by L. A. Sable
Nancy turned her head at the sudden loudness of my voice. I sank back into the seat before I drew any more attention. West seemed amused, but didn’t say anything. I hated him more with every passing minute.
“Simple," Darius said as he traced patterns on the table with the tip of his finger. "You don't have to run if no one is chasing you."
And there was only one way that could possibly happen.
"You would pay my blood price?" I asked, momentarily losing my fear in favor of surprise.
If you killed someone important enough in the supernatural world, then you had to pay blood price to avoid a feud. And in my world, family feuds made international conflicts look like kids fighting over toys in the sandbox.
But I had to ask. “Why?"
"You know why." His voice was sly, calculating.
"I want to hear you say it."
I closed my eyes as he spoke because I knew what was coming next. There was only one reason that he would feel compelled to offer me a deal. And just as I expected, Darius said the words I'd dreaded hearing from the moment I felt dark magic befouling the night air.
"Because of Valentine, of course."
Chapter Five
One Year Earlier
The Proving Grounds had been cursed with my presence precisely once.
I’d successfully avoided Darkward family gatherings for most of my life — reunions, birthdays, ritual sacrifices. I wasn't having any of it. Until a cold day in April when my mother insisted that I attend my brother’s graduation.
It wasn’t as if I had any designs on becoming a student of the place, without magic I’d be eaten alive. But everyone there would feel compelled to remind me that I was lowest of the low. Better to just stay home. But we couldn’t have that, according to my mother. What would people say?
That I might get hurt was nothing compared to possible shame to the family brought by my absence. Priorities.
"Really, Juliette. Think of your obligation to the family." Colleta Darkward held the stem of an empty wineglass between the tips of her fingers as if unsure what to do with it. A maid would be punished by dinnertime. "You've been shirking your responsibility for years. If you don't show some initiative, people will begin to wonder."
Wonder what? I wanted to ask. Wonder if Los Angeles living had dulled Colleta Darkward's instincts. Wonder if her little pathetic daughter with no magic, and no backbone, was just a tragic mistake. Or more uncharitably, the product of too much inbreeding. Everybody knew that the genetic separation between high witch families was tenuous at best. They’d wonder if Leonora was still capable of raising appropriately cold-blooded children.
Magdalen, my eldest sister, suggested to my father when I was born that he have the midwife strangle me with my own umbilical cord. She wanted to be the one to throw my infant body in the river and let it wash away to a place where nobody would find it.
She'd been eight at the time.
My mother always took pity on me, at least somewhat. Of all her children, I was the only one with her eyes. Dark and deep, but with a shine like polished mahogany. Nobody knew where my hair came from. It was thick, gently waved and the darkest shade of gold, with almost reddish undertones. Everyone else in the family is a blonde so platinum that it’s nearly white.
But this time my mother wouldn't listen to my excuses. I was named on the invitation and it would be an insult not to attend.
"The Proving Grounds are gorgeous in the winter. You've always wanted to see it.” My mother acted oblivious to any of my deadly real concerns, brushing away any protests with a wave of her hand. "It's important that we all be there to watch as Titan takes his place in society.”
My brother would appreciate my presence in the same way that he might notice a spider crawling on the wall.
“There will be so many relatives there that we haven't seen in years." My mother said it as if she actually thought that was good thing. As far as I was concerned, avoiding family was my preferred way to pass the time.
The Proving Grounds was a sight to behold, I’d give it that. Located on an island off the coast of California, shrouded in fog and magic to keep it hidden from the prying eyes of humans, the place looked like something out of a Gothic novel. Stone spires kissed the sky and wound down to the impenetrable brick facade and the castle itself was surrounded by a thicket of thousand-year-old trees. As the dense fog parted to reveal the edge of the massive wall surrounding the island, it was hard not to feel like you were entering another world.
I moved through the gauntlet of unfamiliar and unfriendly faces, making myself as small as I possibly could. I’d spent most of my life in hiding, so few in the supernatural world would recognize me on sight but eventually curiosity would get the best of them and I would suffer for it.
Once inside, I did my best to make myself as invisible as possible during the proceedings. After the graduation ceremony, I had no choice but to attend the celebration inside the castle.
The walls of the ballroom were made of cool stone and delicate crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Despite the beauty of the surroundings, I left the reception before it even began. My parents were too busy networking to notice me slip out of the grand hall. The foyer was empty, and I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
In company like this, I knew better than to open any closed doors. This was a night for uncontrolled festivity and in the supernatural world, that always meant debauchery. The last thing I wanted was to join a private party uninvited because I couldn’t hold my own and the consequences could be dire.
An open door at the end of the hallway beckoned to me. I slipped inside the room and pulled the door closed behind me. Rows of bookshelves rose almost to the ceiling and extended into the long dark space. Lights rose as I moved further inside, magicked to respond to a presence in the room. Tables are armchairs were spread in haphazard patterns.
I’d found a library.
Sighing with happiness, I perused the shelves. Most were magic tomes, full of incantations and history but there was a small section of human books. I chose Metamorphosis by Kafka, kicked off my too-tight shoes and curled up into an armchair near the back of the room, hidden by a tall shelf. The leather warmed against my skin and I could almost forget that I was in the most dangerous place imaginable for someone without power to protect themselves. I definitely planned to stay right here until it was time to return home.
I didn't hear the door open and only looked up when it softly closed.
"I thought I saw you sneak up here. You never could keep up with the rest of the family."
My stomach rolled as I scrambled out of the chair.
Ceres Killoran, powerful vampire and a former playmate of my brother’s, loomed over me with the same expression on his face that a cat wore when it had cornered an injured mouse. He was rumored to have officially joined the Blooded the year before, but it had never been officially confirmed. The black dress shirt he wore would hide the scars of initiation, so it was impossible to tell for sure.
His body was lithe like a panther and a shock of black hair curled over his forehead. Like all vampires, his beauty just made him that much more dangerous. And I was very aware of the fact that he stood between me and the only way out of the room.
Ceres and I hadn’t seen each other since we were kids. He’d always seemed to take singular pleasure in tormenting me. But he’d never gotten to me when I was alone, at least until now.
"I really didn't think you'd show your face,” Ceres said. He leaned against the closed door. "I was just thinking to myself other day: How I miss playing with little Juliette. It's such a shame that her mother keeps her hidden away. And now you’re here, a dream become reality.” He took a step forward, and I countered by moving behind the armchair, putting that small and useless barrier between us. "Did you come here for me?"
"Don't do anything stupid, Ceres." My voice came breathy and I cursed myself for the obvious weakness. "My mother will destroy you."
"I
have no intention of paying blood price for your pathetic little life, darling.” His smile was dangerous. “Colleta is a terrifying negotiator."
He sauntered slowly around the chair and I matched his movements. I knew he was taunting me, letting me think that I might get away.
"Please don't," I whispered.
"I'll make you a deal." Ceres stopped and snapped his fingers. "How about I only kill you a little?"
He lunged.
I dodged away, but not fast enough. An end table crashed to the floor, taking the lamp with it. Our corner of the massive room became enveloped in near darkness. He landed on me and I was suddenly facedown with his weight pressing me into the thick carpet. I could do little more than shift my weight underneath him because he had me completely trapped.
"What's it going to be, baby?" His breath was hot against my ear. One of his hands slipped under the skirt of my dress. His fingers just barely stroked the bare skin of my inner thigh. "I prefer the point here, just above your femoral artery."
He pinched the skin hard enough to make me gasp from the pain. I felt his knuckles brush the cotton of my panties and I hoped that was the sort of rape he had in mind. As crazy as it might sound, there were worse things he could to do to me.
Ceres was a psychic vampire, there wasn’t really a better word for it. The power was rare, though it seemed to run in his family. Even though he enjoyed blood like a typical vampire, he also gained energy by sucking the literal life out of his victims. Sometimes he killed them, but other times he left them just barely alive, physically healthy but like empty husks with no memory or personality, the things that made them a person. Their only conscious awareness was of an intense desire to serve him. Forever.
It was a fate far worse than death.
I reared back and kicked, dislodging him for a brief moment. Ceres quickly recovered and laughed, holding me down more securely. He smoothed the fabric of the skirt over my hip with one hand. "I suppose you won't hold still for that."
Searching fingers tickled up my neck and stroked the shell of my ear.
"Just here."
He bent and kissed the juncture at my neck and shoulder. My heart beat so fast that he could probably feel my pulse against his lips. With one hand, he grabbed a handful of my hair and wrenched my head painfully to one side.
"Be a good girl and it won't hurt nearly as much." Pressing his body closer, Ceres sealed his lips against my skin and bit me.
Ceres was a liar.
Pain started with a thousand white-hot needles that pierced the skin of my throat and radiated down to my chest. Invisible claws tugged at my heart, trying to pull it from my body. When I resisted, fire burned along every nerve ending until excruciating pain became the only thing that existed.
I screamed.
The fire faded slowly, starting at my hands and feet and worked its way inward. It was replaced by the searing cold of emptiness that was just as excruciating.
He sucked my soul from my unwilling body and I couldn’t do anything to stop him.
Ceres could go on until every part of me was gone. He would grow stronger and stronger until I faded away, an empty shell of a human. No spirit, no life and the only thing left a longing for the merciful embrace of death. But my heart would still beat, making it impossible for my family to claim a blood debt.
Maybe I could have fought him off if I hadn't been so afraid. But I never even tried and the shame of that would be the last thing I felt before losing myself completely.
I’d never find out what moved him to mercy — if that was even close to the word for it. He pulled back just before the last of me slipped away. Perhaps he didn’t want to clean up the mess of a dead body. More likely, he didn’t quite want to end it, as if I was a toy he wasn’t done playing with yet.
Eventually, minutes or hours later, Ceres left me huddled on the floor. I wrapped my arms around myself in an effort to fight off a chill that came from within. He sauntered back to the party, drunk on the power of stolen life. Poor Kafka lay abandoned on the floor, the book still opened to the last page I’d been reading.
I made it to a bathroom, though I didn't remember getting there. My face in the mirror above the sink was gaunt with heavy bruises under the eyes. I seemed suddenly too small for the ivory gown my mother had made me wear, as if I huddled inside the voluminous fabric.
My own face wasn’t something that I recognized in the mirror. Who was this broken, pathetic thing? It wasn’t me. It couldn’t be me.
An awareness of his amusement floated on the edges of my mind. I could practically hear his laughter as if he still stood in the room with me, even taste his intoxicated elation on my tongue. Ceres was inside of me now and he’d stolen a piece of my soul that I couldn't get back.
The magic he worked was powerful and nearly unbreakable.
I felt something dark break free in my mind, something with jagged edges that were sharp as broken glass. Something terrible. And that was the first time that I heard the voice whisper darkly through my mind.
You deserve to survive, no matter the cost.
That quiet voice, so soft and barely formed, whispered promises of strength and protection.
Even if I believed that, I had no way to protect myself. Not without magic.
But you do…
The dam didn’t break with any sort of warning. One moment I was powerless and in the next I knew exactly what I was capable of, an awareness of the universe surging along my skin like crackles of electricity.
And I knew what I had to do.
There was only one way to break a link between souls.
Death.
The party was still in full swing when I entered the great hall. Dozens of people waltzed at the center of the room. I’d never seen this many supernaturals in one place at the same time. At any other point in my life, fear would have overwhelmed me but now that feeling had been replaced by something very different.
Ceres stood with a handful of others near the edge of the dance floor and had his back to me as I approached. He smiled and said something to the people around him, probably gloating. They were a mixed group of vampires, witches and shifters. Except for one man I didn’t recognize, and it was impossible to tell at a glance precisely what he was.
The man had a shock of hair so violently crimson that it was almost enough to distract me, but only for a moment. Even as isolated as I’d been, it was rare to meet someone new in this circle that I hesitated. My curiosity was a distant thing, but I filed the man’s image away in my mind for the future.
He must have felt my gaze because the strange man turned and cast me a knowing smile. When I simply stared back, my expression empty of any emotion, he raised his glass in a silent toast. After that mysterious exchange, I turned away, ignoring him. I only had eyes for Ceres.
As the music ended, I crept forward. Vicious smiles turned to me as I drew close enough to reach the edge of the group. The dark anticipation I saw in their faces would usually have been enough to keep me away, but not tonight.
No one here would interfere. That wasn't how the game was played.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother and father engaged in conversation. They wouldn't be able to help me, assuming the thought to try even crossed either of their minds. Ceres had broken no rules because I was still alive and breathing. In our world, someone not strong enough to protect themselves was anyone’s meat.
"A toast." The stranger spoke and his voice held a rich, fluid quality that made me shiver. "To the new graduates and their continued success in our world.”
This close, I could see that his eyes were so pale that you could barely call them blue. The irises were the color of glacial ice as they reflected in the light.
I made a small movement and Ceres whirled to face me. His gaze traveled down the length of my body, taking in the messy, blood-stained dress and wild hair that I hadn’t bothered to fix. The regard in his eyes was intimate, as if the room were empty save for the two us. I shivere
d, but didn't look away.
The fear was still there because I wasn’t stupid. But now it was tempered with a recklessness that I’d never recognized in myself before.
And a knowledge of the power building inside of me.
“Ceres.” The word hung between us, heavy with meaning in the suddenly silent room.
Ceres took an unconscious step forward and caught himself. His gaze was as mocking as ever, but there was a different light in his eyes. "If it isn't the little duckling turned into a swan."
The fool thought I wanted him.
The group parted to admit me as if I could hold my own in this den of monsters. Maybe they were all just hoping to see a show.
"Very impressive," Ceres purred, extended a hand. He was laughing at me. "That certainly was a speedy recovery."
We had the attention of everyone in the room. All of them could see the angry bruise that had formed on the curve of my neck and the twin marks from his bite. And their knowing smiles made it clear what they thought of me, just another enamored blood slut chasing after her obsession. This was all just for their entertainment.
I wouldn't give Ceres a warning.
The stranger caught my eye again. He wore an expression of mocking curiosity that seemed out of place. It was almost as if he was laughing with me and not at me. Not like the others. He stepped aside with a sardonic smile as I moved past.
Bianca, another graduate and distant relative of Ceres’s, held her hand out to me and I allowed her to draw me into the circle. Ceres stepped up behind me — not quite touching — but I could feel him like a heavy shadow at my back.
I was supposed to be in thrall, I realized. That had been what Ceres hoped to accomplish by leaving me alive after taking so much energy from me. He wanted to strip away my resistance and warp my mind so much that I saw his face swimming in my vision even when my eyes closed. That’s why he had linked us like this. He wanted to parade me around like an obedient pet for everyone’s amusement, degrade me in a way that was worse than simply killing me. He hadn’t just wanted to hurt me once, he’d wanted to do it over and over again until I begged for death at his hands with a fatuous smile on my face.