Page 26 of The Blood Crown

Aurelia knelt down at eye level, gripping the woman’s wrists. “We can leave this place,” she whispered urgently. “With your help, we can find a way out—all of us . . .” Her words trailed off as a slow, steady beat pounded through her ears, matching the pulse just under the woman's skin and drowning out every other noise.

Aurelia’s tongue ran across the sharp points of her canines, instincts flaring to life as her fangs throbbed along her gums.

Stumbling back, she scrambled away from the young woman, fighting the urge that was desperately calling to her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, disgust sour on her tongue.

She only received a glassy-eyed stare in response.

Aurelia glanced back up to where the girl still stood, holding the gown in her hands. Seeming to be waiting—as if she were under some spell . . . some kind of compulsion.

If this was some test, she would not give in.

Thirst burned down her throat as she stood on shaking legs. Between using her magick to leave the human realm and the grueling journey through the Shades—the demand was growing harder to ignore, a reminder of just how long it had been since she'd fed.

“I can bathe and dress myself, thank you,” she finally replied, the tone of her voice reminding her of another time. Another life. “I don’t require your services.”

The younger one spoke again, “His majesty insists.”

The bath water was tinged dark pink as dried blood and dirt sloughed off.

The young woman scrubbed the grime from her skin while the girl washed and untangled her hair. Aurelia tried to focus on the sting of her scrapes, the burning pain down her shoulder—anything to keep her mind away from the weak, fragile humans beside her. They deftly continued their work, oblivious to the danger until her skin was pink and her hair was shining in lustrous chestnut waves down her back. They dressed her in what seemed to be the fashion here, not much more than scraps of silk that left most of her skin exposed, before leaving as quietly as they’d arrived.

She took a full, gasping breath only once they were gone.

Glancing in the mirror, she grimaced, touching her shoulder. The hole left from the serpent’s fang had been cleaned, but it wasn’t healing. Purple smudges were under her eyes, betraying the exhaustion she felt. They’d eaten what they could find in the forest, enough to keep them alive, but not much more. And even if she’d had her fill, it wasn’t only food that she needed.

Her hunger was close to getting the better of her, and she was glad for the thick iron door between her and the small,submissive humans. She had a sickening suspicion that if she'd asked either one of them to open a vein for her, they would have done it without question.

Disgust tightened her mouth into a thin line as she plucked at the dress. Scarlet fabric plunged past the curve of her breasts, her arms bare, save for the delicate straps that brushed against her shoulders. The silk hugged her curves, gathering in a peak above one hip before pooling down to her feet.

The human girl had taken her shredded shadowskin—so it was this or nothing.

Something about this moment made her think back to her first night at Ravenstone . . . how she could have ever confused the Blood Folk with these monsters.Thesewere the vampyres of bedtime stories. The creatures that were mere beasts wearing beautiful skins.

Chapter 14

Guards escorted Aurelia down the tunnels of the keep, one with close-cropped white hair, the other with braids the color of hoarfrost. The clipped sound of boots echoed toward them, and her escorts tensed as someone approached.

“Captain,” the one with braids called out.

A lean figure appeared in the torchlight, the red crest on her uniform emblazoned under the flames.

The white-haired female that had brought them to this fucking place.

The Captain's carnelian eyes raked over Aurelia’s exposed skin, forcing heat to creep across her cheeks at the derision there. With a jerk of her pointed chin, they were walking through the dimly lit corridor again.

Tunnels branched out to the left and right, curving away into darkness and musty air. The muffled clank of metal snapped her attention to the cavern just ahead of them. In the dark, she could make out rows of iron cells. Mostly empty, but some had heaps huddled at their corners.

A pit formed in her gut as they passed. Pale hands gripped the bars. Quiet sobs of desperation and soft pleas that were nearly inaudible. The scent coming off the dungeons told her every single one of the captives was human.

A loud bang rattled ahead of them.

“Let me out!” A voice rang out from the cell furthest down. A female—a woman. But this one still had fight left in her as she hit the bars again with a small brown hand.

Hazel eyes peered out from the cell, landing on Aurelia. A fleeting look of contempt flickered across the Captain’s features as Aurelia's escorts pushed her forward again.

She peered into every tunnel that branched away from the maze of corridors, trying to remember the turns that the guards had made as they led her from that dark cell levels below to the chambers she now occupied. She needed to find where they were keeping Karro—if he was still alive.

Stumbling into one of the guards’ backs, she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the space that opened up before them. A cavern yawned wide, filled with raucous laughter as thousands of pale faces turned to stare at her.

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