Chapter 17
17
A week later, I stood before my vanity mirror, wrapped in yellow silk. The neckline of my gown plunged low, exposing too much skin, but I’d selected a revealing dress on purpose. The ball was tonight, and I wanted to serve as a distraction for Stern while Henry left to search his estate.
We hadn’t wanted to raise suspicion by hosting the ball at too short notice, so we’d settled on tonight, a week after we’d devised the plan to lure Stern and his clan out.
The past few days had been filled with anxiety and anticipation on my part. Tonight, Henry might find the amulet. Then, I would steal it from him and escape. I swallowed as uncertainty crept in. I wasn’t sure how I would get the Tear from Henry, but I had to believe that I would find a way.
“Done!” Rory peeked from behind my shoulder, meeting my gaze in the mirror.
She’d made thin braids on either side of my face, intertwining and pinning them on the back of my head.
“Thank you.” I gave her a warm smile that she instantly returned.
Henry hadn’t told Rory I’d taken the key she’d left in the kitchen. When she’d realized it was gone, the Lord had told her he’d taken it. He’d told me he didn’t want Rory to be upset with me if she found out. I appreciated his thoughtful gesture and tried not to dwell on the fact that he’d still found it in his heart to do that after he’d learned the truth about my mother’s death.
Henry had kept me close by his side in the past week, taking me to the border almost every night. Still, Wren had managed to catch me alone one morning in the early hours of dawn after Henry had gone to bed. I’d told him the Lord knew about the amulet and explained our plan to search the Stern Estate. Wren had agreed it was a good plan. He felt uneasy about trusting Henry with the Tear as I did but realized we had no choice. He’d promised to help me get the amulet from the Lord if he was successful at finding it.
When I hadn’t been with Henry, I’d spent time with Rory, bonding over our mutual love of books. With little to do but anxiously wait for the ball, I’d often found myself in the library in the past week, long after sunrise, when the vampires and most of the servants were asleep. On one such morning, I’d found Rory there, nose buried in a book. That was how we’d discovered we both liked to read. Our tastes were different, though. While I liked adventure-filled novels, Rory liked love stories and hoped to meet her own Prince Charming one day.
I was in awe of her positive attitude and yearning for life. Despite her misfortunes, she had a bright spark inside of her. She had hopes and dreams and believed in a better future. Her passion for life was contagious, and being around her made me believe that a better future was possible. Seeing how hopeful she was made me hopeful as well—hopeful that Henry would find the Tear, and then I would get it from him and find a way to activate it.
I’d decided that if I was successful, I would take Rory and Ezra under my wing. They could live with me and my father. The four of us, together, could make a new life for ourselves in the new world—the human world where the supernatural no longer existed.
“You look beautiful,” Rory said, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Thank you.” I smiled weakly, turning to face her.
I didn’t want to look beautiful or attract attention tonight, but I would do it. I would do it to keep Stern focused on me instead of asking questions about where Henry was.
When I looked at Rory, my smile fell. She wore black leggings and a crimson tunic to match the other servants working the ball tonight. I really wished she didn’t have to be there.
“I finished the book you recommended,” Rory said, clasping her hands in front of her. “It was really good.” A small smile graced her lips. “The ending made me a bit nervous, but at the last minute, the hero showed up and saved the princess. It was so very romantic.” Her face took on a dreamy expression, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“See, that’s the difference between you and me. I don’t want some knight in shining armor to save me. I’d rather save myself,” I pointed out.
“That’s because you’re brave and courageous. I can’t believe you’ve been going to the border with Master Henry. I would be terrified.” Rory placed one delicate hand on her chest.
There hadn’t been another witch attack, but I would be lying if I said that trepidation didn’t curl down my spine every time I was on the border of the Black Forest.
“It’s not that I’m not terrified,” I admitted. “It’s just…I know how to fight, and if I can help…I’ll do it in spite of the fear.”
“I admire you, Sophie. Truly,” Rory said, her eyes shining with the admiration she’d just mentioned.
“And I, you.” I smiled at her. “Your relentless optimism and hopeful nature.”
“You are too kind.” Her cheeks reddened as she cast her gaze down before lifting it to my forearm. “You never told me what happened.”
I looked down at the pink scar. The night of the Ravager attack flashed through my mind, and I shuddered.
“It wasn’t Master Henry, was it?” Rory asked low, her wide eyes taking up most of her pale face.
“What?” I frowned. “No!”
My frown deepened at how fast I’d defended the Lord. It wasn’t that I didn’t think he was capable of such things; I knew he was, but I’d grown more comfortable around him in the past week. It was difficult to imagine Henry doing me any harm. I shook my head at the thought. I could not let my guard down around him despite how he’d been treating me.
As if I’d conjured him with my mind, Henry walked in a moment later after rapping his knuckles on my bedroom door.
He drew up short when he saw me, and I noticed Rory duck her chin with a small smile before she slipped out of my room. The Lord and I stared at each other for a few minutes without saying a word. I had to admit he looked debonair and handsome in his black trousers and a snug-fitting jacket.
Henry broke the strangely tense silence first.
“Sophie, you look…” he said, his brows knitting as he appraised me.
It was hard to read him. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t like the dress or liked it too much. I got my answer when he reluctantly met my gaze, and I saw the hunger in his dark eyes.
My throat went dry, and I swallowed, shifting my weight from foot to foot.
“Stern seemed interested in me at the Vassal Ball. I wanted to look…appealing to him so he would focus his attention on me tonight,” I explained.
“Good idea. I’m sure it will work. You look…ravishing,” Henry said, his voice low and thick.
My fingers spasmed at my side, brushing the hilt of the dagger through the fabric of my dress. I wasn’t scared of Henry. Rather, I was disgusted when I pictured Stern’s bottomless eyes roaming over every inch of my body.
Henry’s nostrils flared as his gaze dropped to my thigh.
“You can’t bring the dagger, Sophie,” he said in a measured tone.
“What? Why not?” I scowled at him.
“I can smell the Ravager’s blood on it. The others will, too.”
I cursed under my breath—he was right. When I’d used the dagger to kill the Ravager, the vampire’s blood had stained the blade, seeping into the wood.
With a heavy sigh, I lifted the skirt of my gown and unstrapped the dagger from my thigh. Letting go of the delicate fabric, I watched it glide down my leg, molding to it like liquid.
I put the sheath and the dagger on the vanity and met Henry’s piercing gaze. His stare was so potent it felt like a caress, and I saw the hints of his fangs peeking through his slightly parted lips.
Suppressing a shiver, I cleared my throat and asked, “Ready?”
Henry shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and nodded, offering me his arm.
“I will make an appearance but leave shortly after on the pretenses of trouble at the border,” he said as I wove my arm through his.
“The others won’t offer to go with you to help?” I asked as we walked out of my bedroom.
Henry laughed, but there was no humor to the sound.
“You overestimate their dedication to the cause,” he said bitterly. “They will not offer to help unless I ask.”
I glanced at the Lord as we made our way down the hall and toward the ballroom.
I’d seen his dedication to protecting the people of New Haven firsthand. He was at the border almost every night. He took his role of a protector seriously, and I couldn’t help but admire that.
You know you don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? Waylon had said to me the last time I’d seen him.
I wanted to say the same to Henry now. He had this air of heaviness about him. It was as if he carried a burden he thought he deserved.
“So, it really is every vampire for himself?” I asked, looking at him.
“For the most part. Vincent and my mother were different and tried to instill their values in me and my siblings.”
“I wish I had a chance to meet Vincent,” I mused. “If he and my mother were close, she must have trusted him.”
“Something you find very hard to believe, I am sure,” Henry said, raising one dark brow.
“Yes,” I admitted. I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “You know I don’t trust you, and I know you don’t trust me. That’s why you’ve kept me close this past week.”
“That wasn’t the only reason,” the Lord said, one side of his mouth turning up. “I like your company.”
My eyebrows flew up in surprise. I had to admit I liked his company, too. I enjoyed the stories about his long life, but I couldn’t let myself get too close. After all, I planned to kill him.
“Do you think you’ll find it tonight?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I hope so. The real question is, what will you do if I find it?”
My heart turned over in my chest. Did he suspect I was planning to steal the amulet from him?
“What I mean by that is do you know how to activate it?” Henry asked, and I exhaled softly with relief.
“No, I don’t, but I’ll figure it out. First, we need to find it. One step at a time.”
Henry nodded and led me inside the ornate ballroom. Wren and Isabelle were already there. The other clans and their vassals started to arrive shortly after. I froze when Stern walked in. Red-hot, burning hatred filled my chest as I stared at him. Was he the one who’d killed my mother? I wished I could remember more about that night. I remembered black, fathomless eyes, but all vampires had black eyes when they were in the throes of bloodlust. Even if Stern hadn’t killed my mother, he still deserved to die. They all did.
One step at a time, I repeated the words I’d said to Henry in my head.
Taking a deep breath, I found my center and plastered on a smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes.