Chapter 11
M y heart fluttered as I pressed my ear to my chamber door, every nerve tensed for the slightest whisper of sound. The fire in the hearth burned low. Light from the full moon streamed through the balcony windows.
The fat, silvery orb seemed even bigger on this side of the Feyline. But maybe I was just imagining it—or resenting it. Naturally, my escape fell on a night with a cloudless sky and the biggest moon possible.
But my situation wasn’t all bad. At my hushed request for “dark clothes that let me move easily,” the dragonstone dress had transformed into a tight-fitting black shirt and black leather trousers. Sturdy black boots hugged my calves. If I stuck to the shadows, I’d be difficult to spot.
Not to vampires with enhanced vision , a voice warned in my head.
I swallowed hard, the door warming against my cheek. If Rasimir caught me…
But I couldn’t stay. Remaining in Nocta meant living as a killer.
How many Duncans or mermen could I drain before I lost my soul?
And if I refused, Rasimir would kill me.
His last words to Lorcan and Vander ran through my head.
Tell her who she is. Another mystery—and one I didn’t care to unravel.
Running was my only option, and I had to do it now, before I got tangled up in whatever war Rasimir was fighting.
Lorcan’s voice followed Rasimir’s in my memory. She is a weapon you can’t afford to throw away! At least now I knew why Rasimir wanted me. But Lorcan was wrong. I wasn’t a weapon. Rasimir didn’t need a daywalker. On the other hand, Lorcan had spoken of a plan.
A shuffling noise on the other side of the door froze me in place. My heart racing, I strained for more sound. It came a second later—a low, rumbling snore.
Anticipation joined my fear. Easing the door open, I peered out.
A knight sat on a chair opposite my chamber, a sword across his knees and his chin lowered to his chest. The serpent on his breastplate glittered in the moonlight pouring through the corridor’s windows.
He snorted like a horse, his head bobbing.
Awareness tingled through me. Vampire. Kindred but not kin. But the knight was sleeping. And if I didn’t take advantage of it, I might never get another chance.
Breath locked in my lungs, I winced as I slowly pulled the door shut behind me. The knight’s snores continued. For a moment, I considered slipping the sword from his grip. But it was too risky. For now, I’d have to make do without a weapon.
Still holding my breath, I tiptoed past the guard and headed down the corridor. When I was a dozen steps past my chamber, I glanced back. The guard slept on, his snores echoing off the stone. Releasing my breath at last, I moved faster.
The white orbs atop the candles on the walls shuddered as I passed. Moonlight slanted through arched windows, dust motes drifting in the thick beams. My blood pumped faster with every step. I waited to hear sounds of pursuit or an angry shout.
But the corridors were quiet as I struggled to remember the way to the main part of the castle.
Shadows climbed the walls. Long passageways stretched in every direction.
Paintings of richly dressed men and women seemed to follow my progress.
I paused where two corridors intersected, indecision swamping me. Was it right…or left?
Masculine laughter drifted on the air. Swallowing a gasp, I darted into an alcove that housed a gleaming suit of armor. Ducking behind the steel, I pressed my back to the cool stone, willing myself to become one with the wall.
Footsteps approached, and men’s voices floated toward me.
“—and she fought like a banshee,” one man said, laughter in his words. “Blood tasted like piss. That’s what happens when the guards don’t give them enough water.”
“But you drank it anyway,” the other man said.
They turned the corner, their footsteps louder. Two vampires in court clothes approached. Lacy cravats circled their necks. Gold buttons decorated embroidered coats that descended to their knees.
I pressed my back harder against the wall. My heart tried to pound out of my chest. Don’t see me. Don’t see me.
Change rippled down my clothes, the black leather turning a dark gray.
“Of course I did,” the first man said. “I’m discerning, not an idiot.”
They laughed as they neared the alcove, moonlight glinting on their fangs.
I held my breath as they passed, my palms flat against the stone behind me.
The men’s voices faded as they turned another corner, and I finally dared to exhale.
One of the shimmering orbs bobbed above a candle just outside the alcove.
As I stepped away from the wall, the little ball appeared to brighten.
Wait. Had it dimmed when I ducked behind the suit of armor?
There was no time to figure it out. My heart in my throat, I hurried in the opposite direction the vampires had taken.
The Drakhold’s maze of passageways offered plenty of hiding places but also plenty of opportunities to get turned around and hopelessly lost. But surely down was better than up .
If I descended enough levels, I’d reach the ground floor eventually.
After a couple of dead ends, I found a dimly lit staircase and followed it, my boots soundless on the thick carpet runner.
More candles and bobbing orbs greeted me on the next floor…and the next. Tapestries in muted colors depicted armies clashing in battle. A closer look revealed centaurs and sirens in armor riding against vampires in crimson cloaks. Rasimir’s serpent adorned their chests and shields.
Suppressing a shudder, I kept going.
Sweat dampened my hairline. A few times, the sound of voices sent me racing for the shadows, where I closed my eyes and asked the dragonstone dress to hide me.
My shirt and trousers turned blue against a pair of velvet curtains.
The leather grew coarse and scratchy when I knelt next to a painting of a horse that spanned the entire wall.
Each time, I held my breath and appealed to the gods until the voices passed.
Five floors down, the carpet gave way to the glossy black stone of the Drakhold’s main level. A chill caressed my skin, and the ceilings soared. The stone walls grew damp, and a sharp, metallic scent seared my nose.
Blood.
Tinkling music and the chatter of a crowd drifted from a yawning archway. Through it, a pair of massive double doors were slightly ajar, a narrow slice of light spilling onto the floor. The scent of blood grew thicker.
The great hall. The courtiers from the hunt were feasting. I couldn’t go that way.
With one hand on the wall, I crept down a smaller corridor, my head on a swivel as I searched the shadows for knights or nobles.
The sound of violins followed me, the melody occasionally interrupted by sharp laughter.
A woman’s shriek dissolved into a high-pitched giggle.
Goose bumps rushed down my arms. The scent of blood flooded my lungs, and the memory of Duncan’s body crashing into the hearth exploded in my mind.
My stomach pitched, hunger and disgust fighting a battle in my gut. My gums ached, my fangs threatening to descend even as nausea made my mouth water. Sweat beaded my forehead.
I couldn’t linger. Swallowing my fear, I shoved away from the wall and kept moving, following the curve of the corridor as it led away from the great hall. Cold air washed over me. The sounds of revelry faded, and the scent of damp stone replaced the coppery bite of blood.
My heart thumped faster. I had to be close to the grand foyer where Rasimir first greeted me.
Paintings and tapestries lined the walls.
The orbs fluttered above the candles. Somewhere, a clock ticked away the seconds.
The rhythmic sound made its way into my head, urging me to go faster , faster , faster .
Ahead, the corridor branched in two directions. Slowing, I stayed close to the wall as I reached the split and peered around the corner.
And froze.
The corridor wasn’t a corridor at all. It was a nook of sorts, its wall dominated by a mirror that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.
The frame was as thick as my waist, its scrolling edges decorated with serpents.
Their fangs were bared, and their bodies wove in and out of roses on thorny vines.
But the frame wasn’t what gave me pause. No, it was my reflection. In the mirror, I wore the dragonstone dress as I’d always seen it, the tight-fitting bodice swelling my breasts above the neckline. The black stones scattered down the skirt, their red centers pulsing with my heartbeat.
I looked down at my black boots and black leather trousers. Hand shaking, I touched the black shirt’s thin material. Lifting my head, I stared into the mirror as I fingered the gown’s silky fabric, my fingertips bumping over a stone that existed only in the mirror.
Whispers rushed around me. I spun, dizziness and fear swamping me in equal measure. But the corridor was deserted.
The whispers came again—this time, from the other direction. I whirled back to the mirror, my pale face and wide eyes greeting me.
Glowing eyes. Now the green was lighter in the center, my irises sheened with an animal’s luminescence.
The whispers continued, the faint murmurings low and indistinct. And they came from the mirror.
My eyes glowed more brightly. In the glass, my lips parted, the tips of my fangs white in the moonlight. My messy braid draped over my shoulder. Long strands of black hair clung to the other side of my neck.
Go. I had to go. I had to run while I could—while the guard outside my room slept and Rasimir’s courtiers were occupied with their feast. But I didn’t turn away.
The whispers continued, and I strained toward them, struggling to catch a familiar word.
A flush stained my cheeks. In the mirror, my eyes grew brighter.
The stones in the dress flared brighter, too.