House of Secrets and Vows (Crown of Deceit #1)

34. Top of the Food Chain

34

TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN

I settle near the bar underneath the balcony at the head of the room while Mavet leads Zariah across the dance floor.

I remind myself he won’t hurt her, not while he thinks he has a chance at an alliance with me. But a part of me questions the truth in that statement.

I’ve watched the gameboard of politics from the sidelines my entire life, but everything I’ve witnessed has been with human players. Vampires aren't humans, and forgetting that is a mistake I can't make, especially considering I am one of them now.

A red-headed human in a deep yellow dress the color of pollen approaches me with her right wrist extended. "A drink, Prince?"

Both sides of her neck are covered in bite marks, blood dripping past her collarbone and beneath the neckline of her dress. Her left arm has a few punctures, but her right one hasn't been fed from yet.

"No, thank you.” I fight the urge to cross my arms, which are dangling at my side. Her scent causes my incisors to poke through my gums.

It's those fucking teeth I hate most of all. They are a dead giveaway that I am supernatural now, and I don’t know how to stop them from popping out every time I smell blood.

"You look parched." The human’s mouth curves into a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes. No, those look dead inside.

I’m about to deny her again when Tatiyana approaches me with two glasses of red liquid. "He's already covered, human."

The woman dips her chin and leaves without another word.

Tatiyana extends one of the drinks. Before I can refuse, she says, "It's just wine."

I sniff it and then take a drink, and I’m met with the tartness of grapes. "Thank you."

She swirls the liquid in her glass.

"It isn’t often I agree with Mavet, but he’s right. Fighting your instincts won't end well. You can accept your new nature without becoming a monster like the rest of them." She scans the room, her gaze settling on Zariah. "Are you afraid she won't approve?"

"I didn't choose to become this."

"Yet, here you are.” She takes a drink. Her large eyes meet mine. "There are many of us who didn't choose this life."

"Us?"

I assumed Tatiyana was here simply to enjoy the festivities with the rest of them. Maybe I judged her too quickly.

She swirls the wine in her glass. “I never wanted to become what I've become. But someone taught me how to accept my cravings without denying them."

"Is that an offer to help me feed from the woman?"

"No, this is not the place to learn control. Quite the opposite, actually." She watches another vampire feeding from the woman. “She does smell quite lovely, though.”

"Are the vampires where you come from different than the ones here?"

"Some, yes. Though some take pleasure in their position at the top of the food chain just as Mavet does.” Her attention settles back on me. "How did you get involved with the Blood King?"

"I made a rash decision to accept an invitation to a House of Blood ritual after taking a shot of fae brandy." I had been so miserable after River's death, I’d done a lot of stupid things. Most of the time, my title of prince has saved me from any real trouble. But I had no clue just how dark the House of Blood really was, or how badly Mavet wanted me to join.

"So you gained your gifts from a ritual?" She swirls her wine again, but something in what I said clearly piqued her interest.

"I guess. Is there another way to become a vampire?"

"Most become vampires by being drained of their blood to the point of death and then feeding from a vampire."

I refrain from imagining the horrific event. “That's how it was for you?"

She nods. "Those who were blessed by the ritual are sustained by blood like all vampires, but Malikar blesses them with other gifts."

"Gifts?"

"I've heard that you can walk during the day. That's a very rare ability, one that is coveted by all of our kind."

"I didn't realize that doing so was something special." More and more, I realize just how little I know about Mavet and his House.

"Most who are touched by the sun burst into flames."

I had walked out of the abandoned building where the House of Blood ritual cursed me took place, right into the sun, and Mavet hadn't tried to stop me. Had he expected me to die the same day I'd become a vampire?

I search the dance floor and find Mavet smiling at Zariah.

The urge to go to her lights within me like an ember. I hate the way he looks at her, as if she’s nothing more than a piece of meat to be devoured one bite at a time. That’s how I’d assumed all vampires saw humans.

But Tatiyana is different. She doesn’t watch Zariah with hungry eyes like the others do. But if she isn’t here to join in the depravity of the House of Blood, what game is she playing?

"Can Mavet walk in the sun?" I ask.

She smirks. "No. It's a gift he desperately covets."

Another question surfaces in my mind. “Ever since…turning…my body has run hotter than it used to. Almost as if I have a constant fever. Is that normal?”

She shakes her head. “Quite the opposite. Most run abnormally cool after the transition. However, a friend of mine is daywalker, and he runs hot like you.”

I’m about to inquire about her friend when the song ends.

I tense as Mavet whispers something in Zariah's ear that earns a glare from her.

"I'll let you return to your lady," Tatiyana says. "But remember, Prince. Always be listening."

She bows to me before heading back to the bar.

By the time I reach Zariah, Mavet is gone.

When she sees me, worry flashes across her face, but then she smiles and says, "I wondered when you'd come back and save me."

I step in, and we fall back into dance.

"Mavet's that bad of a dancer, is he?" I brush my finger down her cheek.

Her mouth curves into a smile, but worry tints her gaze. “Worse. He's so good, he made me look like a fool. I suppose over four hundred years of experience helps."

She purses her lips as her eyes narrow playfully, but the expression falls flat, and I see right through it.

It’s strange the way I can read her now, how I can see through the facade she wears whenever other people are watching. "I'm glad to be mediocre enough for your standards."

She takes a deep breath, and the cheerfulness falls from her face as we spend the next few minutes dancing in silence. The song changes again, this one to a faster tempo.

Zariah slips her hand from mine. "My feet are in desperate need of a break. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I could use a drink." I quickly add, "There's a delicious red wine at the bar."

The last thing I want is for Zariah to worry about my craving for blood.

Though in this place full of feeding vampires, my desire runs thick.

Every human here, outside of Zariah, now has bite marks marring their skin. They move around the room, feigning smiles as they offer themselves to any vampire they pass.

This late into the night, most now decline the offers, but the woman who had offered herself to me approaches a couple who were dancing, and each latches onto one of her wrists until she crumples to the ground.

“Oops.” The female vampire giggles as she steps over the unconscious servant.

Zariah leans into my body. “Is she…”

I extend my hearing and am met with a human heartbeat. “She’s alive.”

I’m about to reassure her that the woman will be fine, but that’s not something I can guarantee. In fact, if I had to bet, she very much won’t be fine in this place.

Sooner or later, every human here will die at the hands of a vampire.

I usher Zariah around the poor human woman back to the bar, where we each get a glass of wine. Then, to avoid being overheard, we move to the outside of the room, behind where the band is playing.

"What did Mavet want?" I bring the glass to my mouth but don’t drink.

"Besides to take something that's yours?" She swallows. "Or, I mean, that he thinks is yours."

"Yes, besides that.” I can’t resist a grin at the sudden flush in her cheeks.

"My best guess is to show his power and intimidate me."

"Intimidate you?" I expect Mavet to play power games with me, but why would he want to do so to her?

She shrugs and takes a long drink of her wine. "He's a mysterious man."

I reach out and run my finger down the outside of her arm. "I'm sorry to bring you into this."

“I made you agree to come here, remember?"

The memory of the blade to my neck surfaces. "Still, this mess is my fault."

"Throwing blame around will get us nowhere."

Her gaze meets mine, and my cock hardens. "Aren’t you the little diplomat?"

"Little?" She straightens her back. "I’m not little."

"My apologies." I tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. " Fierce diplomat."

She leans into my hand. "Better."

I should hate her. I want to hate her. She’d done nothing but deceive me from the moment she showed up to the palace—to my home—to kill me.

But I don't hate her. Not even a little.