Chapter 18

D racmore Castle might not be as imposing as Branwood Castle, but the location and the raging blizzard outside the windows gave it a different kind of dangerous air. The corridors were stone passageways that created echoes from every sound, and I was afraid to venture too far from our quarters just in case I got lost. There didn’t seem to be anyone about. All the vampires were sleeping. But there had to be some more humans here. Veins and the staff?

Voices drifted from down the corridor, and I followed them, my step quickening until I reached an open door. Several people lounged around in the room beyond. There was a buffet, jugs of wine, and lots of chatter, which stopped as I entered.

“Hi.” I gave everyone a little wave. “Mind if I join you?”

“You’re his watcher, aren’t you?” one of the women said. She had an open, honest face and curly blond hair. “What’s he like?”

What was he like? Dangerous, murderous, charming, and charismatic. But most of all… “Unpredictable.”

“There’s a seat here.” Another woman patted the spot beside her on the flowery sofa. She had luscious dark locks that fell down to her waist and a regal air that reminded me of Agatha. My gut tightened. “I’m Regina, by the way.”

“I’m Flo,” Blondie said.

“Orina.”

I joined them, relieved to be among regular people, but then Regina leaned forward to grab her cup, and I spotted the fang marks on her wrist. Marks that were a clear reminder that these were not ordinary people. They were veins.

“You say the king is unpredictable?” Flo said. “There must be more to him than that?”

These veins belonged to heads of houses. Other nobles. They were my fellow humans, but their loyalties lay with their masters, and after the attack on the road and the loss of the bloods, I couldn’t trust anyone.

“There’s not much else. He’s a private person. But what about you guys? What’s it like to be a vein?”

“Fabulous,” Flo said. “I have a whole wing to myself and my own maid.” She smiled smugly.

“Mistress Sangera is generous,” one of the guys said.

Flo smiled fondly at him. “She’s allowing us to get married.”

“Allowing?”

“Veins aren’t usually free to choose their own spouses,” Flo said. “But Mistress Sangera knows we’re in love.”

“You just got lucky and fell in love with the right match,” Regina said.

“And you’re just jealous,” Blondie said.

Regina ignored her and turned to me. “Veins are bred so that our offspring have the right blood for our masters and can eventually either be turned or used as veins.”

I wasn’t quick enough to hide my distaste, and Flo’s eyes hardened.

“You think you’re better than us?” she said.

“No. I think you’re being used, and it pisses me off.”

“It’s the way it is,” Regina said wearily. “There is nothing we can do about it. Vampires need to feed, and this is the least feral way to do it.” She smiled. “In the meantime, we make the most of the life of luxury we’re given. And this is my last year.”

“They’re letting you go?” I’d have imagined the nobles keeping their veins for as long as possible.

“Veins retire at thirty-five as our blood is no longer as potent.”

She did not look thirty-five. “So what do you do now?”

“Are you getting matched?” Flo asked.

Regina’s smile was sad. “No. My master has other plans for me.” She stretched and yawned. “I should get some sleep. Last night was restless.”

She said her goodbyes and left the room.

I stayed for a little while longer, grabbed some food, and listened to the veins swap stories before heading back to my quarters for a nap on the sofa. If I was going to accompany Ezekiel to his dinner tonight, I wanted to be refreshed, wide awake, and on the ball.

The potent aroma of freshly ground coffee tugged me from sleep, and I opened my eyes to find Ezekiel crouched by my sofa.

“Good evening, little Silver. Did you sleep well?” He brushed a tendril of hair off my cheek, his finger leaving a hot trail against my skin.

I was suddenly wide awake. “Is that coffee I smell?” I sat up, and he retreated, taking his cedar wood scent with him.

“Fresh and hot. There are buns, too, sweet or savory. You can pick.”

I rubbed sleep from my eyes and stifled a yawn because what the fuck? I’d slept for hours.

“It’s the altitude,” Ezekiel reminded me. “Your body is still adjusting.”

“And yet, you’re fine.” I grabbed a mug and poured the rejuvenating nectar into it, adding three spoons of sugar.

“That will rot your teeth.”

“I don’t care.” I slurped and sighed. “Good stuff.” Another sip just to make sure and I could already feel the caffeine working. “Okay, so what’s the plan? What time is the meeting?”

“The meeting is over,” Ezekiel said.

“Wait, what? What time is it?”

“Nine o’clock.”

“You let me sleep through it? I came here to protect you.”

“You needed the rest.”

He’d let me sleep because I needed the rest. I stared at him, and his jaw flexed.

“I didn’t need you there. You wouldn’t have been allowed in anyway. Best for you to acclimatize. You’re no use to me if you’re weak and dizzy.”

Now that sounded more like him and made more sense, but I had the feeling the truth was closer to his first statement, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“What happened? At the meeting?”

He dropped into the armchair opposite me and raked a hand through his hair. “The usual political nonsense.”

“Which is?”

He pressed his lips together and exhaled. “They want me to dissolve the blood oaths that prevent the houses from making new laws in my absence.”

“Even Laudon?”

“Yes. Even Laudon. He pointed out that much can change in a century, and laws need to be altered to reflect these changes. He believes that the government needs the power to make these new laws.”

“What will you do?”

“If I dissolve the oaths, then I’ll no longer control the government. They’ll steal power while I sleep. I’ll no longer have control of this territory.”

I had to ask. “Would that be so bad?”

His eyes flashed. “How long do you think it will be before the houses tear this territory to shreds? My laws force them to work together. They are the only thing keeping the balance.”

“And stopping progress?”

“And where did progress get this world, hmmm?”

He had a point. We’d almost destroyed it. “What are you going to do, then? They obviously want control but…someone tried to get you out of the picture. Poisoning you, then the attack on the road and the bloods being killed…Wait…this doesn’t make sense.”

He smiled thinly. “No. It doesn’t, does it.”

The houses needed him to dissolve the oaths which he couldn’t do if he was incapacitated, which meant… “The person or persons that tried to hurt you don’t care about the blood oaths.”

“It would seem so.”

“Then why do they want you out of the picture?” An awful thought occurred to me, and I had to bite the inside of my cheeks to stop myself blurting it out.

“What?” Ezekiel sat forward. “What is it?”

Shit. “Nothing.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me, Miss Lighthart.”

“I’m not lying. It’s nothing, but if it becomes something, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

He sat back with a sigh. “Very well. Finish your coffee, eat the buns, then get dressed. Dinner is at ten-thirty, but you will not eat a thing, do you understand?”

“You think someone will try to poison me?”

“I refuse to take any chances. I’ll be back to collect you in an hour.”

He left the quarters, and the scrape of a key followed as he locked me in.

I poured more coffee and bit into a bun, chewing to get my brain working. Someone wanted Ezekiel incapacitated, and it couldn’t be anyone who needed the blood oaths dissolved. So if Ezekiel was hurt badly enough that he desiccated, then the year would slip by, and he would lose his chance to end the curse. Loviator would be free…Could someone else aside from the Order, the Singers, and my team know the truth?

Were they working to free Loviator?

I couldn’t share my theory with Ezekiel without the risk of fracturing his mind, but I needed to warn the guys as soon as I got back.

I finished my bun, drained my coffee, and headed into the bedroom to shower and dress. Tonight would be an exercise in observation, because the person wanting to knock Ezekiel out of commission could very well be at the dinner table.