Chapter 7 #4
The vampire inclined his head slightly in my direction. “Adviser for what? Relations with the common folk?”
A sharp exhale escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“I didn’t see you when we arrived,” Mordric mused, unfazed by the obvious gibe.
“Deepest apologies, Your Majesty. I was held up on the road.”
The King grinned. “A likely story, though I imagine it would be corroborated by at least one of that rabble following you around. Perhaps more than one.”
I rolled my eyes as I sipped my drink.
“King Mordric,” the Master at Arms interrupted, bowing unsteadily at the waist. Sir Geoffrey was by his side. “Might I have a moment?”
“Of course,” Mordric replied, before turning back toward the stranger. “Could I trouble you to keep Finn company?”
The vampire smirked. “I would be honored.”
“Take her for a dance,” suggested Mordric, relieving me of my glass.
“Excellent idea,” he said. “You look like you could use the practice, Miss Erramun.”
My protest snagged in my throat as he swept me into his arms, spinning me toward the center of the ballroom.
I flashed Mordric a questioning glance as I was pulled away, but he was already in deep conversation with his Master at Arms, who was waving his own arms exaggeratedly.
I lost sight of them as we whirled across the floor in sync with the other dancers.
“I don’t believe I’ve met an Erramun before,” said the stranger, his head cocked. “From where do you hail?”
“I’m from—”
“Let me guess,” he interrupted. “Some desolate hamlet far away in the Outlands? You certainly have the look.”
“I wouldn’t call it desolate,” I said stubbornly. I didn’t often find myself coming to Wealdstone’s defense, but everything about this strange vampire set my teeth on edge.
He tutted. “Of course you wouldn’t. How did you come to know the King?”
I hesitated. I didn’t think that anyone would ask me that. In fact, I hadn’t expected to speak with anyone apart from Mordric this evening. “His Majesty came to my aid after an … an incident in the city,” I admitted.
“Incident?”
I swallowed. “I was attacked.”
“Ah yes, I overheard the Confluent Criers’ latest number on my way into the city,” he said. “I’m not overly familiar with their work, but they’re quite funny when they want to be.”
“Funny?” I asked. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about women being attacked in the streets of the capital.”
“I suppose,” he said. “Although they certainly do have a way with words.”
I made a mental note to hurl something rotten at that blasted troupe the next time I laid eyes on them. “I’ll have to catch their next performance,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“I’ll admit, I’m surprised to see the King with a human on his arm tonight. They’re not usually his type.”
“I beg your—”
“He doesn’t really understand humans, you see,” he continued, cutting me off once again. “Doesn’t have the experience. Which is probably why he brought you to a room full of vampires dressed like—” He paused, running his eyes over my gown. “Well, dressed like a meal.”
“Are you always this charming when you meet new people?” I snapped. “Or are you just enamored with the sound of your own voice?”
To my surprise, he laughed, his green eyes glittering. “Oh, this will be fun.”
“What will be?” I asked, indignant.
He ignored my question. “I mean no offense, you know. The King loves beautiful things. Even if he doesn’t know how to handle them.”
I bristled. His words were a cipher, an insult hidden beneath each one.
I loosened my grip on his shoulder to try and put some distance between us, but his hold on me was firm.
To my relief, the music came abruptly to a halt just then, sending guests scurrying off the dance floor.
“Until next time, Miss Erramun,” he said, bowing to me.
I offered him a curt nod before darting back to Mordric’s side.
There would be no next time if I had anything to say about it.
Mordric frowned as I approached without my escort. “Everything alright?” he asked, handing me another glass of wine.
I took a long, slow sip to give myself time to collect my thoughts. “That vampire is, er, chatty,” I said, choosing my words carefully. With my luck, he was likely some sort of influential duke.
“Ah, I see that my brother has not made the best first impression,” said Mordric, offering a friendly smile. “I hope he didn’t offend you.”
“Your brother?” I echoed, my eyes widening. “Prince Enhart?”
Mordric nodded.
“Of course,” I whispered. My gaze found the vampire once again in the crowd.
I had forgotten Valen even had a prince.
From what I could remember, Enhart was the younger than Mordric by nearly a decade.
He was leaner and slightly shorter than his brother, although still nearly a head taller than me.
The shade of his hair matched Mordric’s but was cropped shorter, long enough still that he paused occasionally to sweep back the inky black waves that fell across his eyes when he laughed.
“He’s actually the expert I spoke to you about the other night,” Mordric continued.
I choked on my wine. “Him?” I asked. “Forgive me, but I expected someone a little more like, er, me.”
Mordric chuckled. “He may not be a witch, but Enhart spent years studying the history of the arcane at Hollybrook. He’s also extraordinarily accomplished at vampiric magic, which I’m sure he’d be happy to explain in detail to you. He’s the best in the realm and he’ll make an excellent tutor.”
I frowned, swirling the wine around my glass.
He didn’t exactly strike me as the forthcoming type.
“Did you study at Hollybrook as well?” I asked.
The university was the kingdom’s oldest, and located in the northernmost reaches of the realm.
It was renowned for safeguarding ancient knowledge and nurturing Valen’s most enlightened minds.
“I did, although I wasn’t well suited for the classroom.”
“I find that hard to believe, Your Majesty.”
“You flatter me.”
Mordric did not drag me onto the dance floor again, thank the gods, but entertained a dozen or so other courtiers as his partner.
The guests were cordial, but I did not get the sense that they were particularly interested in me.
Perhaps that was for the best. I nodded politely as he was dragged away yet again by the Earl of Somewhere, then hovered awkwardly by the wall with my drink.
As I leaned against the cool stone, a vampiress materialized by my side.
She wore a brilliant gown that matched her silver hair and porcelain skin.
“I thought I might keep you company,” she said, raising her cup.
“How kind of you,” I replied.
“My name is Vesper.”
“Finn.”
“Enjoying your evening?”
“I am,” I paused. “Well apart from—”
She followed my gaze across the room to where the prince spun around a new partner, a buxom, golden-haired vampire whose exposed skin was adorned in a medley of multicolored jewels as if she were a work of art.
I eyed him suspiciously over the rim of my glass.
Vesper grinned, revealing a diamond that was embedded in her right fang.
“Ah yes, I caught a glimpse of your dance earlier. You did well, though. He may be handsome, but the viper’s bite is lethal. ”
“The viper?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Prince Enhart.”
I leaned against the wall, cradling my drink in my hand.
“Why do they call him that?” I asked, trying to hide my curiosity.
“I’m not sure, exactly, although I have overheard some of the courtiers say it is because he has a forked tongue.
” She winked in response to my blank stare.
I turned back to the dancers. A forked tongue.
That would certainly explain why all the noblewomen were fawning over him.
Some of the men, too, come to think of it.
“He’s supposedly one of the best lovers in Valen’s history,” she continued. “Even I’ve been tempted from time to time, and I haven’t lain with a man for the better part of a century.”
I glanced at her sideways, wondering if brutal honesty was a trait shared among all vampires or just the nobles. “How …” I faltered, searching for the right words. “How fascinating.”
She chuckled, her laugh like the chiming of bells. “You’re the King’s new adviser, no?” she asked, her eyes twinkling. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Not in musical form, I hope?” I asked.
She raised her eyebrows. “I’m afraid not. Nevertheless, word travels fast around here.”
“It does?”
“Allow me to explain. When you first arrived, you conversed with the delightful Duchess of Altwater, correct?” She waggled her long fingers at the duchess, who stood across the room surrounded by a clutch of drunken companions.
“She has just about the largest mouth in all of Valen,” she explained.
“She was quite scandalized by your sudden appearance on the King’s arm, and hurriedly passed the news of your arrival on to her on-again-off-again lover, Lord Blackbane, claiming that you must be the bastard child of some foreign dignitary for Mordric to appoint you to his council like that.
Lord Blackbane, in turn, exchanged that salacious bit of gossip with Lady Kerr.
I’m sure you’ve heard of her. After all, she has quite a taste for your kind. ”
She gestured to a dark-haired vampiress and her human companion.
My eyes widened with recognition. I’d cleaned their rooms on the day of the attack.
The lady’s gown was practically transparent, with thousands of tiny diamonds woven into the thin fabric.
They glittered like flecks of ice in the snow.
Her companion hadn’t bothered to conceal the fang marks that mottled the skin above his collar, wearing them instead like a badge of honor.