Chapter 9
L ukas
Cassia stiffened in my arms, the pounding of her heart tangible between the layer of her ribs and the cotton of her sweater. Despite her trepidation, I valued her response to my proximity. She wasn’t unaffected. This was the most contact I’d had with her since I took her.
Slowly, she softened, and I waited to see what she would do. I almost wanted her to struggle so I could restrain her, wrap her up like the pretty little package she was and make her respect me.
At the same time, I didn’t want to dim her light and darken it would, regardless. I’d let her enjoy relative peace while she could.
She kept her energy close, but I could feel her inquiry, her tentative attempts to relax and open herself up. While I waited for her, she waited for me.
“Thank you, Kiam,” I said, dismissing him.
“Let me know when you need a babysitter again.” Before I could respond, he was gone.
Cassia flattened her palms against my chest, and I allowed her to create some distance. “I want to go home.”
“You will remain here.” A flick of my hand opened the door, and I motioned for her to enter. “You will get changed, and then I will present you to the Queen.”
Her clothing was unsatisfactory for an audience with Annalise. She was wearing an outfit that was more suitable for one of the villagers.
“Queen?” She asked, moving toward the sofa.
“Yes, Queen Annalise. I should have brought you before her sooner, but your behavior made that inadvisable.”
She scoffed. “I’d like to see you ripped from your home and shoved into... whatever this is. See how you’d like it.”
I couldn’t help the smile that stretched my face. “I’d like to see someone try.”
Curiosity must have gotten the better of her because she followed me into the closet. “If there’s a Queen, what does that make you?”
My role varied as needed, but most of my time was spent judging others and determining their sentencing. “I command fate and yours is to make yourself presentable and behave with the decorum necessary to your station.”
She scratched her head and the sweet scent of her shampoo surrounded me. “I don’t know what that means.”
While I would have loved to see her in red, I may as well put a target on her back. The gown was quickly placed back on the rack. White? No, that was too virginal, and Annalise was aching for a sacrifice.
Cassia was not pure. The lingering essence of past males clung to her spirit like the stars to the skies. Ripping them from her aura was becoming more necessary with every moment that passed me by.
“Here.” I thrust a navy-blue dress toward her. I had to dampen the need to skim a sharpened nail along her wrist. If the introduction went poorly, I didn’t want to be compromised by blood lust. I would kill everyone in attendance.
When she took the gown, her hand trembled and she crushed the silk in her fist. “So, I bow, and stuff, right?”
“Yes, you’ll follow my lead. On your knees, forehead to the ground. Don’t look her directly in the eye, keep your eyes cast down unless she instructs you otherwise.”
Cassia nodded, her throat bobbing. “Okay. Got it. What happens if she doesn’t like me?” The room shifted, vibrating with her nervousness. “The only humans I’ve seen are workers and they seem terrified. For the most part, I mean. I guess they would since they’re food.”
She shrugged her shoulder before she glanced up. “You’ll keep me safe?”
The fabric was clasped by her neck, the deep shade lighting the cyan of her anxious eyes. I’d chosen well, if only out of necessity. Irritation steeled my spine. “That is my job.”
“Don’t look so thrilled about it,” she muttered, walking around me but leaving a wide berth.
Before she slammed the ensuite door shut, I ordered, “Hurry. I’ll be back in a few moments.”
* * *
“Are you going to formally introduce me as well?” Kiam entered my office and promptly made himself at home in one of the armchairs facing the desk.
Leaning back in my seat, I rested my arms, tapping a nail against the carved wood. “That is my plan. Thank you for not taking the liberty of doing so yourself.”
He lifted a hand slightly, as if to brush me off and instead ran his fingers through his hair. “I considered it.”
“I know.” The man had zero regard for anyone or anything but himself, doing precisely what he desired at any given time.
There was a stack of paperwork in front of me, demanding my attention.
While we had multiple conveniences we could have easily utilized—and did, the vampire way dictated we left a paper trail.
Parchment and note paper held biological signatures that data bases and memory cards just couldn’t.
Energy didn’t lie, but the internet could and always would.
While I was busy keeping society in order, my friend was wandering the palace and who knew where else, unchecked and unrestrained.
“But I haven’t heard any complaints although Kalix is highly suspicious of you. As is his right. Ezekiel mentioned you’ve been enjoying some of the slaves.” Kiam didn’t say a word. Nor did his pulse accelerate while we stared at each other.
He broke first. “I don’t plan to stay here, if you’re concerned about that. Consider me a visitor and your temporary guest.”
“That’s all that you are.” A lightbulb overhead shattered and one of the crystals dangling from the chandelier cracked. The glass turned to dust over my work, and I whisked it away. “I would like for us to remain friends but that is contingent on you not overstepping your bounds.”
The statement seemed to placate him and honestly, he hadn’t pushed his tentative privilege further since he’d arrived. I had to give that to him. My annoyance with him remained steadfast, knowing he was withholding something from me. It had to be consequential, or he wouldn’t be so guarded.
“Are you ready to tell me what you’ve been hiding from me?” He was impossible to control—which was anything but possible. The world bent to my will. Kiam, however, could not be controlled.
If he was my equal in station, he would be ruled by our laws, and his power would be respected and of no consequence. He would operate accordingly.
His status as a human born vampire stripped him of any upward mobility and with his capabilities, he posed a threat to the Realm.
Kiam stood, smoothing down his suit jacket and straightening his already perfect tie. “You presume I’m hiding something.” He arched a brow.
I turned to face him as he strode to the side of the desk. I rested my ankle on my knee. Tapping my pen against a scroll I said, “I presume nothing.”
When he turned around, I spotted the barest of falters in his step and I froze.
This was the only time I’d ever seen him this unsettled.
The man was granite, no matter what was occurring around him.
The number of bodies I’d ripped to shreds in his presence was uncountable.
Not that such behavior was out of the ordinary; perhaps I just enjoyed it more than others.
He snatched his wavering energy back sharp enough to cause me to hold my breath. A knock sounded on the door and Kalix walked in.
“Her Majesty is requesting your presence.” He gave Kiam a cursory glance and a nod. “Bring your woman to the throne room. And Kiam.”
My friend glanced down at his clothing. “Perhaps I should have changed.”
Yes, perhaps. “I’m sure Queen Annalise will appreciate your transparency.”
“Remind me to go shopping.”
Kalix watched our exchange with interest. “You are our guest and Lukas’s companion. Have clothing brought in for you,” Kalix suggested.
The man was being generous titling Kiam as a “guest.”
Kalix was wearing his ever-present hooded cloak, but I knew he’d be wearing formal attire underneath, probably similar to my own. My silk slacks were perfectly pressed and close-fitting, and my embroidered jacket was without a shred of lint or debris.
My makeup was applied with care and without creasing and not a strand of my hair in rebellion. My black painted nails bore no chips or scratches, and the rings on my fingers gleamed brighter than the sun.
I was ready to bring Cassia and Kiam to meet our Queen.
“I will order clothing for Kiam,” I announced.
He turned to Kalix. “I’ve seen you in the city?—”
“We’re leaving now,” I interrupted what I was sure was Kiam trying to arrange a shopping date. “I’ll get Cassia. Wait for me silently in the hall.”
It was up to Kalix whether he complied, but he would get the hint.
They stepped out of the room when I held the door open, and I left them there, intent on getting Cassia. Annalise wasn’t fond of waiting and the sooner I presented my bride, the better it was for all involved.
She was standing in the center of the room when I entered, looking slightly lost, but also determined. “It’s time?” She asked.
“It is.” The gown fit beautifully, as I knew it would. She hadn’t applied any cosmetics to her face other than some lip gloss, and her hair was held back on the side with a couple of pins, enhancing her hair’s natural wave. She was gorgeous although our court demanded more artifice.
“Why didn’t you ask Katarina for assistance?”
Cassia patted her hair. “I know I look nice. Did I miss something?”
“You do.” Gently, I lowered her hand. “You look beautiful. Our court expects... well, you will see. Take notes for next time.”
She snatched her hand back. “I know nothing about your courts or what I’m supposed to do other than the small bit you’ve told me. I don’t want to insult your Queen. What else should I have done?”
“Take my hand,” I said, leaving no room for questions. “We’re leaving.”
With her firmly clasped, I led her out to the hallway. Holding her would send a preliminary message. This woman is mine . I was setting the stage for what would happen next with her formal introduction.
We turned the corner, entering the main hallway. Kalix and Kiam stood outside the doors, palace guards at their backs.