Page 81 of The Reign of Blood

Thankfully, before I have to worry about finding a response, Pearl appears at the table with two plates, both loaded with the exact same food. “My two favorite people both with their favorite dishes. It could be fate,” she says with a wink, making Addi choke on thin air. “I’ll go and grab some sodas,” she adds before darting off as quickly as she appeared.

Steak, medium-rare, with cajun fries, a dollop of garlic butter, and sauteed vegetables.

Yes, please.

We eat in comfortable silence, enjoying the best food in the City of Harrows. Time passes, and with every minute that goes by, Addi’s shoulders slowly relax. When they’re no longertouching her ears with anger at my presence, I decide she might be calm enough for a conversation.

“So, yellow, huh?”

“What?” she barks, shoulders lifting but only a millimeter or two.

“Your dress.”

“You saw my dress?” Her jaw falls slack.

“I had to peek,” I offer, shrugging, but as she leans closer, elbows braced on the table between us, I know that’s not enough of an answer for her.

“In the box or when I was in the shop?” Her tone is low, too soft, like a predator circling their prey with whimsical words to lure them in.

She’s fucking good.

“In the box, of course. I’m not a stalker,” I retort with a roll of my eyes, and she tilts her head at me.

“Are you sure?”

“You’re a handful.”

She scoffs. “A fact I don’t believe has changed since we’ve met. It’s not going to change any time in the future either, so you better run for the hills now,” she threatens, but the warning only makes my body react to her more.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” I reply, watching as she shakes her head at me. Again.

“I don’t think you should.”

Matching her stance, I push. “Is that because you don’t thinkweshould?—”

“You know I’m at the academy to be the next heir, right?”

I frown at her interruption, but nod in acknowledgment. “I assumed.”

“What areyouat the academy for?” she asks, and my tongue peeks out, sweeping along my bottom lip before I answer.

“The same.”

“So that puts us at an impasse, and I’ve worked too hard for anything to get in my way. Especially a vampire who treated me like dirt on the bottom of his shoe the first time I met him.” Her chin tilts up, making her look down her nose at me a little.

“We’ve talked about this,” I say calmly, knowing I am fighting an uphill battle with this woman.

“No,youhave. You’ve made it abundantly clear that who I am and where I come from disgusts you. That is, until you found out I am royal, the single part of me that truly means nothing in comparison to everything else.”

Her words are like a punch to the gut, confusing me and leaving me breathless all at once. How can that be the part of her that means nothing? To a vampire, that’s all that would matter. But as much as she may think that, it’s not that she’s a royal that draws me in. It’s the fact that she’s a survivor.

This kingdom has done nothing but cause her pain and anguish from a young age, yet here she is, still fighting for herself, her people, and the kingdom.

That’s a trait in a woman I’ve never seen.

Not until her.

“You’re overreacting,” I breathe, unable to express the thoughts in my head so she can hear them and understand.

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