster I get to kill.
Ignoring him completely, she holds out her hand to me.
“I’m Piper.”
I stare at her hand, and Karius snickers from behind her. She pulls away awkwardly, throwing a disapproving look over her shoulder.
“I’m Karius’s cousin,” she tells me.
“I’m the only living pureblood he left alive after slaughtering an entire room full and then taking me prisoner.”
Her eyes widen before she turns toward him.
“Tell me that’s not true?” She seems genuinely concerned, but I know I must be imagining it, as I’ve never met a single vampire who gave a damn about a human’s life.
“I’ll explain later.”
I roll my eyes. As if explaining changes what you did.
“Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I have some business to attend to, but I haven’t quite finished my introductions with the human,” he says as his eyes sweep down the length of me.
I scowl back at him, but he doesn’t even pay me any attention.
“Get her settled into one of the rooms in the east wing and then have her ready for dinner in two hours.”
Without waiting for her answer, he spins to leave. Rude.
She turns to face me and bites her bottom lip. I’ve never met such a nervous-looking vampire. What is wrong with her?
I don’t know, but I imagine she will be easy to kill.
Likely.
“Ok. Let’s go. Do you have any preference for your room?” she asks.
“You mean my cell?” I deadpan.
“No, of course not.”
She looks at me, but I say nothing, which clearly unsettles her.
She turns and begins up the stairs, and I follow quietly, my eyes tracing the intricate carvings on the walls.
They are floral style patterns that look to have been hand-carved by the finest of artists.
My stomach twists at what it must have been like to be allowed to express such talent freely.
After the war, humans were no longer allowed to do things simply for pleasure.
To remain alive, we must serve a purpose.
And a human’s options for work are limited.
Being born with potent blood of any kind makes you a pureblood, bred to feed the vampires of the court, but to be born without any potency brands you a laborer, your life dedicated to manual labor that serves the court and its vampires.
And having too much potency means that you are forced to give birth to more purebloods like my mother and father.
There is no freedom in this world for my kind.
The palace is a labyrinth of stone hallways and sconces filled with starlight.
I wonder how much shadow our prince trades in order to get this amount from the Court of Starlight.
The human areas have very little access to starlight, but the vampires seem to have it in abundance.
I take a pause when we finally stop in front of a door and pull my bag up my shoulder, the ache of it biting into my skin.
Piper swings the door open, and I suppress a gasp.
A large room decorated in dark grays and reds comes into focus.
A huge bed, far too big for one person, dominates the center of the room, while a massive arched window stretches across the far wall.
It’s far more beautiful than anything I’ve ever experienced.
I think of my small room back at the bloodhouse and know that it could easily fit in here at least four times.
I move forward, surprised to find carpeted floor beneath my shoes, the dark tufts shifting as I walk.
My eyes are drawn to the window. I’m at least three floors up, which doesn’t bode well for my plan, but the view is exquisite, giving way to rolling hills and trees that seem to stretch on for miles.
“You like it?” Piper’s voice is soft and gentle, and despite myself, an odd guilt settles at the thought of being rude again.
“It’s nice,” I offer, and she smiles. Why does my approval seem so important to her? Perhaps it’s just a game she is playing to lure me into a false sense of safety before the prince takes his kill. I turn to face her fully.
She bites her lip again, something she seems to do a lot. She moves over to a door, across from the bed, and opens it wide.
“You’ll find a large collection of dresses and other clothes in here, though you are more than welcome to wear your own.
” She pauses when she sees the small satchel I’m carrying, realizing that I didn’t bring any clothes with me.
Lissian made sure of that. “But of course, everything in here belongs to you now, and we can have anything you need made or altered. The palace has the best seamstress in the seven courts.”
I look past her to where several dresses hang in the large space. It’s a walk-in closet, though it’s the size of another room. Tori would have loved it here. It was her dream to live somewhere like this. My eyes burn at the thought of her, and I look away.
“I’m sorry if I said something to upset yo—”
“You didn’t,” I snap. “If that’s all, I wish to be alone so I can ready myself for dinner.”
She hesitates as though she’s planning to say something, but then thinks better of it and just nods instead.
“I will send a servant to collect you for dinner.”
As soon as the door shuts, I sprint across the room toward the window.
And you say I’m cold.
She’s a vampire.
He hums in agreement.
Yet you seemed far crueler than she.