Page 24 of Blood and Roses

Did her mother know what was happening to her? Did she know what theywere? Rosa looked at the pendant, studying the face and angel wings around it. The woman had said it would protect her.

Rosa found her phone and tried not to cry in frustration as the internet took forever to load. She searched through pages of symbols of protection from every race she could think of until she found it. It was a six-winged seraph that in Judaic texts protected the throne of God, and they were one of the highest choirs of angels. Whatever it did, it stopped the Vanes from brainwashing her, and she wasn't going to go anywhere without it.

Rosa got in the shower and scrubbed herself, trying to wash away the revulsion she was feeling. She climbed out when the water went cold and pulled her heavy robe around her. She felt like she couldn't get warm enough as she banked her fire high and lit it.

Through her window she could see the lights shining from the upstairs rooms, people dancing and laughing through the curtains. Unexpectedly, she looked down at the leather-bound book on her bedside table. The prince in the story had drunk the queen's blood, and he had escaped into this world.

"Get it together. It's just a story," Rosa said out loud, gripping her head. Until she had seen Pearl tonight, she would have told you that vampires were a story too.

The Wylts have always served the Vanes. Had they knownwhatthey had been serving this whole time? She thought of the chests upstairs. If they did know, there was only one way to find out. As she was changing into her pajamas, her eyes locked onto the portraits. Rosa sat down on the floor and tried to fight air into her lungs as Balthasar's steady gaze looked back at her. The man she had been dreaming about was not as dead as she had thought.

Lily closedher eyes as Pearl brushed out her long, dark hair. It was a small thing that her progeny liked to do for her. Pearl was not the most affectionate of people, but she always treated Lily as if she was made of glass, as if she was the precious one in the family.

"What are you thinking about?" Lily asked. "I can feel that something is annoying you."

"Of course I'm annoyed. How can you be so calm?" Pearl sat down on the seat next to her. "Blackfox got sloppy and far too bold. What a waste of time he was!"

"It's a setback, but he did not betray us before my brother took his head. Lucky for us, my darling, otherwise he would be taking ours right now." Lily took her hand and kissed it. "You are young and impatient."

"I also love you and want to see you sitting in your rightful place. Balthasar is not interested in the crown. It would suit him poorly. Eli needs to stop looking at Balthasar as an heir only because he has a cock. You wereborna noble, Lily, in a time when it meant something."

At times, Lily had regretted telling Pearl about her royal blood, but she had needed a confidant after being alone for solong. She had told her of how Eli had saved her from a brutal raping during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and how he had raised her as a daughter before finally turning her. She was his first-born, and for hundreds of years, all they had was each other. She was his only and most beloved daughter.

"You forget Balthasar was also born noble," Lily pointed out.

"The Medicis were bankers. Being rich is not the same as nobility. He was an unknown bastard who got lucky." Pearl clenched her white fists. "I don't like that Eli overlooked you as soon as he found Balthasar."

"And I love you for being so defensive of me." Lily touched her cheek. "Blackfox failed us, but we can make other allies to remove my brother. He is usually his worst enemy, and he has a shaky relationship with Eli at best. We will work this out."

"What about the girl?" Pearl asked, innocently twirling the bracelet on her wrist. "Could we use Rosa to get him out of favor?"

"I don't think he's interested. God, I haven't seen him interested in anyone for two hundred years. The last one was too traumatic," Lily said, feeling an old ache in her chest that she had thought long gone.Jane.

"Ha! I saw them walking together the other afternoon. I have never seen him look at someone like that."

"He was probably just being polite to her," Lily said irritably. "She's a Wylt, off limits even to him. They are important to Eli, and Balthasar liked her father. If you touch a Wylt, even I couldn't save you from their wrath. You would be signing your death warrant."

Pearl smiled innocently. "Who said we would have to touch her?"

Rosa spentthe night trying to find the oldest recollections by her family.How had they come to serve the Vanes anyway? Had they known what they were?

There was so much stuff in the cramped attic that she had given in to her exhaustion and gone to bed. She couldn't handle another sleepless night.

Once again, she dreamed of Balthasar. She was not afraid in the dream. He'd never made her feel afraid. Then the dream changed to Pearl standing over Cecily's dead body, her white dress streaked with blood as she laughed.

The Wylts have always served the Vanes. They have always been good to us. It is an honor. Her father's words were running over and over like a tune in the back of her mind. She dreamed of playing in Eli's library as he drank blood from a glass and told her stories of faraway kingdoms. She wasn't afraid of what he was, her childish heart enjoying his attention.

Rosa woke in the morning feeling calmer but still determined to find out the truth. From the random notes scattered throughout journals, the Vanes had always treated the Wylts well, not so much a part of the servant class but friends who chose to work for them. They had also known exactly what the Vanes were—Unseelie princes who had created a family for themselves in a new world, using old magic.

Rosa found the whole agreement between the families confusing. Why the Wylts? Rosa had not been the only one that had been sent away to be educated either. They had always returned to Gwaed Lyn and decided to stay. The Vanes had never let anything bad happen to them. So why was Pearl hurting her mother? Cecily had always respected Eli Vane immensely, sowhy was he allowing it?Maybe he doesn't know, she thought as she stood in the kitchen, watching the procession of cars disappearing in the early morning light.

There would be a hell of a mess upstairs to clean up, and if Cecily were unwell, she would be relying on Rosa. Could she tell her mother what she had seen? Their relationship wasn't close enough to have the trust needed for Cecily to believe her. Rosa straightened. If her mother looked the least bit poorly again, then she would go straight to Eli and tell him what she had seen. She'd threaten to expose them all if it was what was needed to get Pearl to stop.

Rosa made sure her necklace was tucked out of sight before she stepped out into the morning. She was passing through the line of oaks when she spotted Balthasar at the front of the house, engaged in seeing guests off in the cars. He looked her way and waved shyly. Rosa turned her head away quickly, her face burning. She walked faster, almost knocking Jenny over in her desperation to get out of sight. The knowledge that he was the same man who had written such beautiful letters, that had loved and grieved so deeply, was enough to make Rosa want to crawl into a dark corner and hide. She'd been crushing on him without even realizing it. He had caught her staring longingly at his portrait the night before. How could she ever face him again?

"Morning!" she said all too happily. "Sorting the mess upstairs today, are we? Excellent." She smiled at Belinda. "Cleaning stuff is upstairs?"

"Ah, yes. Are you okay this morning?" Belinda asked.

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