He swung open a large, dark door, revealing his bedchambers within. “Do come in. Now, where did I put that key?” He made a show of digging around in a desk.
There were two doors, one at my back and one to the far left of the chamber that likely led to a dressing area. Two soaring windows perched on either side of the bed, giving an expansive view of the Darkwood. The bed was covered in rich velvets. Beautiful but highly flammable. I wouldn’t be able to light Sanguine up without risking burning down half the keep.
“Could you shut the door? It gets so drafty in here, you see.”
Sure it does. I obeyed.
Sanguine sprung the trap.
Chapter Twenty
Paris
I grabbed the bars as the guards jostled the cage on their way to the great hall. My hands stung, but I ignored the pain. Where was Elena? Had she healed from her injuries? More than anything, I wanted to know the rest of her plan.
Surely this was part of it. Doubting her was not an option. I pressed my hands against the bars, the heated agony rushing up into my wrists.
Tilting my head back, I saw stained glass in the high windows that lined the hallway. Images of the previous rulers of the Bloodkeep were arrayed there. Beautiful kings and queens of ages past watched me as I was carried to my fate.
Priam’s stark eyes glared down at me, so different from the loving look I remembered on my adoptive father’s face. Priam had been strong, yes, but by the time he adopted me, he had no longer been a creature of fire and blood. Instead, he had been more interested in his legacy, passing down the customs and history of his people.
But the king had failed. The largest pane of glass along the hall had Desmerada’s likeness, draped in crimson fabric and surrounded by severed heads. Her vile taint marred even this hall of vampire legend.
The guards dropped me unceremoniously in front of two oaken doors. I could hear murmuring in the chamber beyond—Desmerada’s nobles already congregating to see my demise. The guards draped a length of crimson curtain over my cage, clearly wanting to make the big reveal as flashy as possible. The queen’s flair for the dramatic was almost as widely known as her love of carnage.
My thoughts drifted back to the tiny village in the Darkwood. If I were to die here, I only hoped that they would be able to thrive. This castle was their home. They rightly belonged safe inside these high walls, masters of the vampire kingdom. Instead, they suffered. If only I could make it right.
In the dark, I sank to my knees and sent up a humble prayer to Priam and his line, seeking the strength to face my destiny.
Chapter Twenty-One
Elena
The moment the latch clicked shut, Sanguine was on me. He dragged my wrists behind me, crushing them in his cold grip.
“Did Shildreth and her peasants give you as warm a welcome as I’m about to?”
My heart sank. He knew about Shildreth and the rest. My fear for the villagers increased with each of my troubled breaths. If he knew about the Darkwood vampires, they were in grave danger. My thoughts flitted to little Keilana—the girl’s doll still sat on my bed in Shildreth’s home. The cold creature before me wouldn’t hesitate. He would kill them all if it served his ends. But how much did he know?
“That’s right, maiden, I know all about you. I wouldn’t be much of a spymaster if I didn’t, now would I? I know how you entered the Darkwood with Paris. I lost you for a few days after that but picked you back up when you crossed into the traitors’ enclave.”
He squeezed my hands harder. The tendons stretched painfully, but I didn’t make a sound.
“Aren’t you going to cry out, maiden?” He sneered in my ear as he walked me to the bed and pushed me facedown into the blankets. He pulled some rope from a bench at the foot of the bed and bound me before flipping me over. The rope dug into my injured wrists, but still I didn’t make a sound. Keeping my powers in check took every ounce of my willpower.
He settled on top of me, wedging his bony knee between mine. “Why so quiet? I like it better when you struggle. And if you cry?” He licked his lips. “That’s my favorite part.”
He yanked my head to the side before sinking his fangs into my neck. The ripping pain unleashed the finest edge of my power, and it danced in the air around us as my revulsion grew. Sanguine was too preoccupied with my throat to notice. I forced my magic to dissipate. I needed to play along until I got the information I needed.