Chapter 22
C assia
The hall was dead silent. It was eerie, the complete absence of life or sound. I’d never been in one, but it made me think of a deprivation chamber. One of those containers people use to try and center themselves or whatever, without the interference of anything else.
The strange feeling that I was the only person alive washed over me, skittering up my spine and covering me with a chill.
I suppressed a laugh over the irony that supposedly I practically was the only person alive.
Interestingly enough, every vampire I’d met or seen seemed quite alive and well and nothing like the creatures on TV.
Nothing changed on my way to the throne room, where I assumed everyone would be.
Not one single person, vampire, or Kakian demon was in sight, nor were there any drafts of air.
I might as well have been in outer space.
My footsteps were barely audible, and I couldn’t tell if I was hearing a sound, or if it was the sensation of carpet or marble underfoot making me think my five senses were in proper working order.
The massive double doors of my destination soared above me, and my steps slowed. The guards were missing. I walked up to the wooden panels and held my breath, straining to hear anyone on the other side. There was nothing.
My hand trembled as I grasped the thick, iron latch and pressed the lever.
If the door made the slightest creak when I pulled it open, God knew how many sets of hungry eyes would pin me in place.
This was absolute suicide and I knew it.
But I couldn’t sit back on my fancy couch eating bon bons while Lukas was getting torn a new one by the bitch Queen.
Or torn in two. Or drained. Whatever they did, it wouldn’t be pretty, and it wouldn’t be anything I could fix.
Much to my delight, the door swung open easily. When I peeked inside, the spacious hall was just as empty and lifeless as everything else. Sunbeams streamed through the tall windows and onto the veranda on the other side, the place where I had a very uncomfortable and strange lunch with Annalise.
Turning around, I walked back out and stood there for a moment, concentrating. I wanted to say it was impossible for everyone to simply disappear, but I was living proof that wasn’t true at all. They had moved somewhere else since Katarina saw them last.
While I waited to figure out what to do next, my gaze dragged to another set of doors, on the opposite side of the foyer.
I’d seen them when I first arrived, and I’d thought they looked important, but no one ever used them, to my knowledge.
With their glossy black finish and raised moldings, they were intimidating as well as beautiful.
I hurried across the floor and took a closer look. When I lifted my hand toward the handle, I paused. Something was different.
It was as if an electrical current had stretched out and gently wound its way under my skin. There was no pain, it didn’t hurt. But it was entirely unexpected. This is where everyone was, and I wouldn’t be able to be convinced otherwise.
The space behind the door must have contained so much energy that it spilled out through the seams. My heart thudded in my chest and sweat prickled my brow.
I was a God damn idiot to have left my room.
Who the hell did I think I was that I could go up against an entire society of supernatural beings?
It didn’t matter how human they looked or sometimes acted. I was completely out of my element.
When I took a step backward trying to stave off a heart attack, the doors swung inward with a sweeping gust of air.
“Well, well. Look who decided to pay us all a visit,” a musical voice trilled.
Queen Annalise came waltzing forward with her hands stretching out toward me as if she were going to clasp mine. Then she curled her fingers toward her palms, and I was lifted into the air and left on the tips of my toes.
My eyes watered as I was pulled forward, swinging my arms out uselessly as I searched for some sort of stability. She dragged me until I was in the center of the room and left me like that—balanced just enough that the amount of weight on my toes hurt, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.
The room was shaped like a half circle and full of tiered seating.
Toward the back, I recognized many of the servants and other workers and right in front of them were the Kakian demons.
They stuck out oddly, in their fancy designer suits while the people behind them were in maid uniforms or other drab clothing.
In the front, the finery was undeniable. These were people I recognized from the gathering in the throne room when Lukas publicly announced his intentions toward me. Now, they stared at me with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. Anticipation for what, I didn’t want to know.
Organized in small clusters, were trios of hooded men with their heads bowed and hands together, the cuffs of their robes hiding their fingers.
The head coverings were deep, and fabric dangled in their faces, making it seem like the robes could be empty.
I couldn’t make out any individual features at all.
Behind the Queen was a platform with a sharply etched throne, spires on the corners of the seat threating to skewer anyone these vampires wished.
It was lethally beautiful. Seated on the work of art was Lukas, his fingers gripping the edges of the armrests hard enough to crack the marble. I’d never seen him look so angry.
I met Lukas’s bright emerald gaze and saw the harsh line of his jaw, with his lips pressed together tightly and brow slightly furrowed.
His breaths were measured, perfectly even as he sat there like a cat waiting to pounce.
He looked different than I was used to, and it wasn’t just the thicker line of black makeup around his eyes.
This Lukas was terrifying. It was as if every brutal day of his two-thousand-year-old life spent tearing people to pieces was encapsulated into this one, single moment. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was about to kill me himself. I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t happen anyway.
The energy in the room was heavy and menacing, pressing into my chest so deep it threatened to steal the air from my lungs. The urge to scream or cry was there, but it was lodged in my throat. I’d never experienced fear quite like this before.
And I couldn’t have screwed up harder if I’d slit my own wrists in front of them all.
When I finally turned my head, I saw Kalix standing to the left of Lukas, beside the throne. The thick hood of his cape was pooled around his neck, exposing a large, ornate onyx brooch at his collar. He watched me with such mild interest that he could have been bored or maybe reading a newspaper.
Zaynan stood on the other side, but he was halfway between me and Annalise.
He was dressed differently than earlier, having put on some of the fancy clothes everyone preferred.
Unlike Kalix, he appeared concerned, and he widened his eyes at me quickly and washed the expression from his face before anyone else could see.
The Queen whirled around with her arms outstretched. “Everyone who matters, and a couple who don’t, are present and accounted for,” she peered at the crowd, slowly scanning the rapt faces.
Annalise faced Lukas. “The judge of all is about to be judged,” she glanced at the crowd again, “with his defiance, this is how it should be. He hands out verdicts and we shall hand out his—in the same measure.”
Zaynan was looking between me and the Queen, and he pressed his hand to his chin, dragging his index finger over his lips. My arms were by my sides, and I drew up a hand to massage the top of my aching thigh. My wrist rubbed against the stiletto that was tucked beneath my sweater.
For once, the Queen had slightly more clothes on. That wasn’t to say you still couldn’t see everything. She had fabric on, lots of it, and the gauzy fabric floated over the floor while she approached me.
“This is Cassia, Lukas’s betrothed. You may have all remembered her from a few weeks ago, when he announced his intentions toward her.” With a flounce, she faced her audience. “She is a human. Not even a witch. Just a plain, ordinary little human. Food.”
Lukas leaned on one elbow, resting his chin on his knuckles. He didn’t blink once while he watched Annalise.
Without me noticing, Zaynan had moved closer. There were only about ten feet between the two of us now. My hand slowly slipped to the hem of my sweater while the Queen dramatically extolled my lack of desirable qualities as anything other than a tasty beverage with flair.
Zaynan’s eyes flicked to my hand and I held still. If he noticed, someone else probably did, too.
With her attention back on me, Annalise trailed a long nail down the side of my face. “Whatever shall we do with you my dear?” She’d crossed the space so fast my head jerked back.
A warmth coursed down my cheek, but I left it alone. She leaned in and dragged her tongue up the side of my face, smacking her lips together as she took a single step backward.
“Mm,” she trilled. “Such sweet blood. You’re clearly not a virgin,” she wrinkled her nose, “but perhaps a sacrifice is in order—as a gesture of Lukas’s good will and loyalty toward his mother.”
A look of utter disgust crossed Zaynan’s face, and then something else I couldn’t identify flashed in his eyes. He looked at me and then his gaze fell to where my weapon was hidden. Then he met my eyes again.
Putting my hand on my waist, I gripped the hilt of the stiletto. The hooded figures moved together as one, each group floating forward until they stopped and circled the space around me, partially blocking the view of the audience.