CHAPTER 25 - BLAKE

I felt my lip split open as my head smashed against the wall.

Whatever pleasure I might have felt from surviving the House Leadership and Coregon's betrayal hadn't lasted long–if it was ever there in the first place.

I'd gone from a solo visit with the headmaster to being summoned by my uncle.

I licked the blood off my lips, resisting the instinct that screamed at me to fight back, to resist. Instead, I held still, jaw clenched with tension. The wound on my side from Coregon's knife was still throbbing. It would take a few days to completely heal. I'd bound it as best I could before coming here.

Viktor was a good few inches shorter than me, but even so, he seemed to hulk over me as I leaned against the wall, trying to fake the proper humility.

He was older than me by centuries. With that age came a power I could never hope to match.

Viktor might look like a typical blightborn man in his sixties. But the very fact that he showed any sign of aging at all spoke volumes.

He was one of the oldest vampires alive and possibly the strongest.

I spit out a mouthful of blood on the stone floor and considered, just for a moment, lashing out.

But I knew better. I stood no chance against Viktor.

Another blow came. This one a swift strike to my gut.

I doubled over, gasping for breath.

"You've embarrassed me," Viktor snarled, stepping closer. "You've embarrassed this House."

"Seems to be the theme of my day," I quipped, then instantly regretted it as Viktor's fist collided with my jaw again.

I struggled to stand straight, trying to push the nausea and dizziness away. But Viktor's words dug in deep.

"You've made a spectacle of yourself," Viktor snarled, his voice cold and biting. "Fighting with your betrothed in front of the entire academy."

I'd told Headmaster Kim that I'd started the fight.

Coregon Phiri was probably the only one who'd been close enough to witness what had really happened.

Fortunately he was now dead.

For a moment, I'd been tempted to tell Kim the truth. That I'd been defending myself. That I'd even held back. Pendragon had probably walked out of that training yard with a few bruises but otherwise not a scratch on her.

But the idea of Pendragon being summoned here to face my uncle's wrath instead of me made my chest tighten. I wouldn't subject her to it, no matter how much she might deserve it. I knew what Viktor was capable of. I wouldn't let her face that.

So instead, I'd lied.

I'd known Viktor would summon me. Though I hadn't expected it to be quite so soon.

"I was putting her in her place," I said. "She disrespected me and I dealt with it."

Viktor's expression twisted with anger. "You dealt with it? You made it worse. Knocking her around in private would have been one thing." Of course it would have. That was the norm in our family. At least, ever since Viktor had become its head. "Now that I could have condoned. But you fought her in public. The entire school thinks you can't control your own betrothed. A blightborn woman no less." He spat the word as if it were toxic. I knew he valued Pendragon's blood. That didn't mean he didn't simultaneously despise her.

My fists tightened at my sides. I knew what Viktor wanted to hear me say–that I'd failed. That I was sorry.

I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"She could have been expelled for that fight," Viktor continued, his fury plainly growing. "The Drakharrows have given buckets of gold to that fucking school. But Kim still runs it the way he sees fit. He could have had her executed. And I wouldn't have been able to prevent it. I wouldn't have learned of it in time."

"But she wasn't," I snapped. "He would have had to consult the board for something like that. Besides, I told Kim it was my fault. She's fine." I couldn't help adding sullenly, "I didn't ask for this, you know. I didn't ask for her ."

Viktor backhanded me without a word.

He patiently waited while I wiped the blood off my face before he spoke again.

"I've held back today. You must be wondering why," he said. "The only reason I'm not beating you into the ground right now is because of what I heard about a certain blightborn boy walking around with some severe injuries." There was a gleam of satisfaction in Viktor's eyes. "I told you to put your cousin in his place. You did the next best thing. I hear you did quite a number on the boy."

I froze, my stomach twisting. I hadn't touched Vaughn Sabino. Coregon had been the one responsible. But Coregon was dead now. If he'd had been telling the truth, Marcus was the one who'd actually instructed Coregon to attack Vaughn. But evidently Marcus had gone behind my uncle's back when he'd talked to Coregon. Anything to make me look weak.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I told you I'd take care of it."

Viktor nodded, pleased. "Good. I won't have your cousin shaming this family. You did Theo a favor. The only thing I don't understand is why you didn't include him in your punishment. Or why you let the mortal boy live."

I shrugged. "Sabino's disfigured now. He might even lose the use of his arm. I thought he could be a warning to anyone else Theo might try to...entice," I lied, feeling sick inside.

Viktor nodded. "Fine. We'll try it your way. But another wrong move and Theo will find himself before me. You're welcome to tell him so."

I balled my hands into fists so tightly the nails bit into my palms. I hated how casually Viktor spoke about Theo and Vaughn, as if they were disposable. But I couldn't let my real emotions show. Not now. Theo was my responsibility and I had to protect him.

"Of course, then there's the matter of Kiernan O'Rourke," my uncle said. His face darkened once more and I knew I was in for it.

"Kiernan? What the fuck was wrong with what I did to Kiernan?" I asked in disbelief. "I thought you'd be happy about that."

"Happy?" Viktor roared. "His father was a valuable ally. Now you've destroyed that relationship with your hotheadedness."

I stared at him. "But the O'Rourkes are with House Avari..."

"Allegiances can change," Viktor snapped. In other words, Lord O'Rourke was a spy for Viktor. Or had been. "You have no idea the relationships I've been cultivating. The bonds I've been forging. All to strengthen this house, all to protect this family."

To strengthen himself . To gain more power for himself . Viktor Drakharrow only cared about one man and one man only. He was nothing like my father. And yet his power rested on my father's legacy.

He probably had spies in each of the other three houses. I wondered how many he had in Bloodwing, all scurrying back to tell tales about me to him.

"Kiernan was threatening to drink Pendragon. He disrespected me. I had to act," I said, meeting Viktor's gaze and refusing to back down.

The truth was, I'd lost control that night. When he'd touched Pendragon's blood, I'd seen red. Kiernan was doomed from that moment forward.

Kage Tanaka had understood that. Which was why he hadn't intervened. Kiernan had been an embarrassment to House Avari.

Or, the thought occurred to me, perhaps the Avaris had learned about the O'Rourkes' disloyalty. Had I punished Kiernan so Kage didn't have to? That would put a twist on things. I scowled.

"Did you?" Viktor sneered. "Or did you just want to throw your weight around like a fool? Now I have to clean up your mess. You don't think, Blake. You act without considering the consequences. You should be thankful I gave you the dragon rider bitch in the first place. Anyone else would have been grateful. Do you know the strength that lies in that blood of hers?"

Something in Viktor's voice made me pause. Something was off here but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Then I recognized it for what it was. Hunger .

My uncle was hungry for Pendragon. He was jealous. Jealous of me. That...was not a good thing.

I kept my voice steady. "I didn't ask for her. Give her to someone else if she's so valuable," I bluffed.

Now that I'd caught a glimpse of Viktor's own lust for Pendragon, I knew what would happen if I seemed too eager to keep the prize I'd been given.

"No," Viktor said, his lip curling. "She's yours now. But you will keep her in line using more subtlety in the future, or I'll be forced to handle her myself."

Just the idea of my uncle handling Pendragon made me want to vomit.

I clenched my jaw, anger simmering just below the surface, threatening to boil over.

Viktor abruptly shifted topics, saving me from myself. "There's unrest in the cities. The masses have been stirring. There are whispers of rebellion. Faint, but at times, I worry our control over them is weakening slightly."

I stayed silent, but my stomach twisted. I knew what Viktor meant by ‘control.' A subtle, insidious magic, a lower form of thrallweave, kept the mortals compliant and worshipful.

Most blightborn lived their entire lives never knowing they were being manipulated. Never realizing we highbloods were gently pulling their strings.

At Bloodwing, this magic was less powerful. Different wards were set up over the school to protect the students within. These wards conflicted with the magic used over the city of Veilmar, among others. But the houses justified this by telling themselves that the blightborn students who attended Bloodwing didn't need to be manipulated–or not by much. They wanted to be here. They already adored us.

For the most part, I'd found that was correct.

Viktor's eyes flickered over me, sharp and calculating. "We can't afford weakness. Not now, Blake. Not with the city on edge. If word gets out in Veilmar that we have a dragon rider. Well... I've been preparing for that eventuality but I want her under our full control when it does happen."

My heart sped up. I wondered if my uncle was talking about speeding up our bonding. There was no real way to do that though. Not without Pendragon's cooperation.

Viktor started pacing back and forth across the room. "You don't understand the danger she poses. Keeping her alive... We had no choice that day in the Keep. But if word gets out that a dragon rider has returned, she could become a dangerous symbol. A spark for rebellion." He stopped in front of me, glaring down. "Which is why you need to keep her under control. Keep her at the school. Safe and under our power. Her entire life, she'll be watched and guided." His lips twisted into a cruel smile. "She'll never be anything more than what we allow her to be."

I stared up at him, trying to hide the shock I was feeling.

Viktor didn't know. He didn't have a fucking clue.

Rodriguez had told me he was teaching Pendragon thrallguard. Hell, it had been approved by Headmaster Kim himself.

And yet Viktor didn't know. He obviously didn't know.

I wasn't going to tell him.

My mind raced. How far had Pendragon come with her training? Probably not far enough to resist Viktor if he did have to use thrallweave on her.

"Is that all we want with her?" I risked asking. "To keep her as a pawn? She's a pretty useless pawn if you ask me. What kind of a symbol would she be for the blightborn when there are no dragons? Her blood carries power, nothing more."

"She's already a symbol," Viktor said. "A symbol of Drakharrow power. A symbol of our power over all the other houses. Do you not see that? Every man and woman in the Keep that day was hungering after her blood. We might have drained her in the Sanctum and shared her. A communal feast. But I gave her to one man. You."

A chill went up my spine.

"A very generous gift," I said slowly. "You truly honored me, Uncle. I see that now."

"I could have given her to Marcus," he said, studying me closely. "But Marcus has proven too reckless with his toys. She is too valuable for that. Not to mention..." He hesitated. I waited, all ears now. "Not to mention we still have no idea where she came from."

"You think she could be some sort of a spy?"

"The girl's ignorance seemed genuine in many ways," Viktor said consideringly. "Even if she were a spy, where would she have possibly come from? Who could have been keeping a girl with an appearance like that concealed? It seems impossible. But that doesn't mean she doesn't know more than she's letting on. She has no reason to trust us. And every reason to try to escape." His eyes met mine. "She cannot be permitted to leave, Blake. Ever."

I nodded. "I understand. I'll watch her. I'll keep her safe." I hesitated, then asked, "You say there's been unrest in Veilmar. I understand the killings have increased."

Viktor waved a hand. "Blightborns deaths. Easily dealt with."

Easily ignored, he meant.

"Blightborns clearly killed by highbloods," I said, trying to keep my patience. "If we want to maintain control..."

"It's a balance," Viktor said testily. "We must continue to preach restraint. We have your father to thank for that. A new way, he said. Well, your generation has grown up with this ‘new way.' They are the weaker for it."

None of this was what my father had had in mind. But I said nothing.

"But the reality is," Viktor continued. "That vampires will be vampires. We can only show restraint for so long before suppressed desire boils over."

I nodded and started moving towards the door, hoping the interview was at an end.

"Blake."

I stopped in my tracks.

"As for Aenia..."

I took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. The moment dragged on.

"I've paid a visit to the Sanctum. Tell her your mother sends her love."

I nodded and pulled the door open.