Chapter 7

I look around as I follow Eliza, hoping I can find a way out, but so far, there's nothing that looks promising, especially because I'm not entirely sure where I am in comparison to the castle doors. And even if I get back there and manage to step out of the front door, there's a chance I'll get lost on my way through the woods.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Eliza says.

I jump, not having expected her to say anything.

"Looking for an escape," she continues. "I tried to do that when I was first brought here."

"You were a dhampir?" I ask, the word sounding foreign on my tongue. I'm not sure if I truly believe that's what I am, but I'll give the whole situation the benefit of the doubt.

For the moment, at least.

"Most of us were at one point. Vampires can have children with other vampires, but it's rare. For the most part, they find their heirs by having children with humans. So dhampirs. Many of us fight it at first, especially if we weren't brought up with any knowledge of what we are. But after a while, it's not so bad."

"I don't want this life."

"It's not really your choice," Eliza says. "You can go back to town if you want. I can take you down to the front of the castle and order you a carriage. But you'll die the moment the sun touches your skin. Is that something you're willing to chance?"

I look down at Pip, wondering what would happen to her if Eliza is telling the truth. Though I don't know what will happen to her even if I stay.

"Things will go a lot smoother for you if you don't fight it," Eliza promises. "And it's really not so bad."

"But...blood."

"You don't have to think about it too much," she promises. "Mostly, it's brought to us like wine, and I'm assured that it's ethically sourced."

I swallow hard. "What's that even mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I try not to ask questions about it. Ah, here we are, this is your room." She pushes open a door and gestures for me to step inside.

"My room?" I echo.

"They knew you were coming," she says.

I follow her in with Pip coming at my heels.

"Though they didn't tell me about your dog, so I haven't prepared anything for her. But that's all right, it won't take long to get her a bed and anything else she needs."

"You're not going to make me give her up?"

"What? No, of course not. I still have my cat from when I was a dhampir. He's called Mr Purr, you'll meet him before long, he's always running around."

I look down at Pip, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. I don't think I realised how worried about her I was. I don't want to be parted from her, but Bastian has been so strange about her presence.

"Now, we should find you a new dress," she says, heading towards the wardrobe with purpose.

"A new dress? What do I need one for?"

"Because the one you're wearing doesn't fit you properly."

I grimace. She's not wrong, but I hate the idea that I've been looking untidy even if it's not my most important concern at the moment. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone with a trained eye. But more to the point, you can't be a Fallmartin and wear something like that. We're from an important House and at midnight, you'll be presented to the rest of the court. You need to look the part. Aha, this is the one." She pulls out a striking deep red dress with black overskirts. "It's the House colour."

"I don't even know what that means."

"There are books in the library, I'll show you tomorrow," she promises. "All you need to know for now is that you're part of a powerful noble House. Unfortunately, they're a bit short of heirs since my father died."

"Don't you and Bella count?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes. "To some of the more forward-thinking Houses, we would, but for House Rothorne, it's a boy or nothing. That's why our House name and our family name are different. If you didn't have your brother, you'd probably have been left in town to die tomorrow." She gestures for me to take off my dress.

I hesitate for a moment, then realise there really isn't anything wrong with changing into a better dress. "I would have died regardless of coming here?"

"It's something about dhampir coming of age. Once we're eighteen, we have until the next Golden Moon to be accepted by our House, or we die. No one wants too much vampiric blood running around unchecked, that could lead to rebellions."

"We wouldn't want that," I mutter.

Eliza reaches out to take Pip's rope from me. It's hard to actually let go of it.

"I promise you nothing bad will happen to her. She can just sit on the bed while we get you ready."

I nod. Despite the situation, I do kind of want to trust her. I let go of the rope, my heart hammering in my chest as Eliza takes it.

She pats the bed and Pip jumps up, lying with her head on her paws. Eliza ruffles the fur on the top of her head and she closes her eyes and lets out a low rumble.

That's a good sign. Pip reacted poorly to the servant and he was a vampire too, which probably means she was responding to something other than his nature. And maybe that means my trust in Eliza isn't misplaced.

"See, we're all good. I'll tell the servants to bring some food for her. Is there anything in particular that she likes?"

"I don't know," I admit. "Mostly she just ate the scraps left over from our meals." I feel guilty having to admit it to someone, even if I know I gave her the best possible.

"There are plenty of dogs here," Eliza says, gesturing back to my dress as a reminder that I'm supposed to take it off. "I'm sure the kitchens will know what to make her."

"Thank you, that's very kind." Even as I say the words, I realise I've decided I'm not running away today. If everything she's said is to be believed, then my options are to stay or to die. Maybe I'll end up deciding that the latter is a preferable option, but until then, I want to find out more.

The dress drops to the floor and I step out of it, leaving me in the threadbare shift I've got underneath.

Eliza takes one look at it and heads over to a set of drawers, pulling out a crisp white replacement. She holds it out to me.

"Thank you." I take it from her and just stand there, not really knowing what to do.

She raises an eyebrow, then turns around. "You'll have to get used to it. I'm here now, but normally it'll be a maid who helps you get dressed."

"Do I really need help getting dressed?" I strip my current shift over my head and drop it to the floor, replacing it with the new one. The fabric feels like nothing against my skin, both soft and pleasant, and unlike anything I've ever worn before.

"I'll let you answer that when we've put the dress on you," she responds, turning back around and scooping up the clothing. "Do you have any attachment to any of this?"

I shake my head. "My brother bought me the dress for tonight."

She snorts. "That explains a few things." She dumps them next to the fire. "You can throw it on yourself if you particularly hate the dress."

"I don't have any strong feelings about it," I admit.

She helps me with the new dress. The fabric is heavier than the dress Bastian bought me, and I can feel that it's going to move differently. Without thinking, my thoughts stray to dancing. What would it be like in this dress?

I clear my throat and try to focus on the dozens of questions I have spinning around my head. "Is everyone here vampires?" I ask.

"More or less. Some of the servants are dhampirs who arrived here at eighteen and are waiting for the Golden Moon. Though I suppose that isn't true tonight."

"And the townspeople?" I don't think I want to know the answer to my question.

"Some of them might be dhampirs," Eliza responds. "But in all honesty, I don't know. I've only been to one Golden Moon ball before."

"So you're...twenty-three?"

"Try a hundred and twenty-three," she responds. "I've just avoided going to them ever since, I didn't have much of an investment in any of them. But Uncle Gerard wants us to put on a united front when he introduces his new heir to the court, so I'm here."

"And everyone just does what Lord Fallmartin says to?"

"Of course. He's the head of our House. He can banish us if he wants to. Or worse, get one of the vampire royals to put us out in the sun for insubordination. Don't cross him, Beatrice. If you want to survive here, keep your head down and do what they tell you to." She helps with the ties of my dress.

Even without looking in the mirror, I can tell this one fits better, which is strange when it can't have been made by anyone who knows me.

"All right. Now for your hair," she says.

"The combs belonged to my mother." I touch them as if to reassure myself that they're still in place.

"Then I'll see what I can do with them," she promises, indicating that I should sit in front of the dressing table.

The mirror captures my reflection perfectly and I'm half surprised to find I look the same as I always have done.

Though I suppose that's logical. If I've always been a dhampir, then why would I look any different now I know about it?

The real question is what I'm going to look like tomorrow when I wake up as a full vampire. And if the differences are going to be more than skin deep.