Page 21 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

Novalie’s eyes were still fixed on the hand Rath had captured and, when he dropped it and moved away from Emerson, I waggled my eyebrows at her mockingly, grinning at the blush that spread across her cheeks.

“You’re here for her trial then? Elowen’s?” Rath turned his eyes back to me, the weight of them pinning me unexpectedly. Was he trying to use thrall?

“Strange, isn’t it,” I mused. “To hold a trial for someone who won’t even be here.”

Rath snorted. “That’s because it’s not about Elowen, not really. Like most things in the catacombs, it’s about power and, as gauche as it may seem, entertainment. It gets awfully boring down here.”

Maybe I was imagining the warning in his words, or maybe he knew something more about the trial that I didn’t—but I didn’t have any more time to think about it before a woman in a flouncy red dress pushed her way through the throng of people and threw herself into Rath’s arms. He caught her, a bemused smile playing on his mouth as he cupped the back of her head, much like the way Hayes had done to me in my dream.

“Rath,” the woman sobbed. “Oh, Rath!”

“Be calm, dearest.” His eyes met mine over her heaving shoulder and winked as he mouthed gossip. “What has happened?”

I leaned closer, intrigued by what she might have to say. Had she broken a nail? Was there a body in the hall outside? You never knew when it came to vampires.

She pulled back and reached up to remove the clip from her hair, letting it cascade down around her as she used the ends to wipe her tears. It hit the light from the fireplace and I realised I’d seen her before, in the corridor with Adrian. Chestnut.

“It’s Lucian.” She hiccupped but raised her voice, as if to capture as much attention as possible from those standing around looking mildly interested. “He’s dead.”

I had no idea who Lucian was, so the announcement was kind of disappointing, but it seemed to mean something to some other people at least. A few cold faces shared looks of minor surprise and I wondered how many of them had once been friends with the dead vampire in question. Something about the change from living to undead made some vampires… cold.

“First Antonia,” Chestnut continued to shrill, “and now Lucian! Dead!”

“Did he have his head?” I asked, unsure why I cared but knowing she’d mentioned Antonia had been without hers.

Chestnut’s head whipped excitedly around to face me as she pushed out of Rath’s arms, apparently sufficiently comforted. “No! Exactly! You know what this means?”

I did not, in fact, know what it meant and when I kept quiet, she dismissed me, instead looking out at the small crowd. The woman would have made a hell of an actress.

“Hunters,” she said, her voice hushed, but the words carried as the vampires gathered repeated it, murmuring to one another. It wasn’t quite fear, more like apprehension. But it still created a new tension in the room that told me we needed to leave—especially Novalie whose heart still beat and might start looking awfully tasty to a room of vampires about to lose their shit.

I looked meaningfully at her and then towards the door and Novalie nodded, taking Emerson’s hand as she stood slowly. “You keep interesting company,” I muttered to Rath and he chuckled.

“It keeps things interesting.” He looked at Novalie’s retreating figure and nodded. “Yes, best get her out of here before things get bloody. I’ll see you at the trial, then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I said dryly before standing to make my way to the door, tension making its way into my muscles as I looked up. I had only stopped watching Novalie and Emerson for a few seconds, but in a lion’s den that was long enough.

Well, it looked like it was time to make some new enemies.

It felt like Novalie was moving through cement, her hand reaching painstakingly slowly for the door without even noticing the arm moving between her and the door. Luckily for her, I had noticed. Unluckily for the undead vampire whose eyes were locked on the pounding pulse point in Novalie’s throat, I didn’t take kindly to people who hurt my friends.

Time seemed to speed up all at once, the vampire’s arm flashed out in front of the door and Novalie gasped as she nearly crashed into it, halting at the last second. Emerson growled when the undead vampire used Novalie’s surprise as a distraction, lunging out with speed as he dove for her throat.

The snap of his neck was satisfying and he thunked to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I stepped over his body without looking down and placed a hand on the small of Novalie and Emerson’s backs, ushering them out of the door before the undead vampire could wake up and do something unwise, like try to kill us.

Nobody stopped us from leaving—in fact, I was pretty sure I’d heard Rath laughing. We’d come to this party looking for information, leverage, and maybe a little blood and debauchery. It hadn’t disappointed.

Novalie and Emerson seemed mostly unphased by the encounter with the vampire, violence now par for the course. Their arms were slung around each other’s waists as we strolled through the corridors back to our rooms. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Elowen’s trial, whether it would be taken seriously or if the whole thing was just an elaborate display of power. I knew from my own experiences that vampire instincts could be a difficult thing to ignore, but for someone to go out of their way to invite me here to court just to see if I was as powerful as they’d heard, seemed too far-fetched.

There was something about the air here at court, the heaviness of it, that made me constantly feel on edge, like at any moment someone could spring from the shadows. I couldn’t tell if it was just a consequence of an underground city of vampires, or if there was really something more going on. Something that may have involved my presence here at court.

“You look deep in thought,” Emerson mused as we reached a fork in the corridor and I hesitated, peering into the darkness.

“Just staying aware,” I murmured, only half paying attention to her. “Something about this place doesn’t feel right to me.”

“It’s creep-tastic, that’s for sure.” Novalie snorted and, once I was satisfied with the path ahead, we continued walking to our rooms. It was the middle of the day for humans, so most vampires should have been asleep. Instead of feeling reassured, though, the knowledge only heightened the sense of unease settling over me.

“What is it?” Emerson wrapped her fingers around mine and I squeezed quickly before letting go.

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