Crimson Covenant (Onyx Assassins 1)

Avianna tipped her chin up from where she sat, sniffing the air before she laughed.

“What?” I asked, tilting my head.

“I just explained the Butcher’s Block to you, and you haven’t a trace of fear on your scent.”

I parted my lips, then shut them and shrugged. “I’m all about consent,” I explained. “If these humans willingly agree to feed the vampire population, who am I to judge?”

Avianna’s perfectly trimmed eyebrows rose on her smooth forehead. She pointed a finger at me, her hands draped in black silk gloves that reached her elbows. They matched the knee-length black dress she wore, making her look both otherworldly and drop-dead-gorgeous. “I’ve decided I like you, Lyric,” she said, and I blew out a breath.

“That’s a relief?” I said, but it sounded like a question.

Avianna nodded, pushing off the bed and heading toward me, her high heels clicking on the stone floor. “Of course, I decided I liked you the minute my brother told me you didn’t hesitate to help him the night I was attacked.”

I tucked some stray hair behind my ear, my eyes falling to the floor. Flashes of the following night—when the demon came back for me—burst behind my eyes. The pain, the struggle, and then waking up here. “I wasn’t any help,” I said.

“The King says otherwise,” she said, and then fished her phone from a hidden pocket in the skirts of her dress. Okay, now I was jealous of her wardrobe. She typed out a fast text, then slid it back in her silk pocket. “Alek said you immediately described the culprit and told him which direction to go despite the fact that you’d nearly been trampled by the demon in the first place. That seems like help to me.”

“I guess…Wait, King?” I asked, my mind finally catching up.

Those eyebrows rose again, then something like pity flashed in her blue eyes. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Your brother?” I asked, she nodded. “He hasn’t told me much of anything really.” Besides him being an incredibly powerful vampire with the ability to control objects and minds at will. Oh, and the fact that I couldn’t leave—he’d told me that, too.

“Interesting,” she said, and walked toward the giant steel doors of the room. “Yes, Alek is the King. Our family dates back among royalty, all the way before the revolution. He’s worn the burden of the crown for many centuries now.”

The breath in my lungs tightened.

King.

My mind reeled, details of the past few days flickering behind my eyes. The massive, intimidating guards—Lachlan, the Scottish brute, with his intricate, colorful tattoos, the mess of hair he usually kept tied back, the hard cut of his eyes. And Benedict, the walking lie detector, his hair so blond it was like spun gold, his eyes a crystal green and sharp, the lines of his muscles hard as stone.

The trend of brutal and beautiful seemed prevalent among the undead. And even Serge, the talem, had a thin, graceful beauty to him.

No wonder they all followed Alek around, hanging on his every word. No wonder the guards had sounded so concerned for his well-being—

A knock sounded on the door, stopping my racing thoughts. I knew it wasn’t Alek—I could feel a flicker of his essence across the estate—but my heart still foolishly hoped for him to be on the other side of the door when Avianna opened it.

Which was ridiculous since this was his room and he wouldn’t need to knock.

Serge stood on the other side holding a stack of wide, white boxes. He quickly bowed to Avianna. “Your requested delivery,” he said, his voice soft, calm, loyal.

Olivia flashed Avianna a curious glance from behind Serge, but Avianna only smiled softly at her bodyguard. They seemed to have this silent form of communication I’d never be able to follow.

Serge awaited Avianna’s nod before he stepped into the room and laid out four boxes on the massive bed. “Will there be anything else, Princess?”

My eyes widened at the title. King. Princess. I’d fallen into a dark fairytale in the span of a few days. And why did it feel so…natural? So easy to fall into this midnight story complete with feeders and servants and immortal creatures so beautiful it was as if the stars themselves had created them?

“No, Serge,” she said, already flipping the lids off the boxes. “These are perfection. Thank you.” She flashed a wink over her shoulder at the talem. He fumbled for a few seconds as if he too were stunned by the combination of her kindness and her beauty. Righting himself, he bowed again and shut the door behind him.

“What’s all this?” I asked, eying the elegant fabrics spilling from the opened boxes.

“I actually stopped by to help you get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

Avianna smirked. “I’m sure my brother warned you not to go wandering about without a guard?”