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

42. The Sharpening of Anger

42

THE SHARPENING OF ANGER

B ruises mar my wrist where Nevan has fed from me for the past three days.

Our intimate moment was short-lived, and soon the smell of piss and shit keeps any lustful thoughts from taking hold, no matter how I feel when he bites into me.

The days pass slowly, with nothing to do but sit in my thoughts of betrayal and anger. Nevan doesn't speak much. I imagine he too is facing the backstabbing demon that is trusting someone you love.

Anticipation stirs in my stomach. I'm no expert of the cycle of the moon, but something tells me the time for the ritual is soon. A more spiritual priestess might think it's the inner whisper from the Goddess Mina; Aella always swore she felt the ethereal presence of the goddess.

I can feel the magic my Priestess Vow has granted me, but I'm skeptical the Goddess cares about humans as she watches from above.Though lately, sometimes I wonder if I feel a connection to something bigger.

I stretch out my legs and peer up at Nevan.

His head is tipped against the stone wall, his eyes closed.

All of the candles inside the cell burned out days ago, and the only light comes from the sconce outside the door in the hallway. A guard comes every half day to relight it and peer inside, likely to check if Nevan has drained me yet.

The last guard to peek in on us didn’t hide the annoyance at my still-beating heart. He mumbled something about losing a bet as his steps faded away down the corridor.

Nevan’s voice pulls me to the present. “Priestess?”

“Yes?” My voice is hoarse. We haven’t had any food or water. Or I haven’t. Nevan has learned that while he enjoys the same food and beverages he had before becoming a vampire, my blood is enough to sustain him.

I, however, am weak from hunger and thirst.

“Thank you,” the prince says.

“For what?”

“Making me believe that I can be something more than this damn curse.”

I'm about to tell him that I can’t make him believe anything. That a part of him has always known what he’s capable of. That it was him who’d declined the Blood King over and over before I’d come to the palace as Solstice Priestess.

But before I can find the energy to say anything, Colesef arrives with guards. "Time to go, Prince."

Nevan glances at me. "We go together."

"I've been told to leave her here, but don't fret. You'll have the honor of dying together soon enough."

I nod to Nevan. There’s no point in wasting any of our strength fighting yet. Mavet enjoys the theatrics. There’s no way he won’t want me there to see Nevan sacrificed in whatever ritual he plans to do.

I don't have to wait long to learn why I've been left behind. Two guards remain after Colesef takes Nevan, and Aella slips inside.

My friend hovers near the open door.

The bitter tone that comes out of my mouth is almost unrecognizable. "You actually think I'd hurt you?"

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." Aella tugs at the skirt of her dress. “I brought you something.”

She closes the door, leaving the guards on the other side, and slips a small canteen and a half loaf of bread out from beneath her cloak.

I wait for my friend to toss me the items as if I’m some feral street cat, but just as she had the day she’d found me starving on the cold winter streets, Aella bends to my level and hands me the food and canteen.

A proud voice in my head urges me to refuse.

I need no pity from the person who betrayed me. But that voice gets shoved away by the one that insists if I don’t take the offering, I’ll have no hope of escaping this place alive.

I try to snatch the items from Aella, but my motions are too slow and weak to be dramatic. I twist off the canteen top first and force myself to drink slowly.

Aella backs away a few steps and lowers herself to the ground in a crisscross. “This isn't how I wanted this to all happen."

“No? Did you plan for me to kill Prince Nevan in the palace and then be caught and hanged in front of the entire kingdom?" I bite into the bread.

Holy goddess above, my body melts at the taste.

"Maddox promised you would get out of the palace alive."

I finish the bite. “To what? Be on the run forever? Everyone saw me getting close to Nevan over the Solstice. There's no way I wouldn't have been blamed for his death. I'd have been on the run the rest of my life or until I got far enough away from the kingdom that no one gave a damn about the Valazican Prince."

"I didn't think..." Aella pauses. "Maddox can make the kingdom a better place when he's king. There won’t be any need for a resistance. All those people who are starving on the streets can have food in their bellies."

"Gods, I never thought you could be so naive." I cross my arms in front of my chest. "You think he will follow through with any of that when he's willing to use others to get there? And what about all the innocent people in outer Valazica who are soon to become vampire prey?”

"You don’t know him like I do." She glances at the closed door. With a clenched jaw, she returns her attention to me.

"Well, no, I suppose that's true. I haven't fucked him." It’s a low blow, especially when I know that when Aella went to serve as Solstice Priestess, she'd been a virgin. But she doesn’t deny the accusation.

"Prince Nevan isn't so innocent. He doesn't care about the privilege he's been given. He spent the entire Winter Solstice drunk. If the kingdom had been given to him..."

I'm about to throw out the same answer Aella gives me. That she doesn’t know Nevan like I do. That he would have made the kingdom a better place if he'd been able to become king someday. But none of that matters. Because no matter how much I see a world where a better ruler changes Valazica, I wouldn't have betrayed Aella like she’s betrayed me.

My anger sharpens into a blade. “You could have told me. I could have helped without being a fucking pawn in a game I didn't know I was playing."

"Maddox made me swear not to say anything."

"And that didn't cause you to question his judgment? He used you to trick your own best friend into murdering his brother, the fucking heir to the throne. At least be honest with yourself, Aella. You fell in love with him and let all your better judgment fly out the window."

She doesn’t deny the accusation.

Over the past few days, I’ve gone over everything that has happened since Prince Nevan came to the Temple.

Now might be my only chance for answers. “How did you know I’d be chosen to hear Nevan’s confession?”

That day was so long ago, but I’ve never understood why I was picked out of all the priestesses.

“Maddox bribed Priestess Lana,” Aella answers.

I’ve never loved the high priestess, but the corruption in being bribed surprises me. “And he made sure I would be Summer Solstice Priestess too?”

She nods.

I bite my cheek, shaking my head. “Your plan was thorough. I’ll give you that.”

I’ve always wondered why I was selected to serve as a priestess, but it seems the other priestesses might not be as pious as I once assumed.

Pain and regret radiate around Aella like warmth from a fire, but I don’t care. My friend chose not to trust me. She’s fallen into a game far bigger than she’ll ever be able to control, and now I'm likely to die, my body nothing more than fuel to a bunch of bastard vampires.

But I'm not dead yet. And I won’t go without a fight. I finish every last bite of bread and guzzle the rest of the water, then toss the canteen at Aella’s feet, not bothering to say thank you.

In the days since learning of my friend’s betrayal, I have replayed everything that happened since Aella’s time as Solstice Priestess, desperate to understand how I hadn’t picked up on the ruse I’d been an unwilling part of.

“One more question,” I say. “Did any of the instructions actually come from Felix?”

Aella shakes her head. “I forged them.”

“You knew I’d do almost anything to earn his favor. I always knew you were clever, but I mistakenly thought you were a good person. Not a conniving, backstabbing bitch. But credit to you, you fooled me.” I clench my teeth. “Are we done here?”

She slips the canteen back into a pocket inside her cloak and sighs. "I came here to say I'm sorry for how this has all gone. I can't change anything now, but I didn't want you to think this is how I thought it would turn out."

"You've said your piece. Now you can live happily ever after with the prince—I'm sorry, soon to be king—without any pesky guilt to weigh you down."

"That's not what?—"

"If you came here for forgiveness, then it was a waste of your time. I will never forgive you, and if I somehow make it out of this alive, I will bring you and your prince down."

I wait for Aella to defend herself or throw back a threat of her own, but she only frowns and stands.

As we stare at each other in silence, Blaise enters the room.

He puts a hand on Aella's shoulder. "Time to go."

The guards will escort us out of the dungeon and then be back to get you, he says into my mind. I wish I could help more, but there's too much at stake for me to get caught.

Thank you for helping at all, I say. Truly, you have my gratitude.

Soon, I'm alone in the cell again. I don't waste any time before downing the potion Blaise gave me.

Its bitter taste makes me gag, and once I’ve swallowed it all, I cough.

A tingle starts in my fingertips and works its way through my body as the magic in the potion works its way through me.

In order for it to do any good, I'll need to get Mavet to drink from me. And even if I can make that happen, escaping this place won't be easy.

But I’ll worry about it one step at a time.

Three guards return. The tallest of them steps forward with a rope in his hand. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"Of course not." I extend my wrists, bruised from multiple feedings, in front of me as I read his emotion. Annoyance surrounds him.

I make a show of eyeing him from head to toe. He’s handsome, with bright blue eyes and dusty blonde hair. The kind of beauty that I'm sure he's used to his advantage many times. The kind of beauty I can use to my advantage. "You look like someone with more important things to do than fetch prisoners."

The corner of his mouth twitches as he glances at my wrists. "Yes, well, Mavet clearly doesn't think so."

"I won't waste any more of your time than I have to." I keep my arms firm in front of me, praying he'll bind them there rather than behind my back. When he wraps the rope around my wrists, I exhale my relief.

He tugs me along and past the other guards.

Wails from the nearby dungeon echo through the corridor, and I wish there was some way to set them all free.

But right now, I need to stay focused. If Nevan and I manage to escape, someday I will bring Mavet down.

And if we don’t, then I won’t be alive to worry about anything again.