4. Cassandra

CHAPTER 4

Cassandra

I lingered outside the doorway of my family's island estate, a cold, familiar fear streaking across my skin and threatening to paralyze my muscles. A thousand memories burst behind my eyes, filling my mind with every hurt, every grievance, every terror. My instincts begged me to run in the opposite direction. To save myself from what, no doubt, would be like pouring salt on an open wound.

Why did I agree to this?

Why did I agree to waltz back into the very source of all my pain?

I swore to myself so long ago that I'd never come back here, and yet here I was, doing my best to somehow cling to whatever mask Talon had spoken of before. The one I used in the courts.

But this would not be a room full of noble vampires that were easily distracted by an elegant smile and a clever dip of the head. This was my family. And while the nickname Talon had given me irked me to no end, they were the very things he claimed I was.

Vipers. Silent, sneaky, and venomous.

Talon stood at my side as stoically as Shadow would've. The male had replicated her form so intently that it would be impossible for anyone else to tell the difference. Even I'd found it incredibly unnerving on our flight over here, looking at the creature that I've loved for so long and yet knowing that Shadow was anywhere but next to me. Add it to the list of mind fucks that were no doubt about to happen on this trip.

I finally raised my hand to the golden knocker on the set of double doors at the entryway of my family's home, but there was no need, as they were now swinging open. My mother's talem, Joffrey, bowed at the waist, dressed in his usual immaculate black and white tux as he motioned us inside.

"Miss Zorin," he said as we walked into the elaborate foray. "The lady of the house is expecting you. She's set up refreshments in the study. Is there anything you need before I escort you there?"

"No, thank you, Joffrey," I said in my best court voice, a tone riddled with elegance and arrogance and boredom. "My flight was quite well. I can see her straightaway."

Joffrey dipped his head, giving Talon— Shadow —a wide berth as he led me through the mansion.

The place was exactly as I remembered, except for a few modernized additions. The estate had been in my family for centuries and boasted an open concept plan with floor-to-ceiling windows that acted as doors and opened to the island surrounding it. Under any other circumstances, it would be a beautiful retreat. A place to recharge and work on much needed self-care. Sadly, this place was anything but comfortable.

The more hallways we turned down, the more nerves tangled beneath my skin, making it harder and harder to breathe. I clung to my decades of practice to ensure that my ice-cold terror couldn't be scented by anybody near us.

A little trick I'd picked up in my younger years, something that became almost second nature after being locked in a torture chamber repeatedly. I learned very quickly the more scared I was as a youngling, the more punishment I received. My mother and father believed that fear was our greatest weakness.

And by the time Joffrey opened the door to the study, I'd shoved all hesitance and fear inside a locked box that I'd created decades ago. The hunter at my side posing as my pet may have had centuries of fighting and survival training, but I doubted even he could match my skill level when it came to masking my emotions.

The notion that I could beat him at anything gave me just enough confidence and pride to shore up the Zorin role I'd been raised to play as I laid eyes on my mother.

"Darling Cassandra," she said as she rose from a red leather wingback chair and pranced over to us.

She was stunning. There was no denying that. She had long black hair and rich brown eyes that resembled my own, and she was dressed in a ball gown fit for court that fluttered as she moved toward us. Her thin eyebrows drew together as she reached me, clasping my bare shoulders in what to outsiders would look like an embrace, but what I knew was a show of power.

"You look dreadful, darling," she said, shaking her head and sucking her teeth. "The flight was only four hours. Did you not drink a drop? You look as if you haven't fed in months. Come, come, I had Joffrey prepare your favorite."

I did my best not to react to the backhanded comment, knowing I'd fed perfectly well before our flight this evening. I flinched a little as she turned me farther into the room, revealing an elegant coffee table that had a human feeder draped across it.

The young male had been outfitted in a ridiculous costume-like array of clothing, lots of brightly colored feathers to make him look like some exotic bird waiting to be plucked and prepared for dinner.

"How generous of you," I said, knowing the response was expected as she led me to the other side of the coffee table, reclaiming her wingback chair on the other side so that she was facing me.

Talon stalked in front of me, his fur brushing against my legs as he circled to lie at my feet. It was incredible how much the vampire had studied Shadow's movements in the little time we'd known each other. He'd adapted so quickly to this form; it was no wonder he was one of the legendary hunters with this ability.

My mother pursed her lips as if she'd bitten into a lemon, her eyes on Talon. "I see you're still rather attached to that creature," she said, before shaking her head. "Oh well, at least she can hunt in the jungle and perhaps put a dent in some of our overpopulation problems."

I glanced down at Talon before returning my attention to her. "Shadow is an excellent huntress," I said, stifling a laugh at how it applied to both my actual panther and this impostor next to me. "I'm sure she'll have that problem handled in no time."

"Good," Mother said, then waved to the human who remained silent in an almost hypnotic state on the table. He'd no doubt been drugged, but only enough to where he wouldn't be able to struggle, while still aware enough to understand everything that was going on.

It was my mother's way.

"Eat, darling. You look absolutely starved."

For some reason my eyes fell to Talon's panther ones, some internal curling sensation happening inside of me at the idea that he might judge me.

But that was a ridiculous notion because one, I didn't give a fuck what he thought, and two, he knew exactly what he was signing up for. He might not have a clue about my family's extensive abusive nature, but he knew who the Zorins were. He knew they did not delight in drinking the canned blood that was offered to everyone in court or using the willing human feeders in a healthy way. No, my family lived for the days of old, where power was enforced, because that's just the way the world worked.

I slowly reached for the human's hand that hung limply over the table, decorated with green paint to look like more feathers. I turned it palm up, exposing the delicate skin of his wrist, and hesitated.

My mother watched my every move, her eyes like a heat signature stinging every inch of my body. This felt like a test. Like some sick initiation back into the Zorin household. It was easy for a vampire to control the intention behind a bite—I could make it feel good, I could make it so good this human would come in his little costume. I could just as easily make it hurt. Make it terrifying.

I knew which one she'd expect.

I wanted to run away.

I wanted to bust through the front doors, get back on the plane, and go back to where I felt safe, which was anywhere but here.

I wanted to give up, and we hadn't even started.

But there were innocent lives at stake. Hundreds if not thousands. And Warrick was in the king's residence now, doing his best to prove himself. But if I failed? Who was to stop them from taking it out on him next? Stop them from forcing a similarly dangerous mission on him?

For him, for those lives at stake, I could become the thing I hated most.

I could become the perfect daughter.

My fangs punched out, and I made sure to strike fast and hard into the wrist of that human, hard enough that he cried out through his drug-induced haze.

My mother gave a giddy little laugh before taking his other arm and joining me in the feast.

I swallowed a mouthful of his blood. His taste was laced with citrus, like he'd been fed nothing but lemons and limes for who knew how long.

Each swallow I took settled heavily in my stomach, and I hated myself a little more every time he cried out in pain.

I didn't like feeding this way.

I'd been forced to do it so many times that the motions of doing so were like muscle memory, but the emotional triggers from it? Those were being tripped left and right, and it was all I could do to not allow the tears to well in the back of my eyes.

I was Cassandra Zorin, only daughter to the infamous and prestigious Zorin family line. I wept for no one. I was a coward for no one.

I repeated the mantras that'd been drilled into me growing up and locked down every emotion telling me this was wrong.

I took another mouthful, then drew back, licking my lips and sighing as the blood energized my body. "Quite delicious, mother," I said. "Do I detect lemons?" I asked, falling right back into the role.

My mother finished her feasting, the human now fully passed out as she snapped her fingers and Joffrey entered without uttering a word, hefting the human up and escorting him out of the room.

Mother was never one to leave leftovers on the table.

She leaned back in her chair, not a drop of blood on her face as she smiled at me. "And limes," she said. "I know how much you enjoy that flavor."

I didn't.

"I have one that will taste like strawberries tomorrow."

"I can't wait," I said, despite my heart clenching at the prospect. "Will Edward and Warrick be joining us?" I asked, knowing full well she had no clue where Warrick was at this very moment. "I do miss my brothers."

Mother tilted her head, just the slightest micro reaction before she raised her hands. "I never know when those two will waltz in before waltzing right back out. They use this estate as their own personal breeding ground sometimes, always such a mess to clean up after. Especially Edward."

"I will try to be a better houseguest," I said, doing my best to make light of the situation so I wouldn't draw suspicion. Not that she had anything to suspect. For all she knew, I was still the same daughter, establishing myself in the vampire court and doing my best to rise in the rankings in the king's eyes.

"So, tell me, dear daughter, why are you gracing us with your presence?" she asked. "It's been decades since you've returned home."

"I needed a reprieve," I said. "The vampire court is in quite an upheaval. Most of the nobles who've been transitioned to live there because of the threat against our kind are afraid of their own shadows, let alone actually getting the courage to leave. And the civilian allies are being piled into every residence there is for protection. It's all quite tedious," I explained, slipping further into my role. "And there hasn't been one ounce of good gossip for at least a month." I reached down and absentmindedly stroked Shadow's fur, and only after the third or fourth stroke did I realize I was petting Talon's head and not my panther's.

I didn't dare stop because it was a natural thing for me to do.

Talon purred, leaning into my touch in a way that Shadow would do.

It was comforting in the strangest way.

"That does sound rather tedious," Mother said. "I can understand why you flocked here for sanctuary from the boring actions of an even more boring king. If half of the vampire court was as brave and noble as our family, they would simply defend themselves and stop turning to the king and begging at his feet for every little grievance they have."

"Quite true," I said, my fingers sliding through the black silken fur of my panther, shifting over the massive head to the ear that Shadow loves when I scratch behind.

Talon seemed to like it too, because his purr deepened, and for some reason it made my lungs expand, making it easier to breathe.

"I've prepared everything in your old quarters," Mother continued. "I trust you and Shadow will be comfortable there, though I will start leaving more of the doors open so the jungle cat can go explore at her will. I promise you the first time she relieves herself in this home will be her last."

My fangs threatened to punch out at the threat she delivered to my animal, to Talon , but I held them in. "I assure you, she is well trained," I said, glancing down at Talon. "She's nothing if not obedient."

Talon pulled back his lips just slightly, revealing lethally sharp teeth that I'd seen on Shadow dozens of times as she tore into her food, shredding full steaks in a matter of seconds. For some reason, the sassy look made me smile, and for the first time since touching down on this godsforsaken island, I didn't feel so alone.