Fourteen

Fourteen

I had no self-control.

Adrian did not visit my bed that night, and while I knew he was honoring exactly what I’d asked for, I’d never wanted him to defy my wishes so much in my life. It was not dramatic to say I writhed. I was so uncomfortable in my skin. Each caress against my nipples and engorged clit was a reminder of Adrian’s absence. I pushed the covers away until I was exposed to the night. The chill air blanketed my body, and as I closed my eyes, fingers parting my flesh, I heard Adrian’s voice.

“Dreaming of me, Sparrow?”

When I opened my eyes, he stood near, watching me. He was the same Adrian I’d witnessed in the grotto, untroubled and unmarred, surrounded by jasmine trees and darkness, and while he was just as beautiful, I realized I liked the severity of his face now—the way life had etched anger into his eyes and the set of his jaw.

“I dream of you always,” I said, embarrassed by the words, and though they were true, they were nothing I would ever say aloud. I started to pull out of myself, but Adrian held my hand against my heat, guiding my fingers to return.

“No, let me watch,” he implored, and my whole body flushed with his request. He knelt between my legs as I pleasured myself. Within moments, he joined me, drawing his cock into his hand and stroking himself. We didn’t touch, but we held each other’s gazes, and our breaths quickened, moans rising together. I watched him until I could no longer keep my eyes from rolling back as I found release. I lay there a few moments, expecting to feel his body pressed against mine in the aftermath, but there was nothing, and when I opened my eyes, he wasn’t there.

* * *

The next morning, I rose early, unable to rest, and headed for the garden, despite the fact that Adrian had told me not to leave my room without an escort. That had been upon arrival, and since, I had been responsible for the death of one vampire and one mortal.

I felt I was pretty safe.

I wasn’t sure how long it would take for me to get used to Revekka mornings, but they were not crisp and golden like those of Lara. The horizon blazed crimson red, and blades of the same light cut across the garden, casting other parts in deep shadow. There was nothing cheery about it—it was a bloodbath.

As I wandered along the paths, I wrapped my cloak tightly around me to fight the chill. It was no colder in Revekka than it was in Lara, for which I was glad, because I had heard winter here was long and harsh, with the land accumulating several feet of snow. I preferred summer—the height of it when the sun was hottest. Blinking up at the bloody sky, I doubted I would feel those rays anytime soon.

My meandering brought me to the grotto, and I lingered at the edge of the pool, enjoying the heat wafting from the water before shedding my cloak and the remainder of my clothes.

The pool was shallow where I entered and grew deeper as I waded into the center. Suddenly, I wanted Adrian here, body slick and warm. I would coax come from his cock and slide him between my thighs. I would climb his body until he could fit himself in mine, and I would ride him until he came inside me. Those thoughts gave way to a reel of images, and I could not help squeezing my legs together, fighting the urge to once again pleasure myself.

This connection to Adrian was abnormal.

I dipped beneath the surface of the water to stop my thoughts from spiraling and stayed until I could no longer hold my breath. When I surfaced, I came face-to-face with Gesalac.

In my haste to break through the water, I had come up too far, exposing half my body to the noblesse. Gesalac did not lower his eyes, even as I retreated so that the water rose to my shoulders.

“You did not come up for air,” he explained. “I was concerned.”

“How long were you watching me, Noblesse?”

“I was not watching,” he said, but he offered no other explanation. “I would be mindful of where you choose to swim, my queen. The king’s rage is rarely rational.”

I did not like his warning or his comment about Adrian. Even if Adrian was irrational, in this instance, his anger would be justified.

“No one asked you to linger, Noblesse,” I said, ready for him to leave. I was too exposed and weaponless, and I did not trust his intentions.

The vampire stared a moment longer, then bowed his head and left. I did not exit the pool immediately, fearing that Gesalac still lingered nearby. When I felt enough time had passed, I dressed, pulling the hood of my cloak over my head to keep the chill at bay.

I made my way to the castle, deciding to take the passage Ana had showed me rather than return through the garden. Once in my room, I changed into dry clothes and braided my still-wet hair. As I worked, Violeta and Vesna arrived with breakfast.

Vesna held the tray, and though she looked far more composed than she had yesterday, there was a soft sadness to her features. I could not imagine how she felt—to grieve her abuser—but the expectation of the world was that we loved our parents no matter their crimes against us.

As she set the tray at my bedside, I noticed she wore the same clothes as yesterday.

“Do you have a change of clothes, Vesna?” I asked.

“No, my queen, but I have sent for them,” she said. “I’m not sure when they will arrive.”

“Perhaps we should have some made,” I suggested.

“Tomorrow is market day in Cel Ceredi,” Violeta said. “I had hoped to take Vesna anyway.”

“Good,” I said. “Pick out some fabric while you are there.”

“Is there anything you require, my queen?”

The question caught me off guard because I did not know enough about my future circumstances in the castle to answer.

“Perhaps I will go with you,” I said. “To get an idea of what I may need.”

Violeta hesitated.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, my queen. I am only surprised. I have never known a royal to visit the market,” she said.

“Then I shall be the first,” I said and then glanced down at my tray, finally paying attention to my food. “What is this?”

“Oh, it’s yetta,” Violeta said. “It’s a traditional Revekkian breakfast, though you’ll find everyone has their own way of making it.”

“And what is in yetta?”

It looked like a stew, and while it did not smell horrible, it certainly looked questionable.

“Oh, many things,” she said. “Sausages, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, tons of spices…that’s a goose egg on top, if you were wondering.”

I had been.

I dipped my spoon into the thick broth and took a tentative sip, surprised by how flavorful it really was. It came with a hard piece of bread that Violeta explained was supposed to be used at the end to soak up what remained of the dish.

“Nothing goes to waste,” she said.

I finished the bowl, partly because I found I wanted to please Violeta who had been so excited about the dish. After, she collected the tray and left with Vesna in tow. I was not alone long when there was another knock at my door. I was expecting Ana, who still needed to dress my wound.

Instead, it was Adrian.

I couldn’t describe the feeling his presence triggered inside me, but it was like shattering. My heartbeat swept into a frenzied pulse that made my body flush. Beneath his gaze, I felt uncertain of how to present myself—conscious of his eyes on every part of me, conscious of the words I’d said that had driven him from my bed and how we had parted yesterday.

“Adrian,” I said, his name sounding more like a question.

His expression remained passive and a little cold.

“I’ve come to invite you to High Council. I will be meeting with the noblesse,” he said. “We will be discussing the attacks at Vaida and Sadovea. I…thought you would want to join.”

“Of course,” I said and attempted to imbue my voice with as much authority and control as his.

There was a strained silence that followed, as if he wished to say more, though he did not speak. After a moment, he took a breath. “Ana will bring you. She will be in attendance as well.”

He started toward the door, and I fought the urge to call him back to me, feeling uncomfortable with his coldness, knowing it was because of what I said. Why did I feel this way about our distance? Hadn’t I hoped for exactly this upon arriving at the Red Palace? I should be relieved it had worked so well.

“Adrian.” His name slipped from my mouth, and I wished I could take it back. He halted and stared at me, and my lips parted as I searched for words to speak.

“I…” What was I going to say? I’m sorry? Come back? Those words made me cringe. “Violeta is going to market tomorrow. I would like to go with her.”

“I am not opposed,” he said. “But I will have to send Isac and Miha to accompany you.”

“Not Sorin?” I asked.

I was used to all three acting as my protectors.

“Sorin is on assignment,” Adrian said.

Oh. Despite my curiosity, I did not ask for more information. Instead, I thanked him.

The way he looked at me made me think he wasn’t used to expressions of gratitude, and I supposed that was fitting, given that he was the Blood King.

He was about to turn once more when I called him back again. “Adrian.”

This time, I saw the frustration in the set of his jaw.

“Yes?” the question was clipped, almost a hiss, and I fought my own irritation.

“I’d like to send for Vesna’s family, her mother and two sisters.”

“You wish to relocate them?” he asked.

I hesitated. “Is that possible?”

“I will have to speak with Tanaka.”

“Please.”

He nodded, and with that, he left.

Ana arrived a short time later and dressed my wound. She wore white today, which made her hair look pale, her skin near translucent, and her lips far more crimson. The color made me think of fresh blood, and suddenly I wondered who Ana had taken as a vassal. I hesitated to ask, considering I had insulted her at our first meeting when I’d asked if Adrian had turned her, but drinking blood seemed far more common than siring another vampire, so I did.

She surprised me by blushing.

“Her name is Isla,” she said.

Now I was even more curious. “Have I seen her? Was she in the great hall the other night?”

“No, she is visiting family in Cel Cera.”

“If she is gone, who do you take from?”

I was mostly curious because of Adrian. Did he have a line of mortal women to cycle through if Safira was unavailable? She’d called herself his favored vassal—did that imply he had others? And now that I’d asked him to stop drinking from her, who would he choose?

Ana hesitated and then answered, “I don’t.”

My brows knitted together. “Won’t you starve?”

“I won’t starve,” Ana said with a small, amused smile. She focused intently upon my arm, smoothing a cooling salve evenly upon my skin. “She will only be gone four days.”

“Why wouldn’t you drink from someone else?”

“Because I do not wish to,” Ana answered.

It took her looking at me for it to sink in. Isla was not only her vassal but her lover.

“Oh,” I said. “Does she know?”

Ana’s laugh was lyrical, and she returned to her task of wrapping my arm. “She knows I will not drink from anyone but her. It is why she will only leave for as long as I can abstain.”

Again, I found myself think of Adrian and Safira. Had he been loyal to her in this way? A knot of jealousy twisted in my stomach as I realized how close the relationship between a vampire and his vassal must be.

“Do you love her?” I asked as she knotted off the gauze.

She took a moment to answer, rising to her feet first and smoothing her palms on her dress. “I do,” she answered quietly.

“Will you turn her?”

“She does not wish to be like me,” Ana said, and I sensed a note of pain in her voice.

“But she is your vassal. I thought…”

I thought all vassals agreed to offer their blood in hopes that they too would one day know immortality.

“She offered her blood to show me she loved me,” Ana said. “And that is enough.”

Except that I got the sense it wasn’t.

“Are you sure?”

“It is a decision she must make, and I will not make it for her.”

I considered how their society seemed to be built around consent—vampires had to have permission to drink from vassals or turn them.

“Is that what happened to Sorin? Was he not given the choice?”

“I cannot speak for Sorin,” she said. “But what I can say is that many of us were not given the choice in the beginning, which is why there is choice now.”

I frowned, thinking back to what I’d learned of the Dark Era. We had been told that it was a time of great fear, that new vampires were being born at an alarming rate. In the early days, they were not in control, their fierce hunger overtaking any humanity. I wasn’t sure how they’d come to handle their desire for blood, but eventually, the number of new vampires decreased. As they did, Adrian Vasiliev rose to power.

I had never considered, though, the horror these vampires had gone through.

I suppose Adrian was right. History was just perspective.

We spoke no more on the subject, and I left to attend High Council. The meeting would take place in the west wing of the castle, which happened to also be where Adrian resided. I wondered why he’d placed me in the south—was it to provide the distance I’d wanted? Or was it so that he could continue his trysts as he had before he’d left?

As we went, Ana pointed to Adrian’s chambers.

“In the event you…desire his presence,” Ana said as we passed. It made me think she knew he hadn’t come to my bed last night. I had to admit, I wondered what was behind those carved, black doors. Did he live in simplicity, or would his room reflect the extravagance present in every detail of the castle?

We continued up a set of stairs, now to the third floor, which opened into the most beautiful room in the entire palace. It was a long hall that created a bridge between one tower and the next. The walls alternated between large, rounded windows and gold mirrors. The floor at my feet was carpeted and crimson, made to look even darker by the red light streaming into the space. A row of chandeliers, lit with hundreds of taper candles, hung down the center, and I walked beneath them, taking in every detail—from dark paintings depicting the Burning to relief carvings of the goddesses Asha and Dis.

“Was this here before Adrian’s reign?” I asked.

I did not think he would have commissioned such art to decorate his palace, but then again, I could not be sure.

“It was,” Ana said. “He keeps it as a reminder.”

My brows lowered at her comment.

“A reminder for what?” I asked.

“Why he conquers.”

We continued walking, and I glanced at a mirror to my right. Just as I was about to walk out of frame, I caught site of something—a reflection that was not my own. It was a woman with ginger hair—the same one I’d seen in the reflection of the window at Sadovea.

I halted and stepped back, finding her staring back.

I could see more of her features this time—light olive skin, freckles across her cheeks and nose, full lips, and green eyes. She was beautiful, and as she stared back at me, the corners of her lips lifted.

“Are you a ghost?” I whispered.

“Who are you talking to?” Ana asked.

I whipped my head to the left and found her at the end of the hall, waiting.

“There is a woman.” I turned back to the mirror, but only I looked back. “In the mirror…” My voice trailed off as Ana came to stand beside me. I blinked and shook my head, confused. “I…must have been imagining it.”

Perhaps this was just another strange vision like the one I’d had of Adrian in the grotto.

Ana frowned. “Come. We’ll be late.”

The hall of mirrors emptied into a large corridor. A flight of steps inclined upward to higher floors. To the left, the hall curved out of view while the right led to a set of doors that reached the ceiling. We turned right through the doors, only to be greeted by a room full of men.

My disgust was immediate as they all turned to look at us. At least they bowed at my presence. The room where Adrian held council was far narrower than it was wide. A large marble fireplace framed the Blood King as he stood before a round table with Daroc only a step behind. I noted how the hearth was not full of raging fire, only glowing embers, and I wondered if he had done that for me. The rest of the room was just as extravagant as the hall we’d exited, with towering, gilded mirrors and chandeliers dripping in crystals. The ceiling was covered in a fresco that appeared to detail the creation of the world. I noted Asha and Dis, one depicted in white, the other in black, one haloed by the sun, the other by the stars, surrounded by the lesser goddesses, the ones we no longer worshipped in Cordova.

I did not have long to inspect every inch of this room, as my attention fell to the noblesse present. I only recognized a few—Tanaka, Gesalac, Dracul, and Anatoly. I noted that Ciro was absent from the mix, which was just as well. He had done his people a disservice and needed to rectify it. There were five other men I did not know, but none of them looked at me with as much mistrust as Gesalac, whose gaze made my stomach sour. I wondered if he was thinking about earlier when he’d found me in the grotto.

My gaze shifted to Adrian, who seemed on edge, his eyes burning with an infernal light. I wondered if he could hear my thoughts at this moment. If he was trying to guess what happened at the grotto.

“How unfortunate,” I said, “that no women advise you.”

“You advise me, my queen,” Adrian said.

“One woman and nine men—how revolutionary of you.”

I held Adrian’s gaze as I moved to his side. He stared down at me, and a little of his coldness had melted away.

“Your concerns are noted, my queen,” he said.

Tanaka cleared his throat, and Adrian shifted his attention to the older vampire. “Do you have something you wish to share, Viceroy?”

Tanaka hesitated, mouth working. Clearly, his interruption did not have the intended effect.

“Uh, no, Your Majesty.”

There was a strange silence, and my eyes shifted to a map that was spread upon the table, and I noted three small, red pins—one in Vaida, one in Sadovea, and one in a place called Cel Cioran.

“Was there another attack?” I asked, my chest tightening at the thought.

“Yes, but it was not recent,” he said. “Like Vaida, it was discovered late.”

I wondered if it was another one of Ciro’s territories but did not ask as Adrian jumped into an explanation of what we’d discovered on our way to the Red Palace. I felt more and more dread as he spoke of the state of the bodies, of the horror of hearing the man’s screams as he ran from the gates of Sadovea, and the child who had attacked me.

“A child?” one of the noblesse asked, looking just as devastated as I had felt. His name was Iosif. He was a tall man with blond hair that came to his shoulders and a smattering of facial hair.

“She was possessed by whatever magic was unleashed,” Adrian said. “And it turned her into a monster. We brought her here for an autopsy, which Ana performed.”

My eyes wide, I looked to Ana, who’d been hovering along the edge of the room. I had no idea the task would fall to her.

“During my analysis, the only thing I found of note was that her blood seemed to be crystalized,” she said. “Which, after a lot of research, leads me to believe that a spell was cast, specifically one for something called the crimson mist.”

A mist.

It made sense, considering how everyone had seemed to perish, like something had covered the entire town, crawled beneath doors, and seeped through windows. Still, I wondered how she was so certain it was a spell. Could a vampire also not possess this power? They could spread plague, so how was this different?

“Whoever is casting, however, is either not a witch or not gifted in blood magic,” she continued. “If the spell was successful, every villager would have been possessed by the crimson mist just like the girl.”

“I thought all witches were dead,” I said.

There was a strained silence, and Adrian answered, “It is likely a few survived. And even more were born after the Burning. Witches are not created, they are born. It is in their blood.”

I did not know what to make of this information. I’d grown up believing witches were a part of our past, that no more would walk this earth. Suddenly, Adrian was telling me that wasn’t so, which meant…where were they? Was the mist their attempt at retribution?

“Could this be Ravena?” Tanaka asked, and beside me, Adrian stiffened.

“Who is Ravena?” I asked, looking up at him. He stared for a long moment, and I wasn’t certain he wanted to tell me, but finally he relented.

“She was Dragos’s witch,” he said. “After his death, she escaped and has never been found.”

This was new information to me. I never knew that Dragos had employed a witch. Was that not contrary to his mission? That was a question for another time. Right now, I wondered why someone from Adrian’s past, someone who had been in hiding, was suddenly making herself so obviously known.

“If she is your enemy, why attack Vaida then?” I asked.

“We do not know that it was Ravena who conjured the spell,” said Adrian.

“Whoever it was likely did not intend for the mist to strike Vaida,” Ana said. “I believe they lost control of the magic, which is also why the spell has only managed to work on one person and killed the rest.”

“So the spell is intended to create monsters?” I asked, shivering as I recalled how dangerous something like this could be if it worked. The girl in Sadovea had looked so innocent, and she’d lured me in with no issue.

“I think it is intended to create an army.”

There was a stretch of silence.

“Can the mist affect us?” The question came from a noblesse named Julian.

“As long as the mist can attack the blood in our veins, I imagine so,” Ana replied.

More dread.

If the mist could successfully possess vampires, there would be no stopping the terror they might inflict. The worst part about this was that no one really seemed to know who was responsible.

“We should double down on our efforts to locate Ravena,” said Julian.

At his suggestion, Adrian’s jaw tightened, and I was curious about his reaction. Then he said, “Do you not think I have tried, Noblesse?”

“I did not mean to suggest otherwise, my king,” Julian said. “It’s just that you have been distracted.”

It was the wrong thing to say. I knew it in the way the air changed around me. It became thick and heavy, and beside me, Adrian tilted his head.

“Please enlighten me as to what has distracted me, Noblesse.”

Julian swallowed noticeably, and his eyes slid briefly to me. I was not sure if he was looking to me for help or suggesting I was the problem.

“The conquest of Cordova has taken up much of your time, Your Majesty, not to mention…your new wife.”

A long pause followed his words, and then Adrian spoke. “Do you think I lack the ability to conquer the world, fuck my wife, and search for a fugitive witch, Noblesse?”

I flinched at his words, and Julian did not answer.

“Does anyone else agree with Noblesse Julian?” Adrian asked, and as his gaze swept the crowd, he left my side, coming around the table as he twisted a gold ring upon his finger. No one spoke, and a sense of unease crept along my neck. I noted the way Daroc took a step closer to me, as if he were preparing to whisk me away the moment something horrible happened. Tanaka tensed, his fingers splayed across the map as if to give him added support.

Adrian came to stand in front of Julian, towering over the vampire.

“It seems you are the only one who thinks I am not worthy of this crown I wear,” he said, and he leaned forward, both hands on Julian’s shoulders, squeezing. “Would you like it?”

“N-no, Your Majesty,” Julian answered quietly, his gaze falling to the floor.

“Look at me when you lie, Julian,” Adrian said. “It will make this next part far easier.”

What next part?

But I soon found out, because just as Julian lifted his head, Adrian clasped his face between his hands. The ring he’d been twisting turned out to also be a small, curved blade, which he slid right into Julian’s eye. My nails bit into my palms as the vampire screamed, and Adrian continued to push the blade farther until he wrenched his thumb free and the eye came with it, hitting the ground with a slick splat.

Julian fell to his knees, rocking forward, holding his hands to his eye socket. I trembled but managed to remain steady as Adrian spoke, his hand dripping with Julian’s blood.

“Never assume you understand my purpose.” Then he turned, gaze sweeping the crowd. “You will all instruct your territories to light fires around their gates to keep the mist at bay until we are able to locate Ravena or the person responsible for the spell. You are all dismissed.”

The noblesse filed out silently, passing Julian as they went. Adrian placed his boot against Julian’s side and kicked him. The vampire fell with a groan to the floor.

“Get out!” Adrian yelled.

I flinched and watched as Julian scrambled to his feet.

“I’d like to be alone with my wife,” Adrian said to Daroc and Ana, as they still lingered.

I looked at both of them, a note of hysteria climbing up my throat, but they were already retreating. When the doors were closed, Adrian and I stared at each other.

“Do you feel justified in your belief that I’m a monster now?” he asked after a long bout of silence.

“That was indeed monstrous,” I said. “And all because he said you could not multitask.”

“It wasn’t what he said. It was what he was thinking,” Adrian said.

I stiffened. Sometimes I forgot Adrian could read minds. And apparently not just mine.

“And what was he thinking?”

“He called you a whore,” Adrian said.

“I see,” I said, suddenly feeling far less sorry for the noblesse. My eyes fell to Adrian’s clenched hands. I took a step away from the table, closer to him.

“He is lucky he left with his head.”

“Why were you so generous?” I asked.

Adrian’s lips twitched. “Eager for a beheading, my sweet?”

“I only wish to know why he is so valuable to your council.”

“He is an excellent huntsman,” Adrian said. “And he teaches his people to live off the land. It is a valuable skill.”

“And no one else can teach such skills?”

“Not as well as he does. Not yet,” he said.

Which told me he would eventually be expendable.

We were quiet for a moment, and then I asked, “Do you think Ravena is responsible for the mist?”

“I think she is likely responsible,” he said. “If the attack only occurred at Vaida, I would have continued to think it was a mortal who happened upon a rogue spell. It wasn’t until Sadovea I began to suspect otherwise.”

“Why did you not tell me as soon as you suspected?”

I thought I knew why, and it had everything to do with his past—a past no one seemed inclined to tell me about. I wanted to know why and how Adrian had become the first vampire. I wanted to know why he was so invested in the High Coven. I wanted to know why this witch wanted an army.

He watched me for a moment and then answered, “I wanted to be certain.”

Suddenly, he reminded me of my father, but not in a good way.

I want to protect you, my father would say as he barred me from attending his council meetings, but really it was just an excuse, a way to keep me from knowing exactly what was going on while men discussed things like barring shipments of blue cohosh and silphium—two methods of birth control for the women of Lara. I’d been so angry, I hadn’t spoken to my father for two weeks and only relented when he agreed to a compromise. He would remove the ban and allow healers to administer the herbs. It was not the best circumstance. Healers could be bribed, and some, themselves, did not believe in preventing pregnancy, but it was better than no access.

“That is an excuse,” I said. Even now, I could recall the moment I suspected Adrian knew something—it had been the way he’d set his jaw and stared off into the distance. He’d been connecting the pieces, searching for confirmation. “You could have told me, but doing so would mean telling me about your past, and it seems you value its secrecy over winning the trust of your wife.”

“Isolde,” Adrian began, and there was a spark of hurt and frustration in his eyes.

“Don’t say my name,” I said, closing my eyes against the sound of it, the way it burrowed under my skin. “Just…tell me the truth.”

He stepped closer. “You want truth?” he said. “Ravena may be building an army to come after me, but her target is you.”

“What?”

“Your father told you to find my weakness,” he said, a lithe finger twining around a piece of my hair. My eyes widened at his words—words that had been spoken only between me and my father. He smiled at my reaction, and it was wicked. “Little did he know…it is you.”