by Sofia Daniel
Palpitations reverberated through my chest, making my eardrums clash like cymbals. I was sick. That was the only way to describe the kind of person who would put a pretty face before grief. Harsh breaths forced their way in and out of my lungs.
Bloody, fucking, hell. I couldn’t even muster up a tear for my family.
I thought about little Daniel with his missing front teeth, messy blond hair, dimples, and his cheeky grin.
Nothing.
I thought about the day he’d been born, and he had wrapped his tiny, pink hand around my fingers.
Still nothing.
I swayed on my feet.
Maybe all this iron-rich food had turned me into the kind of psychopath who didn’t mourn the deaths of their own family.
The applause petered out, replaced by a collective sigh.
My head snapped up.
The Stryx brothers stood at the entrance of the dining room like a trio of models straight from the front pages of Teen Vogue.
Dante’s golden hair shone in the light of the chandeliers like spun gold, while Raphael’s glimmered like burnished copper. The blue highlights in Nero’s dreadlocks reminded me of an indigo night sky, and it contrasted with his gorgeous, deep bronze skin.
Despite their coloring, all three boys had the same strong-jawed, high-cheekboned look. Dante and Raphael stood about six-two in height, and Nero stood six-four. But while Raphael’s green eyes were soft and friendly, Dante and Nero both stared at me like I was their possession.
“Come here,” said Dante.
All eyes in the dining room turned to me. Even though no one knew I had signed a contract to become the Stryx brothers’ concubine, they all seemed to know what was about to happen.
What a pity I didn’t.
My gaze turned to the head table, where Captain Tanar leaned forward and raised a curious brow. Since we hadn’t finalized anything with a ceremony, I interpreted the look to mean that it wasn’t too late to back out.
His lips quirked into a cruel smile, and I snatched my gaze away. What was the worst the Stryx brothers could do? Drain my blood and sexually humiliate me until I found a way to escape, I supposed. But I had a chance of surviving with them. Captain Tanar had spent years killing my kind. He probably wanted me for something dark and nefarious.
Dante folded his arms across his broad chest.
With a sigh, I walked around the table and walked through the dining room, keeping my eyes on the three boys who would own me until I learned enough Frumosi magic to fend them off.
Dante’s face twisted into a satisfied smirk. He’d probably make me get on my knees and kiss his foot. But a fire blazed in Nero’s eyes, making me remember the time he had tricked me into the blood bond. I had lapped blood from his finger, and he had said—
My eyes dropped down to the erection straining his pants. There was no doubt what he would make me kiss, but would it be in front of the whole academy?
Sweat trickled down my brow, and my throat became as dry as parchment. As I took my last few steps, a look of satisfaction crossed Dante’s features. He was going to make me suck him off.
Before I took my next step, everything went black.
Chapter 4
I awoke on the marble floor with Raphael kneeling at my side. He dabbed my cheek with a moistened handkerchief and gave me the kind of warm smile someone would give a kitten that had exhausted itself or done something equally as embarrassing or cute.
Dante and Nero stood behind him, both wearing identical smug expressions. They probably thought I had fainted at the sight of their manliness. I hadn’t. Something extraordinary had happened.
The applause had acted as a battering ram against something that wanted to stay hidden. I blinked the haze out of my eyes. Maybe this was the result of all that meditation. I would have to look harder for the onion woman.
“Alicia?” said Raphael.
My throat convulsed. “I’m fine. Just thirsty.”
Nero smirked. “I have something you can drink. All night long.”
With a groan, I let my head loll to the side, remembering that these assholes had been able to tell when I pretended to sleep.
Raphael helped me to my feet and dusted me off, while Nero rolled his eyes and Dante gave his brother an indulgent smile.
“Aren’t you going to welcome us back?” asked Dante.
“Welcome back,” I muttered.
Nero smirked. “You can do better than that.”
My gaze dropped down to his pants. Anger flared through my veins at the sight of an even thicker erection. What was wrong with this vampire? The normal reaction when a person fainted at their feet should be concern. Indifference, if they were a monster, but Nero’s excitement made me wonder if he got off on seeing girls suffer.
When my gaze rose back to his face, the grin he gave me was so wide, I wanted to be sick. Dante’s lips thinned, and his nostrils flared. Perhaps he wanted me to show a little fear and revulsion at him and was pissed that I wasn’t giving him any.
“Time to kiss some feet,” said Dante.
Professor Proust stepped down from the podium of the head table, his brows furrowed. Perhaps he would put an end to whatever public humiliation the Stryx brothers had planned for me.
When Captain Tanar walked around the head table and down the podium, and a few of the other vampire teachers followed, I realized something else was happening. Commander Shanks and a few other guards moved away from their stations and followed the vampires toward the exit.
Raphael pulled me to the right of the double doors, leaving his brothers on the left. Chatter filled the vampire side of the dining room, and a bewildered silence stretched across the frumosi side. The vampire faculty formed a semi-circle around the door.
“Someone’s coming,” Raphael whispered into my ear.
I was about to ask if it was hunters, when a pair of guards wearing blood-red armor stepped into the room, followed by a tall woman who wore her hair in two buns on the top of her head, decorated with jeweled pins. Her comically large eyes were identical to those of someone who had cursed me with her last breath.
Panic exploded across my chest, and my heart tried to gallop through my ribcage. My gaze locked with Nero’s whose face fell into an impenetrable mask.
Raphael’s arm tightened around my waist.
The woman spread her arms, showcasing the winged sleeves of her black coat, and two guards at her back pulled off the garment, revealing a tight-fitting black outfit that showcased an athletic figure that looked like it belonged to a female assassin.
Professor Proust bowed low. “Lady Mantis, what brings you to our humble—”
“Where is my daughter?” she snapped.
The headmaster turned his head toward the middle of the dining room. I followed his gaze to a table where Ponytail sat with Juno, the girl with the blue hair who had fed from Zarah. He turned back to Micalla’s mother and said, “My Lady, your daughter—”
“Didn’t return from the academy,” snapped the noblewoman. “And when I called the Noble House of Preta, I also discovered that only one of their twin daughters made it home.”
Professor Proust’s mouth fell open, and he looked to Captain Tanar for help, but the other vampire folded his arms across his chest and remained silent.
I slowed my breathing, hoping to slow my heart. If Lady Mantis had any inkling that I knew what had happened to either of those girls, I would be in deep shit. Nero and Dante would let me take the blame for both murders, while Raphael would stand by and do nothing to help.
Lady Mantis turned her head to where I stood on the left side of the room, and my heart sped up. Her gaze swept over me, around the dining room, and stopped at where Ponytail sat with Juno. After staring at the vampire side of the space, she turned her attention to Nero and Dante.
“You are sons of Lord Stryx,” said Lady Mantis.
Dante’s brows drew together. “Yes, My Lady.”
“Did you see Micalla during your break?”<
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I swallowed hard, remembering someone telling me that Micalla’s sister was one of Lord Stryx’s consorts. Her entire plan to coerce me into offering myself as a concubine to Lord Lilin had been based on Micalla’s desire to snag one of the boys and end up living in the Kingdom of Stryx to be with her sister.
I supposed it would make sense that Lady Mantis would think Micalla had followed the boys home.
“She usually travels with us whenever she wishes to spend time with Camilla,” said Dante.
Lady Mantis narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t she travel with you this time?”
Nero shrugged. “We were the last to leave. She didn’t wait for us, so we assumed she had gone to see you, My Lady.”
“Indeed?” she said in a voice that implied she didn’t believe the boys.
“Yes.” Nero’s voice and blank facial expression didn’t change.
Nausea churned in my gut. What if Lady Mantis could smell my guilt?
Her gaze snapped to me, and my adrenaline spiked. “What’s your name?”
“Alicia’s about to participate in a bonding ceremony.” Raphael’s arm tightened around my waist. “She’s going to be our concubine.”
The vampire noblewoman smirked. “She doesn’t seem very excited about the prospect of being the blood whore to three growing boys.”
I bowed my head and sucked in gulps of air. Let her think I was scared of becoming a concubine. She would never suspect a being as powerless as me to have killed her daughter.
Nero had arranged Micalla’s death in such a convoluted way no one would ever think possible, and I would be safe as long as I acted powerless and insignificant.
Professor Proust cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should convene in my office?”
Lady Mantis inclined her head, making the jewels hanging off her hair ornaments jingle. She and her procession of red-uniformed guards swept out of the dining room.
Professor Proust, Dr. Grannus, and a group of guards followed them out into the hallway. Captain Tanar turned his amber eyes to me in an expression I couldn’t read. He raised a dark brow and strolled back to the head table.
It took several minutes for the excitement to die down. A few of the younger vampires tried to follow the procession, but the guards guided them back into the dining room and shut the doors. Raphael walked me to the middle table and even pulled out my seat, acting like I was his date.
Nero’s face remained stony, as did Dante’s. Nobody spoke, and I remained silent, contemplating what it meant that Lady Mantis had visited the academy.
One of the knockers placed a plate of blood sausage, baked beans, and grilled tomatoes in my place, and another poured the brothers glasses of sangria. It was thinner than blood and about the consistency of red wine, but I kept thinking about the strange hybrid pigs who ate the same food as us, and bile rose to the back of my throat.
“Nervous?” Nero smirked behind his glass.
“Let’s wait until we reach our suite before we discuss Alicia’s bonding ceremony,” Dante said with an edge to his voice.
Raphael leaned forward. “I don’t think Nero would—”
“Less talk, more eating.” Dante’s cold, blue eyes lingered on my plate. “You haven’t touched your food.”
Something nibbled at the back of my mind. The onion woman had mentioned that uncovering the block behind my third eye would help me see the vampires’ true form. I let my gaze wander about the table. Each of the Stryx brothers remained the same.
“I’m not hungry,” I whispered.
“Eat, unless you wish to be punished,” said Nero.
“You don’t want to end up like your friend,” added Raphael.
My gaze darted to the left of the room, where Zarah sat with Kat and Annette. The three frumosi girls glowered at me as though they knew what I had done to Micalla.
Snatching my gaze back to my blood sausage, I picked up my fork and broke off a piece. I was paranoid. If anyone was staring, it was because they disapproved of my relationship with the Stryx brothers.
Except Zarah knew that Micalla had planned to ambush me at the end of term.
I placed a chunk of blood sausage into my mouth and chewed.
Nero chuckled. “I knew Alicia would be obedient once she accepted her place. Are you looking forward to your duties?”
The sausage stuck in my throat. I snatched a glass of orange juice, gulped down several mouthfuls of the sweet, thick liquid, and tried not to gag.
Dante downed his glass of sangria and licked his lips. He tried to make eye contact with me, but I dipped my head and continued eating.
These vampires might be able to pretend nothing had happened, but Lady Mantis didn’t look the type who would give up so easily on her missing daughter. I stole a glance at Dante, wondering what kind of power Micalla had held over him and if I could use it to my advantage.
Raphael placed a hand on my wrist. “Are you feeling better?”
I raised my head and met green eyes framed with thick, copper lashes. He was just as big an asshole as his brothers, as he hadn’t lifted a finger when Nero had made me to kill Micalla. Forcing a smile, I gave him a soft nod. Of the three, he seemed like the one that could be easiest to manipulate.
Moments later, the gong sounded, indicating the first period.
Dante smirked. “If you faint during the ceremony, we’ll just continue without you.”
My heart spasmed, and all the blood drained from my face. “Aren’t we going to class?”
“It’s time to cement our bond,” said Nero.
I would have protested more, but students got out of their seats and streamed toward the exit. Some of the young vampires lingered around our table and cast me curious glances. I dipped my head, not wanting to reveal anything incriminating in public.
Zarah already suspected that I’d done something to Micalla. Seeing Lady Mantis at the doors might get her asking awkward questions. Questions that someone might overhear and turn into a rumor that would reach the wrong ears.
“Come along.” Raphael stood and offered me his hand.
I wrapped my arms around my middle, and my gaze darted toward the staff table where Captain Tanar watched us with narrowed eyes.
“Will there be witnesses?” I asked.
Raphael wrapped his hand around my bicep and lifted me off my seat. “Not unless you’d like us to invite some.”
I shook my head. “The four of us is more than enough.”
The walk out of the dining room was like a death march. Despair swirled through my insides and crashed against the back of my thickening throat.
Now that Lady Mantis was sniffing around and asking questions about her daughter, I needed the boys’ protection more than ever. Captain Tanar had offered to shield me from whatever the boys were holding over me, but I didn’t trust him.
A vampire who was skilled at killing my kind probably needed me for target practice or as a broodmare for an army of daywalkers to fight back against the hunters.
As we arrived at the boys’ suite, Nero reached around my back and grabbed my ass. “I thought you would need more persuasion to sign the concubine contract. But look at you. Eager as hell to become our blood whore.”
I clenched my teeth and stepped into a reception area with a pale, marble floor and an ornate fireplace that looked like it was made of another kind of marble. The last time I’d been here, I hadn’t been in the mood to take in the decor.
Painted shutters covered long, narrow windows that stretched up to an ornate wall cornicing that belonged in a palace or a museum. The only furniture in the room was a leather chaise lounge that took center place with two matching armchairs arranged around a low table.
Dante shut the door behind us and pulled off his blazer, letting the garment fall to the marble. He stalked toward me, removing his cufflinks. The pupils of his blue eyes lengthened and narrowed until they resembled the hypnotizing glare of a snake. Sharp, white fangs protruded from his full lips.
“Wha
t are you…” the words died on my tongue. I knew exactly what he wanted.
“There’s no need to be coy,” he said with the slightest lisp. “After the bonding, you’ll be a happy, obedient whore who will do anything for our blood.”
Cold sweat beaded on my brow, and my mind flashed back to something the onion woman had told me. Dracula fed his frumosi concubines enough of his blood to make them love him. She had also mentioned last term that ingesting a vampire’s blood turned the drinker into their vassal until the new moon.
I turned to Nero and Raphael, who stood blocking the exit, shrugging off their clothes. Without his shirt, Raphael looked like Michelangelo had carved him out of alabaster, a vision of masculine beauty enhanced by the tattoo of the Stryx owl on his prominent pecs.
The pulse between my legs thrashed in time to the beat of my frantic heart. This was the moment I had been dreading. Being trapped in a room with three unfeasibly gorgeous vampires who wanted my blood, amongst other things.
My gaze lingered over the black tattoos that swirled around Nero’s broad shoulders, bulging biceps, and prominent pecs. Like his brother, a Stryx owl also adorned his chest. Unlike him, his gorgeous torso was hairless and looked like it had been fashioned out of bronze.
All the moisture left my throat. I backed toward the window, heart thrashing against my ribcage, urging me to run, jump through the shutters, do anything to escape.
“H-how does this bonding ceremony work?” I asked.
“Eager?” Dante loosened his tie, unfastened the first few buttons of his shirt, pulled it over his head, and tossed it over his shoulders. His skin was golden, his muscles tight, and his chest adorned with the same tattoo.
Nero crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat. “Don’t worry. I have just the thing to ease your dry throat.”
My gaze dropped to the erection straining through of his pants, and the back of my legs hit the low table, halting my retreat.
Nero nipped the pad of his thumb and presented me with a bead of blood. “The bonding works a lot like a vampire oath of protection but includes servitude. You take a little of my blood, then I take a little of yours, then we repeat an oath.”